CO2-removal News

Peer-reviewed Publications

Qiu et al. (2026): Harnessing cover crop–rock weathering synergies for climate-smart agriculture

Tianyi Qiu, Jay Ram Lamichhane, David J. Beerling et al., IN: Trends in Plant Science, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2026.07.012

The use of cover crops (CCs) is increasingly promoted to diversify cropping systems and advance agricultural sustainability. Yet, CC adoption can involve context-dependent trade-offs, including resource competition and elevated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this opinion article, the authors propose enhanced rock weathering (ERW) as a complementary strategy to improve biogeochemical synchrony within CC systems. By synthesizing emerging evidence, they show how CC–ERW interactions can synergistically enhance carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, GHG mitigation, and soil food-web functioning, mainly via root-driven weathering processes and soil feedbacks.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Yu et al. (2026): Climate benefit and ecological cost trade-offs for ocean iron fertilization

Jun Yu, J. Keith Moore, Francois W. Primeau, Anthony F. Michaels, Amy G. Nuno, Kristen M. Krumhardt, Michael N. Levy, Keith Lindsay, Hui Wang, James T. Randerson and Adam C. Martiny, IN: Nature, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10795-y

Ocean iron fertilization (OIF) is being discussed as a potential carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategy. Yet the trade-offs between climate benefits and ecological costs remain poorly understood. Here the authors use a process-rich ocean biogeochemical model with validated representations of marine biodiversity and biogeochemistry to quantify fertilization potential and ecosystem impact across ten ocean biomes over 60 years.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Raven et al. (2026): Ideas and perspectives: Max MACS – constraining the potential global scale of Marine Anoxic Carbon Storage for CO₂ removal

Morgan Reed Raven, Nitai Amiel, Dror L. Angel, James P. Barry, et al., IN: Biogeosciences, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-3755-2026

Marine Anoxic Carbon Storage (MACS) is a potential strategy for enhancing atmospheric CO₂ removal (CDR) by sequestering organic carbon produced by terrestrial plants in stable, anoxic marine reservoirs. Initial results suggest that MACS could, in theory, operate at the gigatonne scale that would be required to impact global climate, with limited environmental risk and promising opportunities for co-benefits. However, several outstanding knowledge gaps make it challenging to quantify the actual potential global scale of MACS with confidence. To inform decisions about climate mitigation and trade-offs in the future, it is essential that the authors know how MACS implementation at scale would impact critical environmental and economic systems in the context of likely future scenarios. Building on the results of a workshop in Bucharest, Romania in 2025, the authors discuss the potential impacts of MACS activities on the ecology, biogeochemistry, economy, and community around the Black Sea, seafloor brines, and other anoxic marine sites.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Essalhi et al. (2026): Amine-Functionalized Covalent Organic Framework for Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide

Mohamed Essalhi, Rawan A. Al Qahtani, Aasif Helal, Mona S. Otaibi, Ammar H. Alahmed, Zain H. Yamani, Islam M. A. Mekhemer and Mahmoud M. Abdelnaby, IN: Energy & Fuels, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.6c00750

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are promising materials for CO₂ capture due to their tunable porosity and chemical versatility. Herein, the authors report the postsynthetic functionalization of vinylene-linked V-COF-1 with tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (TAEA), yielding an amine-appended framework (V-COF-tris) with enhanced CO₂ affinity.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Jain et al. (2026): From Carbon Sinks to Biofactories: Next-Generation Microalgae Platforms for Sustainable Climate Mitigation

Kopal Jain, Kapila Kumar, Shashi Kumar and Prachi Nawkarkar, IN: Carbon Capture Science & Technology, https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-026-01196-0

Despite the ability of traditional carbon capture methods, such as adsorption and absorption, to attain elevated CO₂ capture efficiencies (> 90%), their extensive implementation is constrained by significant energy demands and operational expenditures. Characteristics like enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and potential to effectively fix carbon, makes microalgae an appealing solution for reducing climate change. CO₂ concentrating mechanism (CCM) is the main mechanism through which carbon fixation occurs in microalgae. This review article discusses synthetic biology approaches for increasing carbon capture like overexpression of RuBisCO, modification of CCM enzymes, alteration of associated metabolic pathways or introducing other alternative carbon capture pathways into microalgae. The possibility of scaling-up these systems for industrial use is assessed, taking into account both financial and technological obstacles. Researchers are also focusing on the sustainable production of value-added products from microalgal biomass, contributing to carbon capture and utilisation (CCU). This article provides a detailed explanation of the production of biofuels, bioplastics, etc. from the microalgal biomass.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Lee et al. (2026): Quantitative estimation on carbon sequestration potential of agricultural by-products biochar using chemical oxidation

Eun-Ji Lee, Won-Gune Jeong, Ga-Been Lee and Kitae Baek, IN: Bioresource Technology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2026.135464

To accurately evaluate biochar’s carbon sequestration potential, it is essential to quantify the unstable carbon in biochar that soil microbes can mineralize. Chemical oxidation has been used in most studies as a rapid method to estimate the unstable carbon in biochar. However, it remains unclear whether the unstable carbon fraction obtained by chemical oxidation corresponds to the mineralized carbon in soil. This study aimed to establish a chemical oxidation method that matches the chemically oxidized carbon to the fraction mineralized in soil, thereby enabling an accurate assessment of the carbon sequestration potential of biochar. By comparing oxidants and doses, the chemical oxidation method was optimized, and a condition of 30 mmol K₂Cr₂O₇/30 mmol H₂SO₄/g biochar was proposed.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Malakar et al. (2026): Stories of soil and sea: Comparing narratives of land- and marine-based carbon dioxide removal for responsible deployment

Yuwan Malakar, Kerryn Brent, Talia Jeanneret, Rod McCrea, John Gardner and Andrew Lenton, IN: Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2026.104851

Large-scale removal and storage of atmospheric CO₂ in land and ocean sinks is essential to meet Paris Agreement temperature goals, yet empirical evidence on how novel carbon dioxide removal (CDR) should be deployed responsibly remains limited. Using Australia as a case study, the authors provide one of the first empirical comparisons of stakeholder expectations for the responsible deployment of marine- and land-based CDR, comparing ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) and mineral carbonation (MC) to identify where governance priorities converge and where they diverge. Guided by responsible innovation and using Q methodology, they combined two rounds of interviews with a quantitative ranking exercise involving stakeholders across three Australian states.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Lei et al. (2026): Enhanced Rock Weathering Affects Formation of Mineral-Associated Organic Carbon in Soil

Kaiyu Lei, Pedro P. C. Teixeira, Christopher Just, Franz Buegger, Ingrid Kögel-Knabner and Franziska B. Bucka, IN: Environmental Science & Technology Letters, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.6c00633

Enhanced silicate rock weathering (ERW) is increasingly considered for climate mitigation through inorganic carbon (IC) formation, yet its effects on soil organic carbon (OC) turnover remain poorly constrained and mechanistically unresolved. The authors investigated how the basalt weathering state influences mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) in a 6 month microcosm incubation of a slightly acidic Cambisol. Fresh basalt (olivine-rich) and naturally weathered basalt (olivine-depleted and phyllosilicate-enriched) were applied, and ¹³C-labeled straw was used to trace the incorporation of plant-derived C into MAOM.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Guendelman et al. (2026): The role of atmospheric fast adjustment in the distinct precipitation response between increase and decrease of CO₂ concentrations

Ilai Guendelman, Ivan Mitevski and Gabriel Vecchi, IN: npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-026-01488-4

Apparent hydrological sensitivity, the change in global-mean precipitation per degree of surface warming, is an important metric of the climate response to radiative forcing. While previous studies have suggested that hydrological sensitivity is approximately constant with increasing CO₂ concentrations, here the authors show that this behavior does not hold when comparing increases and decreases of CO₂ concentrations.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

An et al. (2026): Synergistic enhancement of direct air capture by dual-amine functionalized γ-Al₂O₃ and high gravity adsorption in a rotating adsorption bed

Keju An, Dylan Wald, Kejun Chen and Ryan King, IN: Separation and Purification Technology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2026.132720

Direct air capture (DAC) is fundamentally constrained by the extremely low concentration of atmospheric CO₂, which leads to slow adsorption kinetics and poor utilization of adsorption sites. While considerable efforts have been devoted to developing high-capacity amine sorbents, the role of process intensification in overcoming mass-transfer limitations remains insufficiently explored. In this work, a dual-amine PEI-TEPA functionalized γ-Al₂O₃ adsorbent was coupled with a rotating adsorption bed (RAB) to simultaneously optimize sorbent properties and gas–solid mass transfer for DAC applications.

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