by Oliver Gordon on energymonitor.ai, January 12, 2024
„Energy Monitor talks to think tank RMI about its ground-breaking new research on carbon dioxide removal, laying out – for the first time anywhere – the status of all 32 known approaches to CDR.“
Lukas Rieder, Thorben Amann, Jens Hartmann IN: Frontiers in Climate 5, https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2023.1283107
To effectively monitor and verify carbon dioxide removal through enhanced weathering, this study investigates the use of soil electrical conductivity and volumetric water content as proxies for alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon in soil water.
Lin Wang, Junsan Zhao, Yilin Lin, Guoping Chen IN: Ecological Modelling 488, 110597, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2023.110597
Nature-based solutions (NbS) underscore a holistic approach centered around ecosystems to address challenges. Under the “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality „goal, the identification of core ecological carbon sequestration (ECS) areas within ecosystems lacks an effective grading model. Furthermore, the insufficient delineation of the relationship between carbon sink potential and economic development has impeded scientific planning and effective management. This study introduces an innovative hierarchical model for identifying ECS core areas, combined with an NbS framework.
Mark Workman, Richard Heap, Erik Mackie, Irena Connon IN: Frontiers in Climate 5, https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2023.1288001
Despite this mounting evidence and warnings, current climate policy in the UK and globally falls far short of achieving the required reductions in CO2 emissions or establishment of a new removal sector needed to stave off the risks posed by climate change. Why are the plethora of scientific evidence, assessments and decision support tools available to decision and policymakers not always translating into effective climate-net zero policy action? How can emergent evidence be introduced to shape new sectors such as CDR? What are the capacity gaps? Through a combination of literature review, interviews and UK policy workshops over 17 months these are some of the questions that this contribution sought insight.
Hai-Bo Jiang, David A. Hutchins, Hao-Ran Zhang, Yuan-Yuan Feng, Rui-Feng Zhang, Wei-Wei Sun, Wentao Ma, Yan Bai, Mark Wells, Ding He, Nianzhi Jiao, Yuntao Wang, Fei Chai IN: Earth-Science Reviews 249, 104675, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2024.104675
In the context of global climate change, ocean iron fertilization (OIF) has been suggested as a potential geoengineering strategy to enhance the growth of marine phytoplankton, subsequently promote the ocean carbon sink, and ultimately regulate atmospheric CO2 and mitigate climate change. However, in past artificial OIF experiments, the elevation of both net primary production and carbon export to the deep ocean is far less than anticipated. This discrepancy can be attributed to several key factors that strongly influence the efficiency of OIF and biological carbon pump (BCP) including iron bioavailability and retention time, the sensitivity of phytoplankton to iron limitation, the influence of viruses and other microorganisms comprising the microbial carbon pump (MCP), and non-biological carbon cycles. Although previous reviews have extensively summarized the outcomes of the past OIF experiments, the mechanisms and key factors that influence climate regulation mediated by OIF have not been elucidated. In this review, the authors analyze these mechanisms throughout the whole process from OIF, to phytoplankton physiological responses, to carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and sequestration in the ocean, and ultimately to CDR in the atmosphere and its impact on climate change.
Veerle Vandeginste, Carl Lim, Yukun Ji IN: Minerals 14(1), 75, https://doi.org/10.3390/min14010075
This exploratory review paper provides an overview of the fundamental mechanisms behind enhanced weathering, and outlines the techniques for its implementation. The environmental benefits of enhanced weathering are highlighted, including carbon dioxide removal, and improvement of soil fertility. Furthermore, potential impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity are examined, along with the effects on water, soil and air quality. The paper also considers the risks and challenges associated with large-scale implementation and long-term stability of enhanced weathering. Additionally, the integration of enhanced weathering with Sustainable Development Goals is explored, along with the potential co-benefits and trade-offs with other sustainability objectives.
Alina Brad, Tobias Haas, Etienne Schneider IN: Frontiers in Climate 5, https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2023.1268736
Net zero targets have rapidly become the guiding principle of climate policy, implying the use of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) to compensate for residual emissions. At the same time, the extent of (future) residual emissions and their distribution between economic sectors and activities has so far received little attention from a social science perspective. This constitutes a research gap as the distribution of residual emissions and corresponding amounts of required CDR is likely to become highly contested in the political economy of low-carbon transformation. Here, the authors investigate what function CDR performs from the perspective of sectors considered to account for a large proportion of future residual emissions (cement, steel, chemicals, and aviation) as well as the oil and gas industry in the EU. They also explore whether they claim residual emissions to be compensated for outside of the sector, whether they quantify these claims and how they justify them.
Sulaiman Abdullah, Yue Ma, Kai Wang, Shashank Subramanyam, Xiaohui Chen, Amirul Khan IN: Geomechanics and Geoengineering, https://doi.org/10.1080/17486025.2023.2292160
Many studies have proposed coupled constitutive models that can simulate such a complicated process; however, the coupling effect of multi-phase fluid flow and transport of chemical solutes in the liquid phase remains to be investigated. This study presents a multi-phase non-reactive hydro-mechanical-chemical constitutive framework under isothermal conditions based on mixture coupling theory. Non-equilibrium thermodynamics is used to generate an entropy production equation, and phenomenological equations use this to derive the chemical transport and interaction between two-phase fluid flows. This study proposes novel terms in the final governing equations.
Zhuoxi Chen, Shuo Han, Zhijie Dong, Hongbo Li, Aiping Zhang IN: GCB-Bioenergy, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.13116
Here, the life cycle assessment method was used to quantify the carbon footprint (CF) and net ecosystem economic benefits (NEEB) of paddy fields under different biochar and nitrogen fertilizer application rates in 7 years. Three biochar rates of 0 (B0), 4.5 (B1) and 13.5 t ha−1 year−1 (B2) and two nitrogen fertilizer rates of 0 (N0) and 300 kg ha−1 year−1 (N) were set.
Mateusz Wyrzykowski, Nikolajs Toropovs, Frank Winnefeld, Pietro Lura IN: Journal of Cleaner Production, 434, 140008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.140008
In this paper the authors present an alternative approach, in which biochar is first processed into lightweight aggregates in a cold-bonding process. To this end, biochar is pelletized together with water and a small amount of hydraulic binder forming round pellets that further harden with hydration. In this way, carbon-rich lightweight aggregates (C-LWA) are obtained that are easier to handle than the original biochar. The C-LWA pellets have similar porosity and strength as conventional LWA and can be used for similar applications. Yet, the CO2 emissions from sintering traditional LWA are avoided and the C-LWA are instead an effective C-sink. the authors demonstrate that it is possible to incorporate in the pellets and eventually in the concrete a sufficient amount of carbon to compensate for the original emissions of concrete
