A view shows the interior of Equatic's pilot ocean carbon removal project at the Tuas Desalination Plant in western Singapore, August 30, 2023.
As scientists call for more research into ocean carbon dioxide removal (OCDR), Singapore's Public Utilities Board (PUB) has built a plant that uses electricity to extract CO2 from seawater, allowing it to absorb more greenhouse gas from the atmosphere when it is pumped back out into the ocean.
At the plant, seawater is run through an electrolyser, which converts dissolved CO2 into calcium carbonate and produces hydrogen.
On Tuesday, more than 200 scientists said in an open letter that OCDR research should be prioritised not only to maximise its potential, but also head off potential risks.
But billions of tons of CO2 need to be removed from the atmosphere, and more investment in OCDR research was needed urgently, he said.
Persons:
David Stanway, Equatic, Gurdev Singh, OCDR, Gaurav Sant, Sir David King, Alexandra Hudson
Organizations:
REUTERS, Rights, Singapore's Public Utilities Board, U.S, University of California, UCLA, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson
Locations:
Singapore, Rights SINGAPORE, Los Angeles