Carbon capture technology comes as one of the solutions to the climate crisis, and its purpose is to remove and sequester carbon from the atmosphere with the aim of maintaining the carbon budget and not exceeding the Paris Agreement target (1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels).

Therefore, researchers and scientists from various disciplines are working on finding effective solutions in different sectors for carbon capture and sequestration. A research group from the University of Connecticut in the United States has been concerned about this issue. They developed a model for carbon capture in low-oxygen aquatic environments, such as fisheries, and found that it represents a promising solution to the rising temperature crisis.

The team published the study in the journal "Nature Food" on November 11, 2024.

Alkalinity increase

Scientists recently proposed the idea of ocean alkalinity enhancement, which involves adding certain elements to the water to increase alkalinity and increase the water's ability to absorb carbon dioxide.Researchers decided to develop the same idea on a new model, which involves adding iron to fish farms characterized by low oxygen levels and hydrogen sulfide accumulation.

This simple chemical reaction forms iron sulfide, which helps raise alkalinity and leaves room for capturing larger amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. On the other hand, this presents a great opportunity to reduce the concentrations of toxic hydrogen sulfide, which can lead to increased fish mortality rates and thereby affect productivity.

Results

The study's authors posit that the proposed model has the potential to enhance sustainability in the fishing industry and mitigate fish exposure to toxicity.

On the other hand, implementing such a model is low-cost and contributes to capturing massive amounts of carbon dioxide—the most well-known greenhouse gas—especially in some countries like China and Indonesia, which are known for having large numbers of fishing fleets. If they applied such a model, they could capture about 100 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.

This model is also characterized by its ability to capture and store carbon for long periods, reaching thousands of years. Due to its economic importance to millions of people worldwide, it can also improve the fishing industry's sustainability and productivity.