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Prioritizing environment justice while capturing carbon dioxide from the air

Prioritizing environment justice while capturing carbon dioxide from the air

To reach carbon emission goals, efforts must be made on all fronts: reducing carbon emissions, capturing carbon and storing carbon. Traditionally, cost and availability have been the major factors that decide where and how they are made. This leaves environmental and societal effects as an afterthought.

A spade digging into sandy material.
Peter Psarras, his students and he study the basics of carbon storage in rock waste. They also conduct experiments at the Pennovation Center. (Image: Penn Engineering Today).

Penn Engineers in Kleinman Center for Energy Policys Clean Energy Conversions LaboratoryThis is changing by prioritizing environmental justice throughout all stages of carbon management.

The Clean Energy Conversions Lab currently is led by Peter Psarrasa research assistant professor in chemical, biomolecular and engineering (CBE), Jennifer WilcoxPresident Distinguished Professor in Chemical Engineering, Energy Policy in CBE. He is currently employed in the Department of Energy for Biden Administration. The lab’s mission consists of reducing the climate and environmental impacts of the world’s dependence on fossil energy through carbon management.

The research of the group focuses on three main questions. How can we limit the atmospheric accumulation of carbon dioxide? What can we do with it once it is captured? And how can those solutions scale to meet our demands?

Psarras, along with fellow researchers in Clean Energy Conversions Lab, are studying direct air capture (DAC). DAC is a technology that extracts carbon dioxide out of the air using a series o chemical reactions. The cleaned air is then returned to the environment. DAC works in a different way than photosynthesis. It uses a more efficient, engineered mechanical system.

Psarras carbon management modeling work has been a key part of helping Nevada reach net zero in 2050. Psarras has provided assistance to The Nature Conservancy and his team. Multiple casesThis goal can be achieved by a variety of methods, including capturing, reducing and storing carbon.

Psarras and his students plan to continue their study in Nevada, where they will sample the potential carbon storage areas and interview community members to learn more about their needs and preferences.

Psarras says that our work constantly weighs harms against one another because there is no solution which will have zero negative impacts. This is why we can’t have quick reactions to any solution offered to achieve these goals. As a lab, we aim to inform through science based dialog and are now beginning to understand how important it is to do that beyond academic audiences.

Melissa Pappas contributed this story. Continue reading at Penn Engineering Today.

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