"The energy-intensive nature of CO2 absorption-desorption processes has restricted deployment of #DAC operations. So, catalytic solvent regeneration is a valid solution to tackle this case by accelerating CO2 desorption at lower regeneration temperatures."
🧵 1/8
The new work reports "a one-step synthesis methodology to prepare monodispersed #carbon nanospheres (MCSs) using trisodium citrate as a structure-directing agent with acidic sites." #DirectAirCapture 2/8
"The assembly of citrate groups on the surface of MCSs enables consistent spherical growth morphology, reduces agglomeration & enhances H2O dispersibility. The functionalization-assisted synthesis produces uniform hydrophilic nanospheres of 100–600nm range." #DirectAirCapture 3/8
"This work also demonstrates that the prepared MCSs can be further functionalized with strong Brønsted acid sites, providing high proton donation ability." #DirectAirCapture 4/8
Furthermore, "the materials can be effectively used in a wide range of amino acid solutions to substantially accelerate CO2 #desorption (25.6% for potassium glycinate and 41.1% for potassium lysinate) in the #DirectAirCapture process." 6/8
"Considering the facile synthesis of MCS-SO3H and their superior catalytic efficiency, these findings are expected to pave a new path for energy-efficient #DirectAirCapture."
🚨🌲 New research reveals that even intact boreal forests, some of the planet’s strongest natural carbon sinks, lose their ability to absorb CO₂ as they age.
Here’s what the scientists found & why it matters for our climate models🧵1/9 #CarbonSink #CarbonRemoval
2/ Boreal forests cover vast regions across Canada, Russia, and Scandinavia and store enormous amounts of carbon in trees and soil.
They’re often seen as stable, long-term carbon sinks, but this study challenges that assumption with new global-scale data.
3/ Using seven global Net Ecosystem Productivity (NEP) datasets and a high-resolution forest age map, researchers tracked how C uptake changes as forests grow older.
They used a space-for-time substitution method, comparing forests of different ages to infer long-term trends.
🚨A major 6-country survey (N=5,310) finds Europeans support -ve emissions to meet climate goals, but strongly prefer nature-based solutions like afforestation over engineered options like Direct Air Capture. Trust hinges on benefits for nature & future generations.
🧵1/10 #CDR
2/ When allocating how to tackle emissions, respondents clearly prioritized immediate mitigation:
🚨A new study warns that efforts to cool the planet through stratospheric aerosol injection (#SAI) could face far greater challenges than models predict, from unpredictable monsoon shifts to material shortages & engineering limits, every step adds new risks.
🧵1/8 #SRM
2/ The authors explore both micro-level (engineering) and macro-level (governance & supply) factors that could restrict feasible deployment.
Key finding: these constraints could drastically raise costs, risks, and uncertainty, especially for “solid” (non-sulfate) aerosols.
3/ Traditional SAI uses sulfate aerosols (like volcanoes).
But alternatives, CaCO₃, TiO₂, Al₂O₃, ZrO₂, even diamond, promise less ozone damage.
Yet producing, aerosolizing, and dispersing these solids in submicron form is technically daunting.
🚨French Academy of Sciences has released a new report on #SolarGeoengineering, stressing that the absolute priority must remain reducing GHG emissions via structural changes & accelerating adaptation to climate impacts.
On #SRM, the report offers several recommendations:🧵1/6
2/ SRM Recommendation 1️⃣
Promote an international agreement aimed at prohibit any initiative, public or private, to deploy SRM, regardless of the framework or scale.
To do this, the entire scientific community will have to be involved.
3/ SRM Recommendation 2️⃣
Support & deepen research on climate, atmospheric physicochemical processes and biodiversity in order to be able to rigorously assess the potential & risks of SRM.