CO₂-removal News

Peer-reviewed Publications

Nature – Zhao et al. (2024): Trade-offs in land-based carbon removal measures under 1.5°C and 2°C futures

Xin Zhao, Bryan K. Mignone, Marshall A. Wise, Haewon C. McJeon IN: Nature Communications, 15, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46575-3

Land-based carbon removals, specifically afforestation/reforestation and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), vary widely in 1.5°C and 2°C scenarios generated by integrated assessment models. Because underlying drivers are difficult to assess, the authors use a well-known integrated assessment model, GCAM, to demonstrate that land-based carbon removals are sensitive to the strength and scope of land-based mitigation policies. 

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Feng et al. (2024): Quantifying the environmental synergistic effect of cooling-air purification-carbon sequestration from urban forest in China

Rundong Feng, Shenghe Liu, Fuyuan Wang, Kaiyong Wang, Ping Gao, Linlin Xu IN: Journal of Cleaner Production, 448, 141514, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.141514

Urban forest is considered nature-based solution for mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change. However, large-scale quantification of urban forest synergistic effect is still limited. This study integrated multi-source remote sensing data, machine learning, and geospatial methods to quantify the synergistic effect (i.e., spatial interaction) of urban forest on urban heat island, PM2.5 concentration, and carbon stock and its driving mechanism in China.

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Science-Policy Documents

Report: Charting a Course for Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR): Policy Sequencing in mCDR Development

by Jasmine Yu, Savita Bowman, clearpath, March 2024

This report (1) identifies policies to support each innovation stage of mCDR technologies: early-stage R&D, widescale deployment and commercialization, (2) highlights the growing U.S. federal engagement and resources for mCDR and (3) describes policies that could create the conditions for successful wide-scale mCDR deployment,
dependent on the findings from R&D field trials.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Zhang et al. (2024): Soil organic carbon increase via microbial assimilation or soil protection against the priming effect is mediated by the availability of soil N relative to input C

Futao Zhang, Qianqian Wang, Yueling Zhang, Shuihong Yao, Qinhua Wang, Georges Ndzana, Ute Hamer, Yakov Kuzyakov, Bin Zhang IN: Geoderma, 444, 116861, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2024.116861

Labile C inputs into soils will be partially transformed into soil organic carbon (SOC) through microbial assimilation or physicochemical protection as such mineral-organic interactions and soil aggregation. The C inputs may stimulate the decomposition of native SOC, inducing a phenomenon known as the priming effect. Increasing C inputs may increase SOC content, yet the relative role of these mechanisms in controlling the magnitudes of SOC increase among soils remains unclear. Four soils differing in microbiology and N content were incubated with 13C-labeled glucose at the amounts of 0.5 (G0.5), 1.0 (G1.0), and 2.0 (G2.0) g C kg−1 soil for 48 days. The objectives of this study were 1) to quantify the fates of added glucose-C, the priming effect, and the changes in SOC and mineral N contents after the incubation, and 2) to identify the main mechanisms for SOC increase with the increased amount of C input and the effects of initial soil N availability and microbial composition.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Serafimova & Dedelyanova (2024): The Potential For Carbon Sequestration In Reclaimed Mine Soil

Ekaterina Serafimova, Kremena Dedelyanova IN: Journal of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, https://doi.org/10.59957/jctm.v59.i2.2024.20

Mining sector has been the central attention of the business and public policy sustainable development scheme for several years. Reclamation territories are with potential carbon sequestration capacity in degraded mining areas and can be an impeccable option for achieving sustainable development goal-13. This paper made an investigation about the presence of heavy metals in reclaimed area possibilities to improve reclaimed soils with biochar with idea to enhance ecosystem carbon pool and atmospheric CO2 sequestration capacity to offset CO2 emission and soil organic carbon losses.

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Science-Policy Documents

Envisioning a carbon removal strategy for Europe

Carbon Gap, March 18, 2024

Carbon Gap offers 18 actionable policy recommendations for how the EU could support carbon removal over the next thirty years as part of an EU carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategy. The recommendations are spread across four key “pillars” that should be pursued collectively to deliver effective and just CDR: creating fair and inclusive governance, prioritising research, development and innovation, introducing dedicated deployment incentives. The recommendations provided under each of these pillars would help grow the pool of potential CDR methods, test the viability of scaling promising, yet high-cost methods, and secure future demand for CDR.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Abraham et al (2024): Large-scale shipping of low-carbon fuels and carbon dioxide towards decarbonized energy systems: Perspectives and challenges

Elizabeth J. Abraham, Patrick Linke, Ma’moun Al-Rawashdeh, Joseph Rousseau, Gareth Burton, Dhabia M. Al-Mohannadi IN: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 63, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.03.140

Carbon dioxide is also expected to become an important maritime trade commodity to achieve climate targets. Through the deployment of carbon capture utilization and storage, and more recently, negative emission technologies, carbon dioxide will need to be transported to regions with the appropriate infrastructure and resources necessary for their anticipated implementation. Presently, in light of these circumstances, the lack of experience in shipping a number of these energy carriers and carbon dioxide must be addressed. As such, an understanding of the techno-economic and environmental feasibility of the large-scale shipping of these commodities must be established at all scales of operation. Accordingly, this work proposes the use of process systems engineering based approaches to enable the marine transportation of these future energy carriers and carbon dioxide from a multi-scale perspective. 

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Raksajati et al. (2024): Comparing options of BECCS in Indonesia using energy system modelling

Anggit Raksajati, Zefania P. Sutrisno, Attaya A. Meiritza IN: AIP Conference Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0194372

This study aims to provide key insights for preliminary assessment of BECCS options by varying the biomass type, power generation capacity, and firing mode. The 6 cases studied are bagasse, palm kernel shell, rice straw, empty fruit bunch, refuse derived fuel (firing, co-firing). Simple levelized cost of electricity (sLCOE) is evaluated, with findings that the dominant factors for sLCOE reduction are capacity and flue gas CO2 composition.

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Reports

Biochar Permanence Report: Unlocking the Potential of Biochar: A Closer Look at Its Permanence

Bier, H., Lerchenmüller, H., European Biochar Industry, March 14, 2024

In the quest to understand permanence of biochar, our report sheds light on critical findings from two scientific publications by Sanei et al. (2024) and Azzi et al. (2024). The report, authored by Secretary General Harald Bier and Board Chairman Hansjörg Lerchenmüller at EBI, offers a comparative analysis of results from the two studies. It reveals a key gap: most incubation experiments use carbonized material that is not representative of biochar produced commercially today. Moreover, these studies often lack detailed characterization of biochar fractions, hindering a comprehensive understanding of their properties. Another key point posited in the paper is that the observed degradation rates shown in incubation experiments are consistent with the size of the labile fractions that are known to be easily degradable.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Zhu et al. (2024): Confinement Effects on Moisture-Swing Direct Air Capture

Yaguang Zhu, Austin Booth, Kelsey B. Hatzell IN: Environmental Science & Technology Letters, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.3c00712

Direct air capture technologies are energy intensive and often utilize pressure and temperature swings for sorbent regeneration. An alternative approach, called moisture-swing direct air capture, relies on the hydrolysis of a confined anion to produce hydroxide anions. These hydroxide anions are active sites for CO2 capture. Here, the authors examine how confinement affects moisture-swing CO2 capture and regeneration mechanisms.

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