Carbon Sequestration: an Answer to the World’s Carbon Dioxide Emission Problem

IntroductionGlobal climate change, increase in human activities, and prominence of ecological issues have led to uneven quantitative and spatial distributions of carbon emission and sequestration of terrestrial ecosystems. Such uneven distributions can lead to more negative impacts on the natural environment and human living conditions.MethodsTherefore, based on the carbon neutralization policy, we conducted geographically weighted regression (GWR) modeling in this study using panel data from 352 Chinese prefectural administrative districts in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2017 to analyze and determine the impact factors and their spatial distribution for carbon emission and sequestration of terrestrial ecosystems.ResultsOur results showed that total population (TP), per capita gross domestic product (GDP) (PCG), proportion of secondary industry output (PSIO), scale of urban built-up area (SUB), green space proportion in city areas (GSP), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and temperature (TEM) are factors driving carbon sequestration and carbon emission. The spatial distribution of these driving factors in mainland China is: (1) TP showed a negative correlation to carbon emission in most areas, while it exhibited a positive correlation to carbon sequestration in the southern, southwestern, and western parts of northwest China; however, in all other areas, TP showed a negative correlation with carbon sequestration; (2) PCG was positively correlated to carbon emission in most areas of China and to carbon sequestration in southwest, south, central, and northeast China; however, PCG demonstrated a negative correlation to carbon sequestration in the remaining areas; (3) PSIO and SUB presented a positive correlation to carbon emission and a negative correlation to carbon sequestration in most areas; (3) In contrast, GSP showed a negative correlation to carbon emission and a positive correlation to carbon sequestration in most areas; (5)NDVI showed a negative correlation to carbon emission and carbon sequestration in most areas toward the east of the “Heihe-Tengchong Line”; NDVI was positively correlated to both carbon emission and sequestration toward the west of this line; (6)TEM was positively correlated to carbon emission and sequestration in most parts of China.DiscussionBased on these results, we further divided the Chinese cities into 6 groups: (1) Groups 1, 2, 3, and 6 are areas where carbon emission and sequestration are governed by both socioeconomic and natural ecological factors. The major driving factors of carbon emission and carbon sequestration in group 1 are PSIO, GSP, and NDVI; the driving factors of group 2 are SUB and NDVI. Meanwhile, carbon emission and sequestration in group 3 are governed by PCG, GSP, and NDVI; for group 6, carbon emission and sequestration are controlled by PCG, SUB, GSP, and NDVI; (2) Group 4 represents areas where carbon emission and sequestration are majorly impacted by PCG and SUB, thereby rendering socioeconomic factors as the major driving forces. Group 5 represents areas where carbon emission and sequestration are sensitive to the natural environment, with GSP and NDVI being the driving factors. Considering the uneven distribution of carbon sequestration and emission and the diverse driving factors in different areas of China, we provided guidance for future environmental policies aimed at reducing the uneven distribution of carbon sequestration and emission in different areas to achieve carbon neutralization.

With growing climate change concerns, depleting natural resources and decrease in oil and gas prices, it is more vital than ever to efficiently manage natural resource allocation. Methane, the key component in natural gas and a raw material for numerous chemicals, is Qatar's more abundant resource. Natural gas can be monetized through many alternative paths. It can be sold as natural gas, either through pipelines or in liquefied form, or converted into diverse sets of fuels and materials using many alternative processing technologies. In the meantime, concerns of the effects of increased carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere, majority of which are emitted from large industrial stationary sources and fuel consumption, have caused the global society to seek ambitious emission reduction targets.While on the one hand natural gas provides a clean fuel associated and enables carbon dioxide emissions through fuel switching globally, its local processing is associated with significant footprints. In the case of Qatar and its small population, this has resulted in very high per capita emissions. Most of the emissions are stationary and spatially concentrated in industrial clusters, where they originate mainly from natural gas processing, hydrocarbon processing, petrochemicals and metals production, and power and water generation.The industrial sector is challenged to balance profit making activities from natural gas monetization with increasing pressures to reduce overall carbon dioxide emissions. Conventional design of industrial parks centering on natural gas are carried out in an ad-hoc process that depends on the expertise of designers, available capital, market demand and regulations. Reduction methods in the past have been limited in technology, energy integration or geographical proximity to apply carbon capture and sequestration (CCS).Recently, carbon integration (Al-Mohannadi and Linke, 2015a,b) has been introduced as a systematic approach to determine the most efficient carbon dioxide reduction options in industrial parks by considering multiple carbon dioxide sources, potential carbon sinks, the layout of the city and the associated costs of transmission and conditioning. Carbon integration looks into the various conversion routes that take carbon dioxide into value added products, which can be converted chemically, biologically or through geographical utilization such as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) applications. This creates incentives to reduce carbon emissions, to create synergies between firms and to produce additional products in the cluster, while adhering to required emission reduction targets.Beyond focusing on low cost carbon dioxide emissions reduction, the broader design challenge for a natural gas monetizing industrial cluster is to identify the most promising configurations from the vast number of alternatives that exist from the possible combinations of many alternative natural gas monetization processes, and the many alternative carbon management options that could be applied, whilst exploiting synergies between natural gas conversion and carbon management. Most previous works have focused on different aspects of the overall problem: optimizing gas conversion processes, and managing carbon dioxide emissions reductions. Very few works have considered monetization in industrial clusters, and there is no published work on how to systemically make gas monetization decisions under carbon dioxide emissions constraints.This work introduces the first systematic approach to allocate natural resource under carbon dioxide footprint constraints. The approach yields integrated natural gas and carbon dioxide management schemes that yield the maximum profit for the given gas monetization and carbon dioxide management options and constraints that exist in the industrial cluster. The work explores different carbon dioxide emission reduction scenarios; expansion plans and determines most profitable product mix from an industrial cluster. By taking into consideration the tradeoff between environmental performance and potential profitability of natural resource allocation, it provides valuable information to decision makers from an optimization based tool. Policy makers and regulators can use the tool for developing strategies and for planning of more sustainable industrial clusters, parks or cities.The work is illustrated using a case study to demonstrate the application of the method on industrial cluster resembling a configuration of gas monetization options often observed in oil and gas centered economies.KeywordsResource Allocation, Climate Change, Carbon Dioxide emissions, Carbon Integration, Natural Gas Allocation, Gas Monetization, Carbon Reduction, Process Integration, Industrial Parks, Planning, Modeling, Optimization.ReferencesAl-Mohannadi, D.M., P. Linke (2015). On the Systematic Carbon Integration of Industrial Parks for Climate Footprint Reduction. Journal of Cleaner Production, DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.094.Al-Mohannadi, D.M., S.K. Bishnu, P. Linke, S.Y. Alnouri (2015b). Systematic Multi-Period Carbon Integration in an Industrial City. Chemical Engineering Transactions 45, 1219–1224.

Dredging projects use large amounts of fuel, which leads to substantial carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Until now, reducing the carbon footprint of dredging projects has mainly involved investigating the possibilities of dredging schemes and vessels that are more fuel efficient. A reduction in the order of 10–20% may be within reach, most of it is a win–win situation since fuel reduction will also reduce costs. A further reduction in carbon dioxide emissions may be possible on a project-by-project basis but will involve a trade-off between dredging costs and carbon dioxide emissions. Marine engineering projects also have an impact on primary production and formation of organic carbon and on sedimentation processes and burial of organic carbon in sediments. Both impacts influence carbon sequestration and can be a substantial or even overriding factor in the ‘carbon footprint’ of a project. The carbon footprint of a marine engineering project is often larger and more complex than previously anticipated. However, a more comprehensive carbon footprint also shows that a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is possible when the designs and dredging and maintenance schemes stimulate sequestration of organic carbon in the wider environment.

Economic, environmental, and technical gains from the Kyoto Protocol: Evidence from cement manufacturing

Addressing Climate Change Without Legislation - Volume 1: DOI

Online shopping habits and the potential for reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from passenger transport

ConspectusGlobal climate change caused by the excessive emission of greenhouse gases has become one of the greatest threats to human survival in the 21st century. Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas on earth and has brought about serious environmental problems nowadays. On the basis of the current situation, it is urgent to reach the peak of carbon dioxide emission and then achieve carbon neutrality via policy support and engineering strategies within advanced materials and technologies. Carbon neutrality requires an appropriate balance between the emission and reduction of carbon dioxide. The emission of carbon dioxide mainly comes from modern industries, and the reduction requires several steps, including capture, conversion, and application. On one hand, it can reduce carbon dioxide emission by promoting the transformation of industrial structure. On the other hand, it is necessary to remove high-level carbon dioxide existing in the atmosphere by physical and chemical methods such as adsorption capture and catalytic conversion.This Account showcases our recent progress on carbon neutrality for the reduction of carbon dioxide through capture and conversion methods within advanced materials and technologies. We mainly focus on the right side of the carbon scale and have made some advances such as moisture-swing chemisorption for carbon dioxide capture, the reduction of oxygen-containing carbon dioxide, and the photothermal catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide. Different from previous studies, our work is about developing materials and techniques for practical applications. First, we have made attempts to develop cheap sorbents with high stability and a high adsorption capacity. Second, we have reported a moisture-swing technique with the capability of directly capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by relying on the humidity variation with low energy consumption. This technique is promising for realizing real-time carbon dioxide capture and utilization, which avoids high-cost storage and transport processes. Third, our work on carbon dioxide utilization focuses on efficient conversion under practical conditions. For instance, we have developed perovskite catalysts for converting carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide in an oxygen-containing environment. Furthermore, core–shell catalysts have been reported for carbon dioxide conversion with a high selectivity of 83% driven by solar energy. In addition, practical applications of captured carbon dioxide have been explored with respect to carbon dioxide-assisted graphene exfoliation, keeping fruit fresh, and crop growth promotion with carbon dioxide gas fertilizer. A future perspective on the challenges and opportunities for carbon neutrality has been provided on the basis of our experimental studies and theoretical predictions. It is expected that this Account will promote tremendous effort in the development of advanced materials and engineering technologies toward the realization of carbon neutrality by the middle of this century.

The principal mechanisms for the geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide in deep saline formations include geological structural trapping, hydrological entrapment of nonwetting fluids, aqueous phase dissolution and ionization, and geochemical sorption and mineralization. In sedimentary saline formations the dominant mechanisms are structural and dissolution trapping, with moderate to weak contributions from hydrological and geochemical trapping; where, hydrological trapping occurs during the imbibition of aqueous solution into pore spaces occupied by gaseous carbon dioxide, and geochemical trapping is controlled by generally slow reaction kinetics. In addition to being globally abundant and vast, deep basaltic lava formations offer mineralization kinetics that make geochemical trapping a dominate mechanism for trapping carbon dioxide in these formations. For several decades the United States Department of Energy has been investigating Columbia River basalt in the Pacific Northwest as part of its environmental programs and options for natural gas storage. Recently this nonpotable and extensively characterized basalt formation is being reconsidered as a potential reservoir for geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide. The reservoir has an estimated storage capacity of 100 giga tonnes of carbon dioxide and comprises layered basalt flows with sublayering that generally alternates between low permeability massive and high permeability breccia. Chemical analysis of themore » formation shows 10 wt% Fe, primarily in the +2 valence. The mineralization reaction that makes basalt formations attractive for carbon dioxide sequestration is that of calcium, magnesium, and iron silicates reacting with dissolved carbon dioxide, producing carbonate minerals and amorphous quartz. Preliminary estimates of the kinetics of the silicate-to-carbonate reactions have been determined experimentally and this research is continuing to determine effects of temperature, pressure, rock composition and mineral assemblages on the reaction rates. This study numerically investigates the injection, migration and sequestration of supercritical carbon dioxide in deep Columbia River basalt formations using the multifluid subsurface flow and reactive transport simulator STOMP-CO2 with its ECKEChem module. Simulations are executed on high resolution multiple stochastic realizations of the layered basalt systems and demonstrate the migration behavior through layered basalt formations and the mineralization of dissolved carbon dioxide. Reported results include images of the migration behavior, distribution of carbonate formation, quantities of injected and sequestered carbon dioxide, and percentages of the carbon dioxide sequestered by different mechanisms over time.« less

Economic Feasibility of Carbon Sequestration with Enhanced Gas Recovery (CSEGR)

Assessment of the energy utilization and carbon dioxide emission reduction potential of the microbial fertilizers. A case study on “farm-to-fork” production chain of Turkish desserts and confections

<p id="C3">Crop production not only ensures national food security, but also is the main source of agricultural carbon emissions and an important pool of carbon sequestration. To clarify the characteristics of carbon emissions from crop production and discuss the approaches to reach the peak and neutrality in major agricultural areas can provide important scientific basis to the decision making of green and high-quality agricultural development and “dual-carbon” goal. Based on the national statistical data, this study compared and analyzed the characteristics of carbon emissions in crop planting regions in China, and presented the recommendations for carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emission mitigation. The carbon emissions of crop production accounted for 45.5% of the national agricultural total carbon emissions in 2018, and the emissions of farmland methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and carbon dioxide (CO₂) of diesel consumption accounted for 22.9%, 14.7%, and 7.9% of the total carbon emissions of agricultural production, respectively. In terms of the regional emissions, both the total carbon emission of crop production and the carbon emission per sowing area are higher in South than North China, with the highest emissions in East and central China and the greatest potential for emission mitigation. In the carbon emission from crop production, CH₄ emission from rice fields accounts for the main part (50.3%) and is the focus of emission reduction. The annual carbon emission of crop production in China peaked in 2015, and then dropped down. It was mainly attributed to the decrease trend of rice sown area, agricultural nitrogen application rate, and diesel oil consumption. If the existing agricultural imports are not significantly affected, the carbon emissions in crop production have basically reached the peak. However, it is very difficult to achieve carbon neutrality in crop production if only by soil carbon sequestration of farmland, and it is necessary to consider both farmland emission reduction and carbon sequestration. On the premise of high and stable grain yield, the carbon neutrality of modern crop production should prioritize CH₄ and N₂O reduction, and fully exploit the integrated carbon sequestration potential of farmland ecosystems, such as straw utilization, combination of the use and protection of farmland, and construction of farmland forest network.

Operationalizing marketable blue carbon

The positive contributions of steel slag in reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the steel industry: Waste heat recovery, carbon sequestration, and resource utilization

Carbon dioxide emissions and growth of the manufacturing sector: Evidence for China

With the rapid development of global economy, human beings have become highly dependent upon fossil fuel such as coal and petroleum. Much fossil fuel is consumed in industrial production and human life. As a result, carbon dioxide emissions have been increasing, and the greenhouse effects thereby generated are posing serious threats to environment of the earth. These years, increasing average global temperature, frequent extreme weather events and climatic changes cause material disasters to the world. After scientists’ long-term research, ample evidences have proven that emissions of greenhouse gas like carbon dioxide have brought about tremendous changes to global climate. To really reduce carbon dioxide emissions, governments of different countries and international organizations have invested much money and human resources in performing research related to carbon dioxide emissions. Manual underground carbon dioxide storage and carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery are schemes with great potential and prospect for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Compared with other schemes for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, aforementioned two schemes exhibit high storage capacity and yield considerable economic benefits, so they have become research focuses for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. This paper introduces the research progress in underground carbon dioxide storage and enhanced oil recovery, pointing out the significance and necessity of carbon dioxide-driven enhanced oil recovery.