New technologies help purify CO2 from the atmosphere

According to scientists, climate change prevention not only needs to limit greenhouse gas emissions but also include the development of technologies to remove carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) from the atmosphere. The Global Energy and Climate Project (GCEP) led by two scientists Chris Field and Jennifer Milne of Stanford University (USA) was designed to find and introduce solutions and technologies to limit gas CO ₂ emissions, typically the following solutions:

1. BECCS

According to energy analyst Jennifer Milne, one of the most promising technologies today is BECCS - a system to synthesize bioenergy by collecting and storing carbon dioxide . Specifically, a conventional BECCS system works by converting biofuel-derived biofuels (biomass - including rice husks, sawdust, wood chips, straw, animal manure .) into electricity and products. Chemical products or fuels like gasoline ethanol. All CO2 emitted during this process is captured instead of being released into the atmosphere as usual.

Every day, the BECCS system helps capture about 1,100 tons of CO ₂ and store it in sandstone layers about 2,100 meters deep underground. According to experts' estimates, BECCS technology can acquire more than 1 million tons of CO2 emissions a year - equivalent to eliminating the emissions generated by 200,000 cars. There are currently 16 BECCS projects being developed around the world. In addition, BECCS technology can also be applied to power plants, paper mills, ethanol bio-petrol manufacturing plants and many other production facilities.

2. Pyrolysis coal (biochar)

Cabbage garden using pyrolysis coal has just deflated
CO2 emissions both increase crop yields and improve soil

Pyrolysis coal is a plant byproduct similar to charcoal and can be made from rice husk, nut shell, wood chips, sawdust . Coal type (produced by burning method in a rare gas furnace) is rich in carbon Can be put into soil for use as fertilizer. In the state of Minnesota (USA), the type of pyrolysis coal made from nut shells has been used to fertilize orchards, while increasing crop yields and improving soil and reducing CO ₂ emissions in the agricultural sector. .

The remarkable advantage of biochar is that it is simple and easy to implement, so deploying this technology on a global scale can help capture billions of tons of CO2 every year. Similar to BECCS, the purpose of using biochar is also to store long-term carbon underground instead of when plants die and decay, creating carbon dioxide escaping into the atmosphere.

3. And many initiatives reduce other CO2 emissions

As reported by GCEP, a large-scale agricultural system can also reduce CO ₂ emissions. For example, using models on the computer, scientist Jose Moreira at the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) was estimated during the period 1975-2007, producing bioethanol ethanol from sugarcane at Brazil helps to reduce 1.5 tons of CO2 per cubic meter of ethanol generated, compared to the conventional gasoline production process. This suggests that developing clean fuels in place of fossil fuels also contributes to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

In addition, GCEP introduced other CO2 capture initiatives, for example, Harvard University scientist David Keith proposed the idea of ​​plastering and other minerals into the sea to reduce acidity and separating CO ₂ in seawater. Keith also established a manufacturing company called "artificial plants" that can capture CO2 directly from the air and operate on biofuels.

It is known that GCEP has just introduced an international award of up to 6 million USD for initiatives aimed at developing CO2 removal technologies. As planned, the list of awardees will be announced later this year.