Simultaneous Carbon Storage in Arable land and Anthropogenic Products (CSAAP): demonstrating a new concept towards well below 2°C

The removal of additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is indispensable for controlling global warming. This study proposed the concept of ‘biopump’, as plants capable of significantly transferring carbon into the soil. The Carbon Storage in Arable land and Anthropogenic Products (CSAAP) relates to the cultivation of ‘biopumps’ on marginal arable lands poor in soil organic carbon (SOC) and their conversion into long-lived anthropogenic products. Based on a list of twenty-seven biopumps assembled from a literature review, this study proposed a method for the regional prioritization of biopumps, considering among others their ability to increase SOC and adaptation. A list with eight woody and eight herbaceous biopumps was recommended for France. To illustrate the potential of the CSAAP strategy for products encompassing a variety of lifetimes, carbon flows, from biopump cultivation to biomaterial manufacturing and end-of-life, were tracked in time to calculate their influence on global mean temperature change. An illustration was performed on the basis of a French case study, where Miscanthus is grown on spatially identified marginal lands quantified as 11,187- 24,007 km2. Planting biopumps on these lands could increase by 0.23 to 0.49 Mt carbon stocked as SOC annually, which represents 0.19%- 0.41% of the annual French carbon budget during 2015-2018. If the carbon contained in the biomass is indefinitely kept in anthropogenic products, it could represent 13.07% of the same carbon budget. We concluded that biopumps could induce negative emission by 2100, with efficiency strongly depending upon carbon’ residence time in the anthroposphere.

Technological Demonstration and Life Cycle Assessment of a Negative Emission Value Chain in the Swiss Concrete Sector

Switzerland, such as most of the other countries which are part of the Paris agreement, decided to reduce GHG emissions to zero by 2050. The ambition of net-zero GHG emission across all industrial sectors can only be achieved by rapid decarbonization and the deployment of negative emission technologies to compensate residual emissions from for example agriculture. In the scope of this work, the proof of technology of a negative emission value chain at industrial scale in the concrete sector is presented. The core of the system is a mineralization technology, which fixes biogenic CO2 permanently as calcium carbonate in concrete aggregate. In addition, the net-negativity in terms of GHG emissions and environmental burdens beyond these are quantified in a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). It could be shown that an industrial-scale mineral carbonation process can be seamlessly integrated in today's concrete recycling processes and that it can process relevant amounts of concrete aggregate while storing on average 7.2 kg CO2 per ton of concrete aggregate. Moreover, material tests revealed that the carbonated concrete aggregate fulfills the same service as the regular one—thus no significant effects on the concrete properties could be observed. The LCA shows that every processing step requires materials and energy, and thus generates associated emissions. However, from a cradle to gate perspective, the carbon removal efficiency is 93.6%. Thus, 1,000 kg of CO2 stored generate 64 kg of CO2-eq. emissions. Furthermore, it could be shown that biogas upgrading can supply sufficient amounts of CO2 until 2030 in Switzerland. From 2030 on, more and more CO2 from other emission sources, such as waste incineration, need to be utilized to exploit the full potential of the value chain, which is going to be 560 kt of negative CO2 emissions in Switzerland in 2050, corresponding to 30% of the projected demand within the national borders.

Can carbon capture be a new revenue opportunity for the pulp and paper sector?

Transition towards carbon neutrality will require application of negative carbon emission technologies (NETs). This creates a new opportunity for the industry in the near future. The pulp and paper industry already utilizes vast amounts of biomass and produces large amounts of biogenic carbon dioxide. The industry is well poised for the use of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), which is considered as one of the key NETs. If the captured carbon dioxide can be used to manufacture green fuels to replace fossil ones, then this will generate a huge additional market where pulp and paper mills are on the front line. The objective of this study is to evaluate future trends and policies affecting the pulp and paper industry and to describe how a carbon neutral or carbon negative pulp and paper production process can be viable. Such policies include, as examples, price of carbon dioxide allowances or support for green fuel production and BECCS implementation. It is known that profitability differs depending on mill type, performance, energy efficiency, or carbon dioxide intensity. The results give fresh understanding on the potential for investing in negative emission technologies. Carbon capture or green fuel production can be economical with an emission trade system, depending on electricity price, green fuel price, negative emission credit, and a mill’s emission profile. However, feasibility does not seem to evidently correlate with the performance, technical age, or the measured efficiency of the mill.

Comparative Analysis of Three Different Negative Emission Technologies, BECCS, Absorption and Adsorption of Atmospheric CO2

Negative Emission Technologies (NETs) are generally considered as vital methods for achieving climate goals. To limit the rise in the global average temperature below 2 °C, a large number of countries that participated in the Paris agreement was virtually unanimous about the effective collaboration among members for the reduction of CO2 emissions throughout this century. NETs on the ground that can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, provide an active option to achieve this goal. In this contribution, we compare limiting factors, cost, and capacity of three different NETs, including bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), absorption and adsorption. Although there are several advantages for capturing CO2, still some constraints regarding the high operational cost of NETs and industrial condition of these technologies as a method of climate change mitigation is not clear. Thereby no single process can be considered as a comprehensive solution. Indeed, any developed technologies, in turn, have a contribution to the reduction of CO2 concentration. Extensive research needs to be done to assess and decrease NETs costs and limitations.

Co-Designing Urban Carbon Sink Parks: Case Carbon Lane in Helsinki

In order to achieve the goals of carbon (C) neutrality within next 20 year, municipalities worldwide need to increasingly apply negative emission technologies. We focus on the main principles of urban demonstration areas using biochars for C sequestration and explore the lessons learned from a co-creation process of one such park, Hyväntoivonpuisto in Helsinki, Finland. Demonstration sites of urban C sinks in public parks must be safe, visible and scientifically sound for reliable and cost-effective verification of carbon sequestration. We find that different interests can be arbitrated and that synergy that emerges from co-creation of urban C sink parks between stakeholders (scientists, city officials, companies, and citizens) can result in demo areas with maximized potential for impact, dissemination and consideration of principles of scientific experimentation.

Public perception and acceptance of negative emission technologies – framing effects in Switzerland

Limiting global warming to 1.5 °C requires negative emission technologies (NETs), which remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and permanently store it to offset unavoidable emissions. Successful large-scale deployment of NETs depends not only on technical, biophysical, ecological, and economic factors, but also on public perception and acceptance. However, previous studies on this topic have been scarce. In 2019, Switzerland adopted a net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 target, which will require the use of NETs. To examine the current Swiss public perception and acceptance of five different NETs, we conducted an online survey with Swiss citizens (N = 693). By using a between-subjects design, we investigated differences in public opinion, perception, and acceptance across three of the most used frames in the scientific literature — technological fix, moral hazard, and climate emergency. Results showed that the public perception and acceptance of NETs does not differ between the frames. The technological fix frame best reflected participants’ opinion, whereas participants perceived the moral hazard frame the least credible and the climate emergency frame the most unclear. Moreover, our findings confirm the public’s unfamiliarity with NETs. We found no strong opposition, as participants indicated a moderate acceptance and a neutral evaluation of all five NETs, with afforestation standing out as the most accepted and positively evaluated NET. We conclude that, in the future, the public debate on NETs should be intensified, and the public perception should be monitored regularly to inform the development of NETs.