CO2-removal News

Peer-reviewed Publications

Chen et al. (2026): Direct air capture integrated with urban energy network for building decarbonization

Sheng Chen, Ruiqi Wang, Mingchen Gao, Jielin Luo, Tao Wang, Binjian Nie, Carolina Font Palma and Long Jiang, IN: Nexus, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nexus.2026.100043

Integration of direct air capture (DAC) with buildings is emerging as a novel strategy for building and urban decarbonization. This coupling offers the advantage of synergistically improving indoor air quality while enabling negative carbon emissions. The authors examine the integration strategies and interdependence between DAC and buildings, emphasizing the pathway toward effective and economic decarbonization through integration with urban energy networks. By exploring the nexus in depth, this work screens various methodologies for system configuration, ranging from individual room to system-level considerations, and evaluates energy-saving assistance for air conditioning under various climate conditions.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Delval et al. (2026): Guidance on integrating marine environmental impacts of ocean alkalinity enhancement into life cycle assessment

Mona H. Delval, Patrik J. G. Henriksson, Paul Behrens, Laura Scherer, Pablo Trucco-Pignata, Patricia Grasse, Phil Renforth and Nils Thonemann, IN: The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-026-02707-z

Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) is considered a promising marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) option and may contribute to climate change mitigation. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to assess OAE environmentally but faces limitations in capturing marine impacts. Improving the assessment of OAE in LCA requires a detailed understanding of its marine environment impact pathways to develop sub-compartmentalised and regionalised characterisation factors (CFs). The authors demonstrate how such pathways can be identified.
The authors build on Woods et al. (2021), who propose a qualitative framework to identify key components of impact pathways, and Richter et al. (2024), who provide guidance on framework development in a multidisciplinary context. The authors develop a methodological approach that allows to qualitatively identify the marine environmental impact pathways of OAE and determine which components are integrated in LCIA models or missing, as an initial phase toward developing CFs for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA).

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Jessen et al. (2026): Subsoil acidity causes long delays in inorganic carbon sequestration by Enhanced Weathering

Søren Jessen, Rasmus Jakobsen, Majken Looms, Per Ambus and Dieke Postma, IN: arXiv, https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2607.01835

While a looming atmospheric CO₂ overshoot calls for immediate carbon sequestration, delays associated to Enhanced Weathering (EW) carbon dioxide removal are being investigated. Topsoil acidity is already known to delay EW carbon sequestration, but subsoil acidity remains underexplored. Using century-long agricultural liming of formerly acidic heathland as a proxy for EW, this study provides empirical evidence of subsoil-imposed delays.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Costa et al. (2026): CO₂ removal by applying the adsorption process to biochar from waste materials

Maria Angelica Martins Costa, Geisa Albini, Lucas Freitas de Oliveira, Eliza Almeida de Oliveira, Alexandre Jorge Duarte de Souza, Mariana de Oliveira Bérgamo, Letícia Vicente Moreno and Kelly Johana Dussán, IN: Environmental Science and Pollution Research, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-026-37975-7

This study evaluated lignocellulosic residues as low-cost adsorbents for CO₂ capture in a dynamic column system, focusing on spent coffee grounds biochar (SCGB) as an alternative to commercial activated carbon. Commercial activated carbon, SCGB, magnetized SCGB, KOH-activated SCGB, peanut shell pellet charcoal, sugarcane bagasse charcoal containing kaolin, and calcined SCGB samples were tested. SCGB was produced by pyrolysis and modified by chemical activation, magnetite incorporation, or post-pyrolysis calcination. CO₂ adsorption tests were performed in a column under different air and CO₂ inlet flow rates, and CO₂ concentrations were monitored at the inlet and outlet using infrared sensors.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Adewole et al. (2026): Design and Implementation of Direct Air Capture Systems Based on Moisture Swing Adsorption for Efficient Carbon Dioxide Removal

Oluwatosin O. Adewole, Taopheeck Yusuf, Victor Hammed and Abdulrahman M. Hassan, IN: International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26apr580

Direct air capture (DAC) is necessary for achieving negative emissions and meeting the temperature targets outlined in the Paris Agreement. However, challenges of scalability and energy demands persist. This paper presents a comprehensive design framework for large-scale DAC systems utilizing moisture swing adsorption (MSA), an innovative method that leverages humidity cycles to regenerate sorbents with near-isothermal energy, thereby reducing energy penalties by 50-70% compared to thermal swing alternatives. The study proposes an architecture combining modular air contractors, structured sorbent monoliths using anion exchange resins, CO₂ compression trains, and controlled humidification chambers, enabling continuous cyclic operation in various climatic conditions. Governing equations for momentum balance, mass transfer, and adsorption kinetics inform finite element simulations and computational fluid dynamics, which are validated against laboratory-scale experimental data.

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Lin et al. (2026): Ammonia hydrate-excited PASP chelation of calcium in electrolytic manganese residue: Synergistic mechanisms for enhanced CO₂ mineralization and desulfurization with environmental co-benefits

Fan Lin, Jiancheng Shu, Huimin Yang, Shaoqin Chen, Zhuoqi Liu, Shuhua Guo, Yanyan You, Yong Yang and Yihong Liu, IN: Chemical Engineering Journal, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.179038

Using calcium-rich industrial solid wastes for CO₂ mineralization is a highly promising Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) strategy. However, practical application is constrained by the sluggish dissolution kinetics of insoluble calcium minerals. Herein, the authors propose a chelation-enhanced strategy targeting electrolytic manganese residue (EMR), a representative sulfur/calcium-rich waste, utilizing a synergistic NH₃·H₂O-PASP system to achieve simultaneous high-efficiency desulfurization and CO₂ mineralization. Polyaspartic acid (PASP) functions as a potent alkaline chelator, boosting Ca²⁺ extraction to 473.13 mg/L.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Nagaraj et al. (2026): Thrombolites as a potential nature-based solution for carbon dioxide removal

Veena Nagaraj, Daniel Gorman, M. James McLaughlin, Santonu K. Sanyal, Thomas Jones, et al., IN: Carbon Capture Science & Technology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccst.2026.100651

Achieving net-zero targets requires emerging carbon dioxide removal (CDR) pathways capable of contributing to long-term carbon storage. Microbialite communities, including stromatolites and thrombolites, are promising but under-explored biological platforms with potential for scalable CDR. Their deployment has been limited by uncertainties surrounding survivability in seawater, biomineralisation rates, net CO₂ drawdown, and compatibility with engineered substrates. Here, the authors address four conceptual barriers using thrombolites from hypersaline Lake Clifton (Western Australia).

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Ghobadian et al. (2026): Biochar from poplar sawdust for digestate nutrient recovery and potential for long-term carbon sequestration

Saman Ghobadian, Osvaldo Romero Romero, Matthias Kraume, Meisam Tabatabaei, Mortaza Aghbashlo and Nader Marzban, IN: Chemical Papers, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-026-07179-7

Poplar sawdust-derived biochar was studied as a multifunctional material for nutrient recovery from digestate and for its potential for long-term carbon sequestration in soil. Biochar was produced via pyrolysis at 300–900 °C for 10–40 min. Considering solid yield, carbon sequestration, and phosphate removal, 500 °C for 20 min was selected as the optimal pyrolysis condition. Biochar was further characterized and tested in slurry adsorption experiments.

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Scientific Theses

Haavisto (2026): Why does policy design matter when integrating permanent carbon removals into the EU ETS? Assessing the outcomes through dynamic modelling

Jami Haavisto, IN: University of Helsinki, https://helda.helsinki.fi/items/5b2dad84-add8-4f61-9ed4-b1a44360b7ce

Integrating permanent carbon removals into the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is under an active debate, and such integration may occur as early as the upcoming reform of the EU ETS. This thesis examines how policy design affects the environmental and economic outcomes, using a dynamic ETS model extended to include permanent removals produced through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Grabb et al. (2026): A sequential gated research framework for addressing potential impacts of marine carbon dioxide removal on fisheries, aquaculture, and Indigenous communities

Marine ecosystems are at risk due to the increasing pressures of climate change and other human activities. Fisheries and aquaculture, which employ 61.8 million people worldwide and supply ∼20% of human animal protein demand, are sectors that critically rely on healthy marine ecosystems. Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) encompasses a portfolio of novel approaches that aim to mimic natural processes to increase the ocean’s uptake and storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide through intentional human interventions in the marine environment. Alongside verifying the efficacy of mCDR techniques, their environmental and social impact must also be assessed to enable informed decisions about what, if any, research, development, and deployment of mCDR should move forward, accounting for the full spectrum of benefits, costs, and trade-offs and in comparison with other CDR interventions. Evaluating the footprint of mCDR requires identifying and understanding positive and negative impacts beyond carbon dioxide removal. Here, the authors provide a multi-stage research framework for mCDR project developers to assess these interdisciplinary impacts, specifically in relation to marine ecosystems, fisheries, and aquaculture. This framework considers how projects can implement these recommendations across five research phases, using a stage-gated approach that focuses on: Stage 0, Planning; Stage 1, Baseline Assessment and Experiments; Stage 2, Pilot Field Trial; Stage 3, Scaled-up Field Trial; and Stage 4, Operational Deployment and Long-term Monitoring.

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