Plant-based CO₂ drawdown and storage as SiC

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Materials Science
• Biotechnology

Background:

• The natural carbon cycle is insufficient to sequester anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
• Atmospheric CO2 levels have surpassed 400 ppm, with projections indicating further increases.
• Human reliance on fossil fuels has significantly impacted global climate.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel strategy for mitigating CO2 emissions by mining atmospheric carbon.
• To develop an artificial carbon cycle for converting captured CO2 into valuable commercial materials.
• To assess the economic and environmental viability of this carbon sequestration method.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing agricultural plants to capture atmospheric CO2.
• Transforming plant-sequestered carbon into silicon carbide (SiC).
• Quantifying the carbon storage efficiency in SiC production.

Main Results:

• 14% of plant-sequestered carbon can be effectively stored as SiC.
• The process demonstrates potential for creating economically lucrative green products.
• Estimates for the required scale to achieve global impact were determined.

Conclusions:

• An artificial carbon cycle utilizing plants offers a promising approach to CO2 mitigation.
• The conversion of captured carbon into SiC presents a dual benefit of environmental remediation and economic gain.
• Further research and scaling are necessary to realize the full global potential of this technology.