CO₂-removal News

Peer-reviewed Publications

Nature – Low et al. (2024): Public perceptions on carbon removal from focus groups in 22 countries

Sean Low, Livia Fritz, Chad M. Baum, Benjamin K. Sovacool IN: Nature Communications 15, 3453, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47853-w

Carbon removal is emerging as a pillar of governmental and industry commitments toward achieving Net Zero targets. Drawing from 44 focus groups in 22 countries, the authors map technical and societal issues that a representative sample of publics raise on five major types of carbon removal (forests, soils, direct air capture, enhanced weathering, and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage), and how these translate to preferences for governance actors, mechanisms, and rationales.

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Tumber-Dávila et al. (2024): Hurricanes pose a substantial risk to New England forest carbon stocks

Shersingh Joseph Tumber-Dávila, Taylor Lucey, Emery R. Boose, Danelle Laflower, Agustín León-Sáenz, Barry T. Wilson, Meghan Graham MacLean, Jonathan R. Thompson IN: Global Change Biology 30 (4), e17259, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17259

New England is one of the most heavily forested regions in the United States (>75% forested by land area), and forest carbon is a significant component of climate mitigation policies. This paper investigates to what extent large infrequent disturbances, such as hurricanes, are a major source of uncertainty and risk for policies relying on forest carbon for climate mitigation, especially as climate change is projected to alter the intensity and extent of hurricanes.

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Bach et al. (2024): Implementation of marine CO2 removal for climate mitigation: The challenges of additionality, predictability, and governability

Lennart T. Bach, Naomi E. Vaughan, Cliff S. Law, Phillip Williamson IN: Science of the Anthropocene 12 (1), 00034, https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2023.00034

The most widely considered mCDR methods are coastal blue carbon and seaweed farming that primarily depend on biological manipulations; ocean iron fertilisation, ocean alkalinity enhancement, and direct ocean capture that depend on chemical manipulations; and artificial upwelling that depends on physical manipulation of the ocean system. It is currently highly uncertain which, if any, of these approaches might be implemented at sufficient scale to make a meaningful contribution to net zero. In this paper a framework based on additionality, predictability, and governability to assess implementation challenges for these mCDR methods is derived.

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Buffi et al. (2024): Energy and GHG emissions assessment for biochar-enhanced advanced biofuels value chains

M. Buffi, O. Hurtig, M. Prussi, N. Scarlat, D. Chiaramonti IN: Energy Conversion and Management, 309, 118450, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2024.118450

The present study proposes an innovative approach, where carbon sequestration through biochar is obtained through the integration of slow pyrolysis with fast pyrolysis in decentralised biorefining systems, and then converted producing drop-in fuels from pyrolysis oil hydrotreating or gasification and Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis. The scope is either to achieve negative GHG emissions assigned to advanced biofuels, or to export the generated carbon credit for the carbon markets (i.e. outside the biofuels carbon intensity). The innovative concept entails process integration and optimisation for the different stages of biomass drying, conversion and upgrading into biofuels in a way to reduce fossil-based inputs, applying a full value chain approach. Methodological choices for the assumptions on life cycle emissions calculation are discussed, evaluating the environmental performances by comparing the new concept to traditional biofuels value chains. Using a tailored lifecycle accounting methodology, this paper demonstrates that high GHG emissions savings can be achieved. 

LINK

#
Reports

Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) 2024-2044: Technologies, Players, Carbon Credit Markets, and Forecasts

Eve Pope, ITTechEx Research, April 2024

This report provides a comprehensive outlook of the emerging CDR industry and carbon credit markets, with an in-depth analysis of the technological, economic, regulatory, and environmental aspects that are shaping this market. In it, IDTechEx focuses on technologies that actively draw CO₂ from the atmosphere and sequester it into carbon sinks, namely: Direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS), Biomass with carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) including approaches such as BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage), biochar, biomass burial, and bio-oil underground injection, Land-based CDR methods, i.e. afforestation and reforestation and soil carbon sequestration techniques, Mineralization NETs that enhance natural mineral processes and Ocean-based CDR methods.

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Iyer & Smith (2024): Impact of cement composition, brine concentration, diffusion rate, reaction rate and boundary condition on self-sealing predictions for cement-CO2 systems

Jaisree Iyer, Megan M. Smith IN: International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 134, 104126, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2024.104126

Here the authors examine the sensitivity of our model, describing CO2 leakage through wellbores, to cement composition, brine concentration, diffusion rates, and reaction rates. They also evaluate the impact of the boundary condition to allow comparisons between observations from experiments performed at constant flow rate and model predictions made at constant pressure conditions. The results show that diffusion and reactions rates have the most impact on the self-sealing criteria for cement-CO2 systems. 

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Yang et al. (2024): Sequestration of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in coastal ecosystems: Quantification, analysis, and planning

Dingding Yang, Yujia Qin, Yuanrui Xu, Kexin Xing, Yujie Chen, Xiaoping Jia, Kathleen B. Aviso, Raymond R. Tan , Bohong Wang IN: Sustainable Production and Consumption, 47, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2024.04.012

In this study, the Carbon Emission Pinch Analysis (CEPA) approach was applied to develop a method of comparing strategies for maximising CO2 sequestration while minimising the economic cost. The proposed method replaces the emission factors and carbon emissions in CEPA with the economic cost and carbon sequestration amount to better suit the objectives of this study. The proposed method was applied to a case study on the coastal areas of Hainan Island in China.

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Tiwari et al. (2024): Emerging bio-capture strategies for greenhouse gas reduction: Navigating challenges towards carbon neutrality

Tanmay Tiwari, Gun Anit Kaur, Pravin Kumar Singh, Sapna Balayan, Anshuman Mishra, Ashutosh Tiwari IN: Science of The Total Environment, 929, 172433, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172433

This review emphasizes the recent advancements in bio-capture techniques, showcasing them as dependable and economical solutions for carbon neutrality. The article briefly outlines various bio-capture methods and underscores their potential for industrial application. Moreover, it investigates into the challenges faced when integrating bio-capture with carbon capture and storage technology. The study concludes by exploring the recent trends and prospective enhancements in ecosystem revitalization and industrial decarbonization through green conversion techniques, reinforcing the path towards carbon neutrality.

LINK

#
Media

Removals are better than some reductions – The case of electrofuels for aviation

by Robert Höglund on Marginal Carbon, April 22, 2024

„In this post, we compare the costs of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) with the cost of the combination of continued use of fossil jet fuel (BAU) with Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS) to remove the carbon emitted in burning the fossil jet fuel. We analyze electrofuels, a form of synthetic jet fuel made with hydrogen and captured CO₂ from the atmosphere, and also compare the cost to various biofuels. „

LINK

#
Scientific Theses

PhD-thesis: Using Capacitive Deionization for Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide: Theory and Demonstration of the Bicarbonate-Enriched Alkalinity Concentration Swing

Andrew Bergman, Havard University, https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37377928

This thesis introduces a framework for a new solvent-based DAC approach, the bicarbonate-enriched alkalinity concentration swing (BE-ACS), and demonstrates how the two key steps of the BE-ACS cycle, bicarbonate selection and concentration, can be experimentally implemented using membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) technology. 

LINK

#