"Utilization of biochar as a cementitious material aids in CO2 sequestration by impeding the release of C in the atm. So, a recent study reviewed the prospect of #biochar as a #cementitious material by evaluating its physical, mechanical & durability properties."🧵
This research suggested that "the physical properties of #biochar promote its use as an environmental control device."
A summary of the preparation and characterization of biochar is presented in a Fig. ⬇️ 2/7
According to the study, #pozzolan is a siliceous & aluminous material
that chemically reacts with Ca(OH)2 at room temp to form compounds having #cementitious attributes. So, some of the silica-rich biochars, like the ones derived from #RiceHusk have pozzolanic properties." 3/7
"The quantity & type of biochar used, the number of curing days & the curing technique all have an impact on the strength of biochar-infused concrete/mortar. However, investigations concluded that biochar used at lower conc. (<5 wt%) produce high-strength mortar+concrete." 4/7
This research recommended that "most of the prior work focuses on the thermal stability of #biochar. However, research on chemical & chloride attacks as well as the ageing & weathering study is scarce. Thus, future work should focus on the aforementioned gaps in knowledge."
5/7
Read the open-access study entitled: Biochar in cementitious material—A review on physical, chemical, mechanical, and durability properties" here ⬇️ aimspress.com/article/doi/10…
A new study suggests Enhanced Weathering (EW)—spreading crushed basalt on U.S. croplands—could remove 160–300M tonnes of CO₂ annually by 2050 while improving soil & air quality.
#ERW #CarbonDioxideRemoval
DETAILS🧵1/8
2/ How it works: When crushed basalt is applied to soil, it reacts with CO₂, forming stable carbonate minerals that lock away carbon for thousands of years. The process also releases nutrients that benefit crops.
3/ CDR potential: The study estimates that if EW is widely deployed across U.S. farmland, it could capture up to 15% of the country’s annual CO₂ emissions by 2050.
*EW deployed on agri land could sequester 0.16–0.30 GtCO2/yr by 2050, rising to 0.25–0.49 GtCO2/yr by 2070.
🚨The #CDR market surged in 2024—growing 78% with record purchases & deliveries. But behind the numbers, challenges loom: concentrated buyers, slow deliveries & a shifting investment landscape.
Is CDR on track or at risk? A🧵on the key takeaways from @cdr_fyi’s new report: 1/8
2/ Market Expansion: The CDR market expanded by 78% in 2024, with total purchased volume nearing 8 million tonnes. However, these purchases remain concentrated, with 80% coming from just Microsoft, Google, Stripe, and Frontier.
3/ Increased Deliveries: Durable CDR deliveries reached 318.6K tonnes, marking a 120% increase from 2023. Despite this, the delivery-to-booking ratio remains low at 4.4%, which is expected at this developmental stage.
📰 Here's your round-up of top #CarbonDioxideRemoval News / Developments from this week (27 January - 02 February 2025):
🔗:
🧵0/20
@SthlmExergi secured over 20 billion SEK in Sweden’s BECCS reverse auction. The funding, disbursed over up to 15 years, will help permanently remove 800,000 tons of CO₂ annually.
Manulife raised $480M for its Forest Climate Fund, prioritizing carbon sequestration over timber. The fund aims to capture 6M+ tons of CO₂ and has already acquired 150,000+ acres of land.
A new paper suggests detonating an absolutely gigantic nuclear bomb (1,600x bigger than Tsar Bomba) deep beneath the seabed to accelerate carbon removal (#CDR).
A thread on this bold climate proposal:🧵1/11
2/ Climate change is an existential threat, which is why some researchers explore extreme solutions. This one might be one of them.
The idea? Use a nuclear bomb to shatter massive amounts of basalt, speeding up Enhanced Rock Weathering (#ERW)—a natural carbon capture process.
3/ ERW works because rocks like basalt react with CO₂, locking it away in mineral form. Scientists have suggested that crushing basalt into fine particles accelerates this process. "But even when optimized, ERW is slow & limited in scale." That’s where the nuclear bomb comes in