About Carbon Dioxide Removal:

• It is using technologies, practices, and approaches to remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere through deliberate and intentional human actions.
• This includes traditional methods like afforestation as well as more sophisticated technologies like direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS).

What are the different CDR methods?

• Biochar
  • It is the substance produced by burning organic waste from agricultural lands and forests in a controlled process called pyrolysis.
  • Although it resembles common charcoal in appearance, the production of biochar reduces contamination and is a method to safely store carbon.
  • Pyrolysis involves the burning of wood chips, leaves, dead plants, etc. with very little oxygen, and the process releases a significantly small quantity of fumes.
  • Biochar is a stable form of carbon that cannot easily escape into the atmosphere.
• Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
  • It involves bioenergy production, often through combustion to generate electricity or heat.
  • The resulting CO2 emissions from this combustion are captured and stored underground, preventing them from contributing to the greenhouse effect.
  • It sequesters photosynthetically fixed carbon as post-combustion CO2.
• Direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS)
  • It extracts CO2 directly from the atmosphere at any location.
  • This captured CO2 is then permanently stored in deep geological formations or used for other applications.
  • It uses electricity to remove CO2 from the air.
• Enhanced rock weathering
  • It involves pulverising silicate rocks to bypass the conventionally slow weathering action.
  • The resultant product, usually a powder, has a higher reactive surface area, which is then spread on agricultural lands for further chemical reactions.
• Ocean alkalinity enhancement
  • It involves adding alkaline substances to seawater to accelerate this natural sink.