Kategorie: Peer-reviewed Publications

Peer-reviewed Publications

Hegarty et al. (2026): Structure–Property Relationships for Moisture-Swing Direct Air Capture

John Hegarty, Michael L. Barsoum, Megan Burrill, Cayden Shen, Omar K. Farha, Sossina M. Haile, Vinayak P. Dravid, IN: Environmental Science & Technology, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c16820

Efficient, low-cost atmospheric CO₂ capture is essential for scaling negative-emission technologies. Moisture-swing carbon capture─which adsorbs CO₂ from dry air and releases it under humid conditions─offers a low-energy alternative, yet the structure–property relationships governing its performance remain underexplored. Here, the authors systematically investigate humidity-driven capture on strong-base ion-exchange resins (IERs), varying polymer backbones (acrylic vs styrenic), ammonium functionality (Type I vs Type II), pore architecture (gel-type vs macroporous), and counteranion (dibasic phosphate vs carbonate) across 10 commercial resins. Thermodynamic and kinetic behaviors were assessed via closed-loop cycling with ambient CO₂ at 20–70% RH. Morphological and chemical properties were characterized by SEM/EDS, N₂ sorption, NMR cryoporometry, and solid-state NMR and FTIR spectroscopies.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Vienne et al. (2026): Weathering without realizing inorganic CO₂ removal revealed through base cation monitoring

Arthur Vienne, Patrick Frings, Jet Rijnders, Lucilla Boito, Jens Hartmann, Harun Niron, Reinaldy Poetra, Miguel Portillo Estrada, Tom Reershemius, Laura Steinwidder, Tim Jesper Suhrhoff, and Sara Vicca, IN: SOIL, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-12-421-2026

Enhanced Weathering using basalt rock dust is a scalable carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technique, but quantifying rock weathering and CDR rates poses a critical challenge. Here, the authors investigated realized inorganic CO₂ removal (defined as the sum of the change in dissolved inorganic C leaching and in neoformed solid inorganic C) and weathering rates by treating mesocosms planted with maize with basalt (0, 10, 30, 50, 75, 100, 150 and 200 t ha−1) and monitoring them for 101 d. They observed no significant realized inorganic CO₂ removal, as leaching of dissolved inorganic carbon did not increase and soil carbonate content declined over time. To gain insights into the weathering processes, they traced the fate of base cations in the soil and plants.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Gomez et al. (2026): Algae and cyanobacteria as agents for carbon dioxide removal: production of long-term carbon compounds

Eduardo Gorron Gomez, Kim J. Lee Chang, Matthew C. Taylor, Dion M.F. Frampton, IN: Carbon Capture Science & Technology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccst.2026.100610

Among the potential options for greenhouse gas reductions, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) mediated by photosynthetic algae and cyanobacteria (collectively termed “algae”) is worthy of consideration. These organisms have properties that enable alternative thinking to the canonical processes of biological carbon cycling and sequestration: they can be microscopic, unicellular, vegetative, transformable, capable of taking up and converting CO₂ and producing long-term carbon compounds. Algae are the primary producers of a variety of precursor and end-point compounds that can be classified as long-term and useful for permanent carbon capture, including inorganic carbonates and organic molecules such as dinosporin, RDOM, and algaenan, with algaenan perhaps being the foremost among these for CDR purposes. In this review, the authors explore algal-derived long-term carbon compounds with potential for CDR purposes. Considered to be a major contributor to type I kerogen via the process of selective preservation, algaenan is a complex polymer found in the cell walls of a limited number of algal species that has biosynthetic similarities to that of cutin and suberin in some higher plants. Studies concerning the structure and characterisation of algaenan and potential precursor compounds, including hydroxy fatty acids, long-chain alkenols, and long-chain alkyl diols, have had challenges related to the complexity of the chemistry involved, historical methodological inconsistencies, and misleading findings due to the generation of methodological artefacts, yet their algal origin is undeniable.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Belkin et al. (2026): Introducing Microalgae Carbon Fixation and Sinking (MCFS): a new approach for controlled and scalable CDR

Natalia Belkin, Josh Steinberg, Amit Grossman, Michal Grossowicz, Sapir Markus-Alford, IN: EarthArXiv, https://eartharxiv.org/repository/object/12519/

Achieving global climate targets requires scalable and durable carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies to tackle both historical and hard-to- abate emissions. The authors introduce Microalgae Carbon Fixation and Sinking (MCFS), a marine CDR methodology designed to enhance carbon fixation and export to the deep ocean through a controlled process. At the core of the MCFS approach is a tailored substrate: a non-toxic organic and / or inorganic structure containing bound stable micronutrients that promotes local phytoplankton growth within it. It is designed for a dual-phase lifecycle: a fixation phase, allowing a sufficiently long duration of floating to maximize biomass accumulation (up to 30 days), followed by rapid sinking, which minimizes remineralization in the water column (hours- days to reach seabed). The MCFS methodology operates within a governance framework that includes site selection of physically and biochemically advantageous regions that ensure carbon sequestration durability of hundreds to thousands of years. To address potential ecological risks a threshold-based approach is adapted, consisting of detailed activity design and pulsed deployments. Monitoring protocols are applied before, during and after each activity. MCFS offers a controlled and scalable pathway to harness the ocean’s sequestration capacity while maintaining the activities well within ecological safety and integrity measures.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Bernecker & Müsgens (2026): Direct Air Capture in Europe – Where to Integrate, Where to Store, and What Drives Cost?

Maximilian Bernecker and Felix Müsgens, IN: arXiv, https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2604.05990

Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS) can mitigate hard-to-abate emissions, e.g. from transport or industry. However, there is a wide variety of cost estimates for DACCS, driven, to a significant extent, by differences in electricity cost. At the same time, there is a notable gap in research that integrates direct air capturing systems into long-term energy system models. They separate direct air capturing, carbon transport, and carbon storage and integrate them into a European capacity expansion model for a fully decarbonised electricity system in 2050. They explore how two dimensions affect the total system costs of DACCS. The first dimension is the availability of CO₂ storage locations: In one analysis, storage locations are restricted to offshore storage locations in the North Sea only, i.e. depleted natural gas fields. The alternative analysis comprises suitable storage locations distributed across Europe, including onshore.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Rineau et al. (2026): Enhanced weathering leads to substantial C accrual on crop macrocosms

Francois Rineau, Alexander H. Frank, Jannis Groh, Kristof Grosjean, Arnaud Legout, Daniil I. Kolokolov, Michel Mench, Maria Moreno-Druet, Benoît Pollier, Virmantas Povilaitis, Johanna Pausch, Thomas Puetz, Tjalling Rooks, Peter Schröder, Wieslaw Szulc, Beata Rutkowska, Xander Swinnen, Sofie Thijs, Harry Vereecken, Janna V. Veselovskaya, Mwahija Zubery, Renaldas Žydelis, and Evelin Loit, IN: Biogeosciences, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-2261-2026

Enhanced weathering (EW) is proposed as a key strategy for climate change mitigation and carbon dioxide removal technology. Dissolution of silicate minerals enhances the alkalinity of the pore water, resulting at a shift of the carbonate system towards carbonate and bicarbonate, leading to higher dissolved inorganic carbon when the water is equilibrated with the atmosphere. Here, the authors evaluated the effects of EW on a crop ecosystem under future climate change conditions within a macro-scale ecotron – an enclosed facility enabling complete quantification of carbon fluxes among the atmosphere, vegetation, soil, and leachates. They monitored all greenhouse gases in deep mesocosms representative of marginal soil conditions and, after liming and fertilization, applied 10 t ha−1 of basalt at the start of the experiment.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Ma et al. (2026): Enhanced Rock Weathering Increases Soil Carbon but Reduces Soil Organic Carbon Stability in Subtropical Croplands

Lei Ma, Manyi Li, Hualian Zhang, Zheng Mao, Shuqing Zhang, Chen Wang, Cheng Li, Shiwei Liu and Pujia Yu, IN: Agriculture, https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16030338

Enhanced rock weathering is regarded as a promising carbon dioxide removal method because of its potential to sequester soil inorganic carbon (SIC). However, the influence of enhanced rock weathering on changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) content, fractions and stability remains poorly understood. A randomized block experiment design employing five basalt addition rates (0 (CK), 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 kg·m⁻²) and four replicates was designed to investigate the influences of basalt addition on SOC and SIC content and stocks, SOC fractions and SOC stability in subtropical cropland, where Zea mays L. and Brassica juncea (L.) Czern were annually rotated. Soil samples were collected from depths of 0–15 cm and 15–30 cm one year after the addition of basalt.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Rineau et al. (2026): Enhanced weathering leads to substantial C accrual on crop macrocosms

Francois Rineau, Alexander H. Frank, Jannis Groh, Kristof Grosjean, Arnaud Legout, Daniil I. Kolokolov, Michel Mench, Maria Moreno-Druet, Benoît Pollier, Virmantas Povilaitis, Johanna Pausch, Thomas Puetz, Tjalling Rooks, Peter Schröder, Wieslaw Szulc, Beata Rutkowska, Xander Swinnen, Sofie Thijs, Harry Vereecken, Janna V. Veselovskaya, Mwahija Zubery, Renaldas Žydelis and Evelin Loit, IN: Biogeosciences, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-2261-2026

Enhanced weathering (EW) is proposed as a key strategy for climate change mitigation and carbon dioxide removal technology. Dissolution of silicate minerals enhances the alkalinity of the pore water, resulting at a shift of the carbonate system towards carbonate and bicarbonate, leading to higher dissolved inorganic carbon when the water is equilibrated with the atmosphere. Here, the authors evaluated the effects of EW on a crop ecosystem under future climate change conditions within a macro-scale ecotron – an enclosed facility enabling complete quantification of carbon fluxes among the atmosphere, vegetation, soil, and leachates.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Bernecker & Müsgens (2026): Direct Air Capture in Europe – Where to Integrate, Where to Store, and What Drives Cost?

Maximilian Bernecker and Felix Müsgens, IN: arXiv, https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2604.05990

Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS) can mitigate hard-to-abate emissions, e.g. from transport or industry. However, there is a wide variety of cost estimates for DACCS, driven, to a significant extent, by differences in electricity cost. At the same time, there is a notable gap in research that integrates direct air capturing systems into long-term energy system models. The authors separate direct air capturing, carbon transport, and carbon storage and integrate them into a European capacity expansion model for a fully decarbonised electricity system in 2050. The authors explore how two dimensions affect the total system costs of DACCS. The first dimension is the availability of CO₂ storage locations: In one analysis, storage locations are restricted to offshore storage locations in the North Sea only, i.e. depleted natural gas fields. The alternative analysis comprises suitable storage locations distributed across Europe, including onshore.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Su et al. (2026): Species richness increases vegetation carbon sequestration but decreases soil carbon storage in temperate grasslands of China

Yingjia Su, Junyu Pu, Jing Huang et al., IN: Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2026.110417

Biodiversity is fundamental to sustaining ecosystem functions and regulating carbon storage, yet the mechanisms by which species richness influences carbon density across different vegetation fractions and soil carbon components remain poorly understood. Here, using a diversity simulation platform comprising four dominant forage species (Leymus chinensis, Elymus dahuricus, Festuca rubra, and Poa pratensis) in the steppe of northern China, the authors examined changes in vegetation and soil carbon densities under varying levels of species richness during the second growing season.

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