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Can Technology Help Us Reach Net Zero?

The agreement at the Paris Climate Accord to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius has led to many governments around the world committing to net zero CO² emissions by 2050 through alternative sources of energy or the removal of CO² from the atmosphere. However, at present, nearly all carbon removal is dependent on natural means, such as plants and forests. While this will certainly have a positive impact, even if natural CO² removal was doubled by 2050, it would still only account for 4 billion tonnes of CO² annually 1, which is not enough to meet the standards set by the Paris Agreement.

As a result, several countries have started to invest in the development of technology which could help to speed up the removal of carbon emissions from the atmosphere. Last year, the UK government invested £54 million in 15 projects which could be crucial to helping the country meet its emission reduction targets 2. Here are a few of the most innovative new technologies being developed:

Advanced Biofuel Solutions (ABSL)

ABSL is a UK technology company devoted to developing solutions to reduce the production of CO² through low-carbon biofuels 3. Their plant in Swindon is the first in the world that can convert household waste into low carbon biomethane without emitting any pollutants.

Using their own 'RadGas' technology, the conversion process begins with sorted and prepared waste, which is then converted into syngas. The cleaned and polished syngas is then injected with steam to convert it into a 50/50 biohydrogen and carbon dioxide mix. The biohydrogen can either be used immediately or processed further into biomethane. The carbon dioxide is captured during this process, liquefied and sold for storage or repurposing.

Currently, the facility can convert 8,000 tonnes of waste into 22 GWh of gas every year, and t he resulting biofuels can be used in the transport industry for low-carbon fuel solutions.

Mission Zero Technologies

The aim of Mission Zero is to develop Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology 4 which removes CO² effectively from the surrounding atmosphere, but at a much lower cost than existing forms of DAC. The design of their technology is based on the human body's natural transportation of carbon dioxide to our lungs to be expelled out through our breath.

The process captures CO² in its organic form and uses electrochemical separation to remove carbon from the air and concentrate it as pure gas which can then be stored or used as a green alternative for chemical feedstock. The entire process is powered solely by electricity, which is up to four times less energy intensive than existing DAC approaches.

Greenshed, SRUC and SAC

Led by SRUC, GreenShed is endeavouring to build state-of-the-art sheds to use cattle waste products as a source of energy for a methane capturing system 5 which will enable crops to grow indoors. The excess energy produced can also be used for low-carbon fertiliser.

The benefits to farmers include saving on fertiliser and energy costs as well as an additional income stream of up to £40,000 per year. Each farm with a GreenShed system will have the potential to remove up to 237 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

SeaCURE, University of Exeter

SeaCURE was developed by the University of Exeter as a system that can quickly remove carbon dioxide from seawater 6. Once seawater enters the SeaCURE plant, the pH is dropped and over 90% of the dissolved carbon in the water is removed, purified to nearly 100% and repurposed or stored. The pH of the water is then incr eased and released to the surface of the ocean, where the natural exchange of CO² between the ocean and the atmospheretakes place, effectively removing carbon from the atmosphere and transferring it to the seawater to continue the cycle.

Because water can hold a much greater quantity of CO² than air, removing carbon dioxide from just one cubic metre of water is the equivalent of removing it from 150 cubic metres of air.

Author: Shirley Carruthers - Content Creator at ParkerSteel

References:
1.) bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment
2.) gov.uk/carbon-removal-tech-benefit-from-over-54-million-government-funding
3.) absl.tech/about-us
4.) missionzero.tech/our-technology
5.) sruc.ac.uk/green-light-for-3million-greenshed
6.) exeter.ac.uk/seacure

First published on 31/01/23

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