CO2-removal News

Peer-reviewed Publications

Cong et al. (2025): Long-term fate of photosynthetic carbon in desert plants: microbial necromass-driven pathways for soil carbon stabilization

Mengfei Cong, Zhihao Zhang, Yang Hu, Akash Tariq, Corina Graciano, Jordi Sardans, Weiqi Wang, Yanju Gao, Xinping Dong, Guangxing Zhao, Jingming Yan, Josep Peñuelas and Fanjiang Zeng, IN: New Phytologist, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.70768

As a core component of the terrestrial carbon (C) cycle, plant photosynthetic C assimilation regulates soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. However, the allocation patterns of photosynthetic C across different soil layers in desert ecosystems remain unclear. Through in situ field ¹³CO₂ pulse labeling applied to Alhagi sparsifolia, a keystone desert species, the authors traced photosynthetic C dynamics over 360 d. This included vertical translocation from plant aboveground to belowground systems (0–30, 30–60, 60–100, and 100–200 cm depths) and subsequent partitioning into SOC, soil microbial biomass (phospholipid fatty acid), microbial necromass (amino sugars), and plant residue (lignin phenols).

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Fogaren et al. (2025): Winter mixing controls carbon sequestration by the biological pump in the subpolar North Atlantic

Kristen E. Fogaren, Hilary Ilana Palevsky, Meg F. Yoder, David Nicholson, Jose M. Cuevas and Lucy Wanzer, IN: ESS Open Archive, https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.176460522.25112894/v1

Year-round, full water-column hydrodynamic and biogeochemical observations at the Ocean Observatories Initiative’s Irminger Sea Array provide a unique opportunity to examine drivers of ocean carbon sequestration via the biological carbon pump in a region with deep winter convection. The authors use daily-resolution oxygen and optical backscatter profiles to quantify carbon remineralization and large particles sinking throughout the water column from 2015 to 2022, during which deep winter convection ranged from 440-1430 dbar. The authors use calibrated oxygen time series to determine depth-resolved remineralization rates.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Jones et al. (2025): Evaluating the economic co-benefits of soil carbon sequestration: The test case of the UK

Philip Jones, Jacqueline Hannam and Chris Collins, IN: Land Use Policy, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2025.107839

There are no known valuations for ecosystem service flows from soil carbon for any country or region in the world. In this paper the authors make a first attempt to generate such data. The study aims were: develop a framework for acquiring international data for application to a specific region (UK); determine whether data limitations render it insufficient to inform the design of policies to encourage more C sequestration. Total ESS flows from existing soil carbon stock were estimated at £ 1140/ha, excluding food and feed.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Kim et al. (2025): Passive direct air capture via evaporative carbonate crystallization

Dongha Kim, Shijie Liu, Tevin Devasagayam, Rui Kai Miao, Jiheon Kim, Hyeon Seok Lee, Yuxuan Gao, Kevin Golovin, Todd Scheidt and David Sinton, IN: Nature Chemical Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1038/s44286-025-00308-5

Direct air capture of CO₂ is needed to mitigate past emissions and those of persistent and difficult-to-abate sources. Current liquid-sorbent-based direct air capture relies on large-scale air handling and coupled sorbent–solid chemical loops, but the complexity and cost of this approach are barriers to scaling. Here the authors report a departure from established capture mechanisms in which ultraconcentrated KOH solutions (>9 M) achieve rapid CO₂-to-carbonate crystallization at the air interface. On the basis of this finding, the authors develop a carbonate crystallizer that leverages evaporation to concentrate KOH on a wicking substrate, enabling the stable, passive capture of atmospheric CO₂ directly into a solid form.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Dong et al. (2025): Warm and wet anomalies persist across the Pan-Arctic after carbon dioxide removal

Xiao Dong, Chao Min, Hao Luo, Jiangbo Jin and He Zhang, IN: Environmental Research Letters, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae24f2

The pan-Arctic region is experiencing rapid climate change under global warming, with Arctic Amplification occurring at a rate 2–3 times faster than the global average. This study investigates the climate responses in the Pan-Arctic region under carbon dioxide removal (CDR) scenarios using nine CMIP6 models from the Carbon Dioxide Removal Model Intercomparison Project (CDRMIP).

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Han et al. (2025): Energy-efficient direct air capture combining an impeller-based scrubber and anion exchange membrane electrolysis

Sunghyeon Han, Jongmin Jin, Hui Song and Jong-In Han, IN: Chemical Engineering Journal, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.171186

Direct air capture (DAC) is a technology developed to remove carbon dioxide (CO₂) directly from the atmosphere. One of the most critical barriers to the commercialization of DAC is the high energy consumption. To address this rather fundamental and critical challenge, this study aims to develop an energy-efficient DAC system that integrates an exceptionally capable impeller-based scrubber for CO₂ absorption with a high-performing electrochemical cell for absorbent regeneration. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were employed to optimize the impeller design, and the results were experimentally validated. For the electrochemical cell, a strategy to minimize resistance and energy consumption was proposed. The integration of the impeller-based scrubber with the electrochemical cell enabled stable operation of the continuous process.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Rodríguez-Veiga et al. (2025): Loss of tropical moist broadleaf forest has turned Africa’s forests from a carbon sink into a source

Pedro Rodríguez-Veiga, Joao M. B. Carreiras, Shaun Quegan, Janne Heiskanen, Petri Pellikka, Hari Adhikari, Arnan Araza, Martin Herold, Oliver Cartus, Thomas Luke Smallman, Mathew Williams, Chukwuebuka J. Nwobi, Narumasa Tsutsumida, Casey M. Ryan, Thom Brade, Nezha Acil and Heiko Balzter, IN: Scientific Reports, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-27462-3

Africa’s forests and woody savannas have historically acted as a carbon sink, removing atmospheric carbon and storing it as biomass. However, the authors‘ novel analysis reveals a critical transition from a carbon sink to a carbon source between 2010 and 2017. Using new high-resolution satellite-derived biomass maps, validated with field plots and machine learning techniques, the authors quantified the aboveground biomass stocks across African biomes over a decade.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Eftekharian et al. (2025): Prediction of CO₂ capture performance of a direct air capture unit under representative atmospheric flow conditions using large eddy simulation

Esmaeel Eftekharian, Ali Kiani, Vassili Kitsios, Ashok K. Luhar, Paul Feron, Aaron W. Thornton, Kathryn M. Emmerson, IN: Carbon Capture Science and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccst.2025.100545

The authors develop a new numerical model that predicts the performance of DAC units under representative atmospheric flow conditions which captures the interaction between these units and the instantaneous flow fields. A new boundary condition for the CO₂ concentration associated with the CO₂-depleted exit plume was developed. This boundary condition dynamically calculates the time-varying fraction of CO₂ removed from the air (capture rate) and the total mass of CO₂ captured by the system per unit time (capture amount). The authors have also conducted experiments in a lab-scale DAC unit at different inlet air velocities.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Lu et al. (2025): Long distance migration assisted structural trapping during CO₂ storage in offshore basin

Jiang Lu, Nan Wu, Yanxin Lv, Xiaoyu Fang, Haibo Li, Yi Xin & Weiji Liu, IN: Scientific Reports, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-28680-5

Long-distance migration-assisted structural trapping represents an optimal configuration for offshore geological CO₂ storage. In this study, the trapping efficiency of CO₂ was quantitatively analyzed using CMG software, taking into account aqueous solubility and geochemical reactions. The investigation focused on CO₂ migration behavior, mineralogical changes, pH and porosity variations induced by geochemical processes, and their respective contributions to overall carbon storage.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Jia et al. (2025): Magnetic-Induced Swing Adsorption Using Fe₃O₄/SBA-15-PEI for Rapid and Energy-Efficient Direct Air Capture

Xiaohao Jia, Kyle Newport, Ali A. Rownaghi, Fateme Rezaei, IN: ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c15078

Direct air capture (DAC) represents a critical negative emission technology for mitigating rising atmospheric CO₂ levels. However, conventional DAC systems relying on temperature swing adsorption (TSA) often suffer from slow heating/cooling rates and high energy consumption. In this work, the authors developed Fe₃O₄/SBA-15-PEI, synthesized via co-precipitation and impregnation, and applied for the first time in magnetic-induced swing adsorption (MISA) under DAC conditions.

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