Charles F. Hibbeln, Paul Marsh, Christopher R. Myers, Peter J. Valdez, Scott J. Edmundson* and Chinmayee V. Subban*,
{"title":"Maximizing Marine Carbon Removal by Coupling Electrochemical and Biological Methods","authors":"Charles F. Hibbeln, Paul Marsh, Christopher R. Myers, Peter J. Valdez, Scott J. Edmundson* and Chinmayee V. Subban*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.estlett.4c00107","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p >Integrated development of carbon removal strategies offers the possibility of lowering CO<sub>2</sub> removal costs and enabling their widespread deployment. Here, we examine the feasibility and benefits of coupling technological and nature-based marine carbon removal strategies. A bench-scale bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BPMED) unit is used to generate acidity and alkalinity from natural seawater. Utilization of alkalinity for CO<sub>2</sub> mineralization is widely researched, but sustainable use of the acid remains a challenge. We show that the acid can be used to enhance photosynthesis in the fast-growing marine phytoplankter <i>Picochlorum celeri.</i> Additions of ca. 900 μM H<sup>+</sup><sub>eq</sub> from BPMED effluent acid increased algal productivity up to 3-fold, by shifting the seawater–carbonate equilibrium toward CO<sub>2</sub>. A high-level CO<sub>2</sub> emissions analysis based on experimental data shows that using BPMED acid for marine algae cultivation results in sequestration of −6.1 kg of CO<sub>2</sub>/kg of HCl, whereas transport of acid for alternative uses accounts for emission of +0.41 kg of CO<sub>2</sub>/kg of HCl. The analysis boundary excluded seawater pretreatment and BPMED acid production and any processing beyond delivery of dewatered algae. Through further optimization of algal species, growth conditions, acid addition rates, etc., the combined electrochemical-biological approach has the potential to achieve higher net CO<sub>2</sub> removal.</p>","PeriodicalId":37,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Technology Letters Environ.","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":8.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Environmental Science & Technology Letters Environ.","FirstCategoryId":"1","ListUrlMain":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.4c00107","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Integrated development of carbon removal strategies offers the possibility of lowering CO2 removal costs and enabling their widespread deployment. Here, we examine the feasibility and benefits of coupling technological and nature-based marine carbon removal strategies. A bench-scale bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BPMED) unit is used to generate acidity and alkalinity from natural seawater. Utilization of alkalinity for CO2 mineralization is widely researched, but sustainable use of the acid remains a challenge. We show that the acid can be used to enhance photosynthesis in the fast-growing marine phytoplankter Picochlorum celeri. Additions of ca. 900 μM H+eq from BPMED effluent acid increased algal productivity up to 3-fold, by shifting the seawater–carbonate equilibrium toward CO2. A high-level CO2 emissions analysis based on experimental data shows that using BPMED acid for marine algae cultivation results in sequestration of −6.1 kg of CO2/kg of HCl, whereas transport of acid for alternative uses accounts for emission of +0.41 kg of CO2/kg of HCl. The analysis boundary excluded seawater pretreatment and BPMED acid production and any processing beyond delivery of dewatered algae. Through further optimization of algal species, growth conditions, acid addition rates, etc., the combined electrochemical-biological approach has the potential to achieve higher net CO2 removal.
期刊介绍:
Environmental Science & Technology Letters serves as an international forum for brief communications on experimental or theoretical results of exceptional timeliness in all aspects of environmental science, both pure and applied. Published as soon as accepted, these communications are summarized in monthly issues. Additionally, the journal features short reviews on emerging topics in environmental science and technology.