Month: June 2023

Ali et al. (2023): Use of Biochar for Biological Carbon Sequestration

Mazhar Ali, Hafiz Muhammad Rashad Javeed, Maham Tariq, Aqsa Abbas Khan, Rafi Qamar, Fahim Nawaz, Nasir Masood, Allah Ditta, Touqeer Abbas, Muhammad Shahid Ibni Zamir, Ayman E. L. Sabagh, Muhammad Shahzad, Rimsha Naeem, Muhammad Mubeen IN: Jatoi, W.N., Mubeen, M., Hashmi, M.Z., Ali, S., Fahad, S., Mahmood, K. (eds) Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26692-8_23

Biochar is used as an alternative organic source for the improvement of soil fertility, for the mitigation of GHGs associated with agriculture, and for the restoration of degraded land in developing countries. BC can persist into soil for many years because it contains larger proportion of condensed aromatic C, and under specific conditions it can sequester carbon for many hundreds of years. Therefore, improving soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration is essential for preserving crop productivity and soil health, reducing climate change, and enhancing agricultural sustainability

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This is CDR: Residual Emissions and the Climate Role of CDR

Tuesday, July 25 · 6 – 7pm CEST

This Is CDR is an online event series that explores the wide range of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) solutions currently being researched, developed, and deployed, and discusses them in the context of CDR policies OpenAir seeks to formulate and advance at every level of government in the U.S., as well as in national and subnational jurisdictions globally. This week Dr. Holly Jean Buck will discuss her recent paper (with colleagues) “Why Residual Emissions Matter Right Now,” and the implications of this work on the climate role of CDR.

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Knapp et al. (2023): Quantifying CO2 Removal at Enhanced Weathering Sites: a Multiproxy Approach

William J. Knapp, Emily I. Stevenson, Phil Renforth, Philippa L. Ascough, Alasdair C. G. Knight, Luke Bridgestock, Michael J. Bickle, Yongjie Lin, Alex L. Riley, William M. Mayes, Edward T. Tipper IN: Environ. Sci. Technol., https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c03757

Tha authors studied a CO2 mineralization site in Consett, Co. Durham, UK, where steel slags have been weathered in a landscaped deposit for over 40 years. The authors provide new radiocarbon, δ13C, 87Sr/86Sr, and major element data in waters, calcite precipitates, and soils to quantify the rate of carbon removal. They demonstrate that measuring the radiocarbon activity of CaCO3 deposited in waters draining the slag deposit provides a robust constraint on the carbon source being sequestered (80% from the atmosphere, 2σ = 8%) and use downstream alkalinity measurements to determine the proportion of carbon exported to the ocean.

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Chowdhury et al. (2023): A Review on the Recent Scientific and Commercial Progress on the Direct Air Capture Technology to Manage Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations and Future Perspectives

Satyajit Chowdhury, Yogendra Kumar, Saket Shrivastava, Shrey K. Patel, Jitendra S. Sangwai IN: Energy Fuels, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.2c03971

This review article discusses the various DAC technologies used by the companies, future potential, life cycle assessment, as well as the economic viability of worldwide installation of these facilities. The paper provides details on the application of various sorbents including nanomaterials for current advances in DAC. Lastly, the outlook and perspectives are also presented with the concluding remarks.

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Webinar: Nori’s Carbon Removal Blended Tonne Whitepaper

Thursday, June 29 · 7 – 8pm CEST

Wil Burns, Co-Director of The Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy host the next event in its webinar series: “Scrubbing the Skies: The Role of Carbon Dioxide Removal in Combating Climate Change.” The series focuses on scientific, technological, legal, political, and justice-focused issues associated with CDR, and is of the Institute. Nature-based carbon removal is available today at a low cost but has durability challenges. At the same time, permanent CO2 removal is nascent and higher cost. A new whitepaper by Nori proposes a ‘blended tonne’ approach that it argues would wed the strengths of both options —immediacy and durability — to offer a net-zero solution. This webinar will feature two of the architects of this proposal to discuss both the rationale for this proposal, as well as technical and governance considerations for operationalization.

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Bregnhøj et al. (2023): Carbon Dioxide Sequestration by Triboelectric Charging of Tumbling Quartz Sand

Mikkel Bregnhøj, Svend J. Knak Jensen, Kris Strunge, Anders Bodholt Nielsen, Jan Thøgersen, Per Nørnberg, Jørgen Skibsted, Kai Finster IN: J. Phys. Chem. C, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.3c02008

Mechanical activation (i.e., tumbling) of quartz sand in a carbon dioxide (CO2) atmosphere leads to triboelectric charging of the sand grains, driving a process that ultimately sequesters and removes CO2 from the ambient atmosphere. The prospect of using this method to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and, ultimately, to help mitigate the adverse effects of greenhouse gases and global warming is briefly discussed.

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PhD-Thesis: A Review of the Social and Justice-Related Implications of Direct Air Capture Deployment at Scale

Adam Green, University of Pennsylvania, 2023

This research review the hazards of DAC deployment, or the lack thereof, in order to successfully integrate environmental justice considerations into its deployment. Previous publications and the current political climate will be reviewed as it pertains to DAC, and overall considerations and recommendations for environmental justice mapping and policy will be presented based on analysis of the literature.

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