CO₂-removal News

Podcasts

Plan Sea: Ocean Interventions to Address Climate Change

podcast by Wil Burns & Anna Medlener (Institute for Carbon Removal Law & Policy, American University), 1h 8min

Episode 10: Mike Kelland, CEO and co-founder of Planetary Technologies, an ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) startup from Canada, joins Plan Sea on this new episode. Mike, Anna and Wil discuss the basics, science and challenges surrounding ocean alkalinity enhancement. The better part of this episode focuses on the most recent challenges of Planetary around their community engagement and their first planned pilot site in Cornwall, UK. Mike shares learnings, insights and future outlook on the research needed for OAE to reduce uncertainties.

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New Publications

Choi et al. (2023): Electrochemical direct CO2 capture technology using redox-active organic molecules to achieve carbon-neutrality

Gwan Hyun Choi, Hyun Jun Song, Seolhwa Lee, Jeong Yoon Kim, Myoung-Woon Moon, Pil J. Yoo IN: Nano Energy 112, 108512, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2023.108512

An alternative approach is electrochemical direct carbon capture (EDCC), which allows for the capture of CO2 from diluted sources such as direct air capture (DAC) or direct ocean capture (DOC), ultimately resulting in net-zero carbon emissions. In this review, the authors discuss recent advancements in EDCC technology and their potential for future applications, especially using organic active materials. They provide an overview of the fundamentals of EDCC and practical strategies for demonstrating an EDCC system, including molecular design, electrolyte selection, and device configuration. The authors also delve into design strategies for potential redox-active organic sorbents, with a particular emphasis on understanding currently utilized material candidates from other electrochemical applications and density functional theory (DFT) calculation-guided material selection in the design principle of EDCC.

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New Publications

Kamini et al. (2023): Biochar in cementitious material – A review on physical, chemical, mechanical, and durability properties

Pravina Kamini G., Kong Fah Tee, Jolius Gimbun, Siew Choo Chin IN: AIMS Materials Science 10, 3,  doi: 10.3934/matersci.2023022

The objective of this paper is to review the potential of biochar as a cementitious material by evaluating its physical, chemical, mechanical, and durability properties. Using biochar as a cementitious material makes it possible to conclude that cement production will be reduced over time by partial replacement, which will also promote and encourage sustainable development in the future.

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Events

Boosting innovation and investments through carbon pricing

22 June 2023, 14:00 -15:30 CEST, session at European Sustainable Energy Week 2023

Organised by the European Commission, the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) is the biggest annual event dedicated to renewables and efficient energy use in Europe. This year’s 17th edition of EUSEW takes place in a hybrid format, with both participants and speakers able to attend online and onsite, under the theme: ‘Accelerating the clean energy transition – towards lower bills and greater skills’. On 22 June at 14:00, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action is organising a session called Boosting innovation and investments through carbon pricing. It will be discussed how the strengthened Innovation Fund and Modernisation Fund, all financed with the revenues of the EU Emissions Trading System, complement each other in financing the low-carbon transition.

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New Publications

Jiang et al. (2023): Response of ocean acidification to atmospheric carbon dioxide removal

Jiu Jiang, Long Cao, Xiaoyu Jin, Zechen Yu, Han Zhang, Jianjie Fu, Guibin Jiang IN: Journal of Environmental Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2023.04.029

Here the authors use an Earth system model to examine the response of ocean acidification to idealized atmospheric CO2 removal scenarios. In the simulations, atmospheric CO2 is assumed to increase at a rate of 1% per year to four times its pre-industrial value and then decreases to the pre-industrial level at a rate of 0.5%, 1%, 2% per year, respectively.

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New Publications

Singh & Nayak (2023): Complications in drilling operations in basalt for CO2 sequestration: An overview

Rahul Kumar Singh, Nirlipta Priyadarshini Nayak IN: Materialstoday: proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2023.04.441

The review article addresses the functional impediments of drilling in basaltic formation for CO2 storage.  Basaltic sequence storage is the most safe as it stores the CO2 as solid part of the formation (gaseous CO2 converts to solid CO2 in form pf carbonates) itself and is an fast process as almost all of the injected CO2 is reported to be stored permanently within two to three years. Basaltic sequences are also advantageous due to their non-commercial value with a drawback of its hardness and abrasivity. This hardness and abrasivity of basalt are a major concern that impacts the drilling process and makes it complicated as well as uneconomical. Thus, this review article emphasizes on geology of basalt that generates complication while drilling procedures.

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Media

Average annual net carbon sink of Gracilaria cultivation in China from 2021 to 2030 may double last decade’s

by Science China Press, on phys.org, May 17, 2023

„A marine research team led by Professor Yan Qingyun has proposed a method to assess the net carbon sink of marine macroalgae (Gracilaria) cultivation. Then, they calculated the net carbon sink of Gracilaria in China based on the yield of annual cultivated Gracilaria in the last ten years.“

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Knowledge Transfer

Working Paper: Monitoring CO2 Concentrations in Soil Gas: A Novel MRV Approach for Cropland-Based ERW?

by Dirk Paessler, Ralf Steffens, Jens Hammes, Ingrid Smet, Carbon Drawdown Initiative, May 17, 2023

This paper discusses the challenges the authors have faced in the past 2.5 years of field-experiments trying to measure the speed of Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) in agricultural settings for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. They propose using CO2 sensors placed inside the soil in combination with automated CO2 flux meters on top of the soil as a new method to assess the Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) effects resulting from ERW treatments in agricultural settings.

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Media

Australia to scale up offshore carbon capture storage

on channelnewsasia.com, May 16, 2023

„Australia plans to scale up its capability for offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) and will shortly seek public feedback on a new round of greenhouse gas storage acreage, the country’s resources minister said on Tuesday. The country, one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters, is banking on CCS technology to decarbonise its industries and continue expanding its LNG production to meet demand from top buyers such as Japan and South Korea.“

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