CO2-removal News

Peer-reviewed Publications

du Toit et al. (2026): Deciduous afforestation as a natural climate solution: impacts on biomass and carbon sequestration in boreal forests of Canada

Francois du Toit, Nicholas C. Coops, Christopher Mulverhill and Aoife Toomey, IN: Carbon Balance and Management, https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-025-00385-2

Rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns are expected to have profound impacts on the composition and condition of boreal forests. As a result there are growing needs for climate adaptation strategies in boreal forest management; one potential solution to achieve these goals is the utilization of nature-based climate-informed adaption solutions including afforestation using deciduous species which can help offset carbon emissions and sequester carbon at an increased rate. Deciduous afforestation has the potential to allow mangers to adapt fire-risk, while increasing carbon storage. Here, the authors investigated the impact of deciduous compared to coniferous afforestation on biomass accumulation in the Canadian boreal using a process-based model (3-PG). 3-PG utilises physiological principals to predict the growth of individual species across a variety of climate scenarios. This approach is valuable for projecting forest growth under changing climate, as it can account for plant responses to environmental factors which may not be captured by empirical models based on historical data. The authors simulated forest growth under three future climate scenarios to 2080, and compared the aboveground biomass (AGB, tons of Dry Matter per hectare; tDM ha−1) accumulated to baseline estimates using locally adapted coniferous species. In addition, the authors investigated the modelled effects of converting from conifer to deciduous species on stand level soil water and vapor pressure deficit responses to climate.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Li et al. (2026): Life cycle carbon emissions of buildings considering wood biological carbon sequestration with a piecewise linear decoration model

Zheng Li, Chunyang Zuo, Duhang Yi, Minjuan He and Zhan Shu, IN: Building Research & Information, https://doi.org/10.1080/17480272.2025.2608898

This study focused on three building types (steel, reinforced concrete, and timber), trying to evaluate their life cycle carbon emissions while quantifying building decoration stage carbon emissions. Besides, the three structures’ emissions at key life cycle stages were compared, revealing the potentials of timber buildings in terms of carbon reduction. The study’s contributions lie in three aspects: Firstly, a piece-wise linear model was developed for accurate decoration stage emission quantification. Secondly, a formula for building production and construction stage carbon emissions accounting for materials, height, decoration grade and area was proposed. Thirdly, a new solution was proposed to demonstrate that the carbon-negative materials exhibited positive carbon emissions after recycling. Methodologically, the study applied LCA for life cycle carbon accounting, used the developed piece-wise linear model to quantify decoration-stage emissions.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Zhou et al. (2026): Fast and selective CO₂ capture from outdoor air by covalent organic frameworks

Zihui Zhou, Tianqiong Ma, Heyang Zhang, Neda S. Sabeva and Omar M. Yaghi, IN: Nature Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-025-01735-1

Capturing CO₂ directly from ambient air is necessary for managing carbon levels and supporting long-term climate sustainability. However, the slow adsorption and desorption kinetics of current direct air capture sorbents remain a major limitation, whereas faster kinetics allow for quicker CO₂ uptake and greater air throughput—both are essential for enhancing system efficiency. In this work, the authors present a covalent organic framework (COF) with both fast kinetics and high CO₂ uptake.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Chen et al. (2026): Integrating transformer-based learning and Sentinel-2 bare soil composites for soil organic carbon mapping in the black soil region of Northeast China

Na Chen, Zhikang Wei, Xuancheng Jin, Nan Lin, Fan Yang, Ling Zhao and Song Wu, IN: Scientific Reports, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-33682-4

Accurate assessment of soil organic carbon (SOC) is essential for sustainable cropland management and carbon sequestration monitoring. However, high-resolution SOC mapping remains challenging due to two persistent limitations: (1) the difficulty of extracting true bare-soil reflectance—especially when single-date imagery is used and spectral signals remain influenced by vegetation, residue, and soil moisture; and (2) reliance on models that require large training datasets and may underperform in typical small-sample soil survey settings. To address these challenges, the authors developed an approach that integrates multi-temporal Sentinel-2 bare-soil composites with a transformer-based foundation model—Tabular Prior-data Fitted Network (TabPFN)—for SOC prediction in the black soil region of Northeast China. Bare soil pixels were extracted using a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index threshold (0.1–0.4), and two compositing strategies—the 50th percentile (P50) and 90th percentile (P90)—were compared. The authors systematically evaluated three advanced algorithms: TabPFN, convolutional neural network (CNN), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost).

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Tiwary et al. (2026): Simulated Earth system response to acid downwelling as a form of ocean alkalinity enhancement

E Tiwary, M Jürchott and A Oschlies, IN: Environmental Research Letters, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae2105

‘Acid downwelling’ (AD) is a proposed marine carbon dioxide removal (CDR) method, which describes the idea of electrochemically splitting open ocean surface water into an alkaline solution to remain at the surface ocean and cause additional ocean CO₂ uptake, and into an acidic solution that is pumped down into the deep ocean for disposal via vertical pipes. In this study, the authors simulate idealized large-scale AD in an Earth system model of intermediate complexity with different acid injection depths and downwelling intensities.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Nawab et al. (2025): From pollution to ocean warming: The climate impacts of marine microplastics

Asim Nawab, Muhammad Tariq Khan, I. Ihsanullah, Mohammad Nafees and Aamir Mehmood Shah, IN: Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hazmp.2025.100032

Despite being a critical global issue, the role of microplastics (MPs) in climate change has received limited attention. Climate disruption and plastic pollution are two major environmental challenges that intersect in complex ways. MPs influence biogeochemical processes, disrupt oceanic carbon pumps, and contribute directly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In marine ecosystems, MPs alter the natural carbon sequestration by affecting phytoplankton and zooplankton, which are key agents of carbon cycling. Additionally, the plastisphere, a microbial community colonizing MPs, plays a significant role in GHG production due to its diverse microbial networks.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Bijma et al. (2026): Reviews and syntheses: Carbon vs. cation based MRV of Enhanced Rock Weathering and the issue of soil organic carbon

Jelle Bijma, Mathilde Hagens, Jens S. Hammes, Noah Planavsky, Philip A. E. Pogge von Strandmann, Tom Reershemius, Christopher T. Reinhard, Phil Renforth, Tim J. Suhrhoff, Sara Vicca, Arthur Vienne and Dieter Wolf-Gladrow, IN: Biogeosciences, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-53-2026

They discuss the “monitoring, reporting and verification” (MRV) strategy of Enhanced Weathering (EW) based on carbon accounting and argue that in open systems such as arable land, this approach is ill-suited to close the balance of all carbon fluxes. They argue for total alkalinity (TA) as the central parameter for the carbon based MRV of EW. However, they also stress that tracking alkalinity fluxes using a systems-level approach is best done by focusing on charge balance maintenance through time.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Zhang et al. (2026): Analysis of multi-channel membrane contactor with high packing density for direct air capture

Huiping Zhang, Yuchen Zhao, Lingfeng Dai, Tianshun Xu, Kaiyun Fu, Xianfu Chen, Minghui Qiu, Peng Xu and Yiqun Fan, IN: Journal of Membrane Science, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125099

Direct air capture (DAC) is constrained by the inherently low driving force for CO₂ capture. To address this challenge, this study employs multi-channel ceramic membrane contactors as the highly efficient gas-liquid contacting device. Here, the authors systematically investigated the performance of 19, 37, 61-channel membrane configurations through a combination of experiment and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Wang et al. (2025): Advanced technology and applications of small-scale, modular, and distributed biomass direct air capture systems

Rui-Long Wang, Ming-Jia Li and Wen-Quan Tao, IN: Applied Energy, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.127242

Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology, particularly utilizing microalgae, has gained significant attention as a promising approach to mitigating atmospheric CO₂ levels. Small-scale, modular, and distributed DAC systems offer notable advantages in scalability and adaptability, enabling flexible deployment across diverse environments while supporting sustainable bio-product generation, making them a vital pathway toward carbon neutrality goals. This review aims to address three fundamental scientific issues: (a) enhancing the efficiency, scalability, and durability of CO₂ capture processes from low-concentration air, (b) optimizing CO₂ fixation methods to overcome challenges such as slow reaction kinetics, high energy demands, and system stability, and (c) achieving efficient integration of capture and fixation processes to ensure energy efficiency and resource sustainability. The review provides a comprehensive analysis of various DAC technologies, evaluating their advantages and limitations to establish a foundation for an in-depth discussion of microalgae-based DAC systems.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Krumhansl et al. (2026): Blue carbon sequestration dominated by dissolved organic carbon pathways for kelp forests and eelgrass meadows in Nova Scotia, Canada

Kira A. Krumhansl, Melisa C. Wong, Manon M. M. Picard, Meredith Fraser, Carrie-Ellen Gabriel, Yongsheng Wu and Kumiko Azetsu-Scott, IN: Communications Earth & Environment, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-03122-2

Existing estimates of carbon sequestration by coastal vegetated ecosystems (e.g., kelp forests, seagrass meadows) remain highly uncertain because they utilize few measurements with high uncertainty or focus on individual stocks or fluxes. Here, the authors combine empirical data with modeling to generate detailed carbon budgets for kelp forests and eelgrass meadows in Nova Scotia, Canada.

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