Decoding Carbon Capture
Over the last few years, especially, carbon-related terms have sprouted in the news and daily conversations. It is good to know that people are becoming more aware of climate change, but since it is relatively new to many people, I will be decoding terms through these blogs.
First up is Carbon Sequestration or Carbon Capture.
The act of absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and not letting it release back into it.
Carbon sequestration is a process through which carbon dioxide (CO2) is removed from the atmosphere and stored in long-term reservoirs to mitigate the effects of climate change. The idea is to reduce the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere, as it is a significant greenhouse gas contributing to global warming.
What are these long-term reservoirs?
Forests: They absorb close to 2.6 billion tonnes of CO2 every year. There is a reason why organisations and governments run drives to plant trees. Having a good forest cover is the best way to maintain the carbon balance in the ecosystem. These forests need to be present for at least 20 years to contribute meaningfully, and that is why it is crucial to stop deforestation rather than plant new trees.
Soil: It absorbs approximately 25% of all carbon emissions, most stored as permafrost. Agriculture is a significant contributor to carbon emissions. I won’t go into the supply chain aspect but the harvest aspect. During harvest, the top layer of the soil gets removed. This layer captures a good amount of carbon, especially during the growth phase of the crops. Therefore, it is vital to use regenerative farming methods so that the topsoil is not lost during harvesting, releasing tons of carbon back into the atmosphere. This will also help the “4P1000 Initiative” (attach link).
Oceans: One of the most important avenues to sequester carbon naturally is oceans. Phytoplankton in our oceans are responsible for absorbing approximately 25% of all carbon emissions, making them one of the world’s largest carbon sinks. Phytoplankton are microscopic marine algae and bacteria that absorb as much carbon as trees and plants do on land. They play a huge role in controlling the world’s carbon content.
Now, there are natural methods and artificial methods to sequester carbon.
Natural Carbon Sequestration: As discussed above, this occurs through natural processes such as photosynthesis in plants and trees, where they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and store carbon in their biomass and the soil.
Artificial Carbon Sequestration: This involves human-engineered methods to capture CO2 emissions from industrial processes (at the point of emission), such as power plants and factories, or from the atmosphere and then store them in geological formations deep underground or other long-term storage facilities.
Several companies are attempting various ways to capture carbon. Some of them are:
DAC (Direct Air Capture) – uses an air filter to capture CO2 from the atmosphere directly. Afterwards, it is stored in deep underground geological formations or long-term storage facilities.
Carbon capture at power plants – Captures carbon emissions before they are released into the atmosphere.
4P1000 Initiative—The global 4P1000 Initiative, established at COP21 of UNFCCC, aims to increase soil carbon stocks by 0.4 percent annually by transitioning towards sustainable agricultural production and development and promoting farming techniques that combat soil erosion and improve soil health.
A few others, like Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage, capture emissions and generate electricity or Carbon Capture and Conversion, where emissions are captured and then converted into bricks for road and building construction.
I will be breaking down more such terms. Stay tuned!
