"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."
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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 Viewpoint published in Frontiers that responds to Siegert et al.’s paper.
While Siegert et al. warn against polar #geoengineering, Moore et al. argue for a compassionate harm-reduction paradigm, keeping geoengineering research open alongside decarbonization.
Their case: interventions are risky, may not work, and could distract from the essential task which is deep decarbonization.frontiersin.org/journals/scien…
3/ Moore et al. [] reply that this “consequences-based paradigm” (raising alarms to spur action), has dominated climate science for 50 years.
🚨New Nature Geoscience study shows that blooms of Phaeocystis antarctica (microalgae) in the Southern Ocean ~14,000 yrs ago massively drew down CO₂, stabilizing climate. Their decline today could have global consequences.
#CarbonSink #CarbonDrawdown
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2/ Microalgae are pivotal in the Southern Ocean carbon cycle.
A new study from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) reveals that during the Antarctic Cold Reversal (14.7–12.7k yrs BP), algal blooms slowed the rise of atmospheric CO₂.
3/ At the end of the last ice age, the Antarctic Cold Reversal brought vast winter sea ice followed by strong spring melt.
These unique conditions fueled Phaeocystis antarctica blooms, exceptionally efficient at capturing and exporting carbon.
🚨Researchers at the KAIST and the @MIT have developed a new fiber-based material that can capture CO2 directly from the air using only small amounts of electricity, potentially lowering the barriers to large-scale deployment of direct air capture (#DAC) technology.
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2/ DAC systems, which remove CO2 directly from ambient air, have long been hindered by their high energy requirements.
With atm CO₂ concentrations at less than 400ppm, vast volumes of air must be processed, typically requiring large amounts of heat.
3/ The joint team, led by Professor Ko Dong-yeon of KAIST & Professor T. Alan Hatton of MIT, overcame this limitation by designing an electrically conductive fiber adsorbent (ethylenediamine EDA-Y zeolite/cellulose acetate (CA) fiber) that heats itself through Joule heating.
🚨In a new study published in @OneEarth_CP, researchers reveal that human land activities have stripped away roughly 24% of terrestrial carbon stocks (equivalent to 344 billion metric tons of C), underscoring an urgent need to reframe land-use & climate policy.
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2/ Plants + soils store more carbon than the atmosphere + all fossil reserves combined.
But farming, grazing, and forest use have stripped away this natural shield, turning land from a carbon bank into a carbon source.
3/ Researchers call this loss the terrestrial carbon deficit - the gap between what ecosystems could hold (‘potential’) vs. what they actually hold (‘actual’).