June 1, 2025
Young Atlanta Inventor Goes Viral For Turning Plastic Into Fuel — But Its Raising Questions
Julian Brown recently went viral after posting a video that showcased his work in the still nascent field of microwave pyrolysis.
Julian Brown, a 21-year-old Atlanta native, recently went viral after sharing a video on social media highlighting his work in the emerging field of microwave pyrolysis—a process that uses intense heat to break down plastic, returning it to its petroleum-based components and transforming it into a usable fuel source.
Brown, who began working on prototypes using pyrolysis in high school, credits his ability to use the technology to his ability to weld, in a 2024 interview with Canvas Rebel, he said that once he discovered that plastic can be turned back into petroleum via a reactor, he set out to build a reactor for that purpose.
“After finding out that plastic is made of crude oil, and can be turned back into fuel with a reactor, I decided to build a reactor, putting my welding experience to use. I saw a problem that needed a solution quickly and desperately, and so I jumped right into taking action and being the change I wanted to see when I knew there was something I could do,” Brown told the outlet.
He continued, “I self-taught myself everything about this technology and the process, utilizing the age of the internet and information to my advantage. Turning plastic to fuel with reactors has been done before, however I have been working to innovate utilizing microwaves to turn plastic into fuel.”
According to The Root, Brown has expanded on that work since that time, creating his own company, Naturejab, and proving his concept via fuel testing at ASAP Labs. As he told the outlet, he believes that the process of microwave pyrolysis could be used to turn something that is not biodegradable into a potentially high-value product that ultimately is a net positive for the environment.
“The very issue we have is the production of plastic,” Brown told The Root. “The reason why recycling hasn’t been done is because it hasn’t been profitable. But now, we are able to make a product of super high value out of something that otherwise is just seen as waste.”
While Brown raises a valid point about the lack of large-scale recycling, reporting from Inside Climate News notes that broader systemic issues—such as resistance from major plastic manufacturers to increased regulation—also contribute to the continued overproduction of plastics and the spread of “forever chemicals,” which often disproportionately impact Black and other communities of color.
As they reported in March, the use of pyrolysis is also not without its drawbacks. While it produces a cleaner burning fuel, it also is a process that adds to the pollutants in the atmosphere unless it is burned at an extremely high temperature.
A Waste Energy Corp. plant in Fayetteville, Arkansas, drew criticism for its potential use of pyrolysis in a low-income, minority neighborhood. The company later announced plans to relocate the project to an area already zoned for industrial use. Meanwhile, an April 2023 study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that converting plastic into fuel through pyrolysis can be more costly and have a greater environmental impact than using traditional fossil fuels or chemicals.
According to Judith Enck, a former regional director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the founder of Beyond Plastics, an environmental group, “The problem with pyrolysis is we should not be producing more fossil fuels. We need to be going in the opposite direction.”
Enck told Inside Climate News in 2024, “Using plastic waste as a feedstock for fossil fuels is doubling the damage to the environment because there are very negative environmental impacts from the production, disposal, and use of plastics.”
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