by Mead Gruver on phys.org
„Geologist Fred McLaughlin drills nearly two miles (3.2 kilometers) into the ground of northeastern Wyoming, far deeper than the thick coal seams that make this the top coal-mining region in the United States. McLaughlin and his University of Wyoming colleagues are studying whether tiny spaces in rock deep underground can permanently store vast volumes of greenhouse gas emitted by a coal-fired power plant.“
Rebecca Harris Sullivan, Elaine Hsieh on third-derivative.org
Third Derivative (D3) announces new Cohorts 22-2 and 22-3. Alongside a general cohort (22-2) comprising 29 promising climate tech startups, D3 introduces first focused cohort of 5 additional startups (22-3) zeroing in on carbon dioxide removal (CDR).
Heather Cooper, Carl J. Fleming, Parker A. Lee, Denmon Sigler on mwe.com
On July 27, 2022, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator and Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced an agreement on a proposed reconciliation package called the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, HR 5376, 117th Cong. (Act). The included tax credits and benefits related to CCUS projects represent some of the most notable and impactful aspects of the proposed Act. They include (1) an increase in tax credit value to $85 per ton; (2) an added tax credit value for direct air capture (DAC); (3) a decrease in the size (emissions eligibility thresholds) of qualifying projects and (4) a 45Q tax credit through direct pay.
Yongfei Bai and M. Francesca Cotrufo IN: Science, Vol 377, Issue 6606, pp. 603-608; DOI: 10.1126/science.abo2380
Recent studies show that plant diversity increases soil organic carbon (SOC) storage by elevating carbon inputs to belowground biomass and promoting microbial necromass contribution to SOC storage. Improved grazing management and biodiversity restoration can provide low-cost and/or high-carbon-gain options for natural climate solutions in global grasslands. The achievable SOC sequestration potential in global grasslands is 2.3 to 7.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year (CO2e year−1) for biodiversity restoration, 148 to 699 megatons of CO2e year−1 for improved grazing management, and 147 megatons of CO2e year−1 for sown legumes in pasturelands.
Position on soil modelling at University of Hamburg, Department of Earth System Sciences, Institute of Soil Science (fixed contract until 31.08.2025; 65 % of standard work hours per week): The Project aims to investigate the potential of enhanced weathering in combination with biochar application (PyMiCCs products) for the incorporation and stabilization of carbon in arable soils, and to evaluate the consequent potential as a CCS technology for climate-change mitigation. The project combines laboratory, green house and field experiments with process-based numerical modelling and agro economic potential analyses. The PyMiCCs project is a collaborative research program at Universität Hamburg, Geisenheim University, ithaka institute and PIK Potsdam.
The Global CO2 Initiative seeks support for techno-economic (TEA) and life cycle assessments (LCA) for carbon dioxide capture and utilization (CCU). Ideal candidates will have experience in handling both techno-economic and life-cycle assessments. The successful candidate will be embedded into the existing TEA & LCA team tasked with providing TEA & LCA studies as a specialized service to external partners and clients. Full-Time; University of Michigan, Department of Mechanical Engineering.
William J. Knapp and Edward T. Tipper IN: Frontiers in Climate, Sec. Negative Emission Technologies, https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2022.928215
Difference in calcite solubility between soils (where weathering occurs) and rivers (where HCO−3 is transported) may lead to large amounts of secondary carbonate formation during transport, releasing the CO2 consumed through dissolution. Here, the authors present a modeling study comparing the estimated soil dissolution capacity (SDC) in 149 of Earth’s largest river basins, to the potential transport capacity of carbon (PTCC) in corresponding rivers. They find the SDC can only be exported to the oceans, without secondary carbonate precipitation, if rivers are in disequilibrium with respect to calcite (i.e., SIc = 1).
The LC3M are expanding their enhanced weathering research with large-scale UK field trials, public engagement and knowledge transfer and building links with other carbon sequestration programmes, as listed here.
Tue, August 16, 2022; 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT by OpenAir
This week on This Is CDR, the InterEarth Founders Howard Carr and Simon Avenell will talk about the company’s novel method of CDR via sustainably cultivating native wood biomass and securely burying it in saline aquifers on degraded lands in Western Australia.
Thorben Amann, Jens Hartmann, Roland Hellmann, Elisabete Trindade Pedrosa, Aman Malik IN: Frontiers in Climate, Sec. Negative Emission Technologies, https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2022.929268
To elucidate the effects of grain size distribution and soil partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) levels on CO2 uptake rates, two simple column experiments were designed and filled nearly daily with an amount of water that simulates humid tropical conditions, which prevail in areas known for being hotspots of weathering. Multiple materials (dunite, basanite, agricultural oxisol, a combination of the latter two, and loess) were compared under ambient and 100% CO2 atmosphere. In a second series, single material columns (dunite) were filled with three different grain size distributions. Total alkalinity, pH, major ions, and dissolved silica were determined in the outflow water of the columns for about 300 days.
