The world is experiencing soaring heat, losing glaciers and rise in sea level as major challenges posing future threats to the living forms cautioning the life prerogatives of present and future. Meeting energy demands by burning oil, coal, and natural gas impedes progress in limiting climate change.
The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) CO2 Emissions report, 2023 found that global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions increased by 1.1% to a record high of 37.4 billion tons. Coal emissions from iron and steel industries alone accounted for more than 65% of the increase. Absolute energy used by any firm in the country is restriction less. PAT (Perform, Achieve, Trade) has a been a regulatory instrument for controlling energy emissions in energy intensive industries. Although India does not have binding greenhouse gases reduction targets in pursuance of its nationally determined contributions (NDCs), it is likely that it will have its own versions of carbon market. Out of the eight targets of NDCs, one relates to this sector. It is to reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% below 2005 levels by 2030. Here comes in, the idea of carbon capture and its subsequent storage and sequestration. This allows energy efficiency without mandating regulations on the fossil fuel energy intensive industries.
Carbon capture
CO2 capture requires high performance gas adsorption materials critically characterized with large surface area, porous nature and surface chemical properties for selective adsorption, intelligently tailored into cost effective sustainable models exhibiting stability to physical changes. Common adsorbents include activated carbon, molecular sieves, metal organic framework (MOF), hydrophobic aerogels, membranes and porous polymers. The development and formulation of feasible inorganic, organic, biomass, biopolymer models or invent sustainable bio-hybrid sorbents provide future prospects in biotechnological research. Ionic fluids in organic systems and living organisms in a complex purifying system, one like that which occurs in living organisms’ respiratory systems of gills and lungs, etc. can be taken inspiration from and imitated to build a sophisticated sustainable system of carbon capture.
Carbon utilization
Terrestrial carbon sequestration is mostly dependent on photosynthesis in autotrophs. The uptake of carbon by air-sea exchange depends on marine and coastal carbon ecosystems such as phytoplankton, coral reefs, and marine tuna that serve as carbon sinks. Coastal wetlands also sequester substantial amounts of carbon, mainly in soils. Return of lost biodiversity or reinstallation of lost forms endemic to an area through return of ambient life sustaining physical features calls for biotechnological intervention to aid for biological carbon storage.
Some interesting CO2 utilization routes developed are power production, energy storage, cooling and direct air capture (DAC) based on using geothermal energy. Development of new processes mainly exploiting renewable energies with a minimal carbon footprint for carbon utilization through electrochemical reduction, electrocatalytic reduction including metal-free and metal-based carbon catalysts are research frontiers today. Biotechnical intervention in formulation of effective biocatalysts for bio-chemical reduction of CO2 is a research prospect. Use of effective biocatalysts in photochemical reduction of CO2 is an area of study. Research and development in marine science to assess the reduction potential of microalgae found in marine and further genetic interventions to develop the reduction efficiency of both marine and terrestrial microalgae is to be accelerated.

Restoration of forest, coastal and marshland habitats would provide employment opportunities to local residents and common tribal forest dwellers. Reduction of CO2 from the atmosphere to levels below they perform greenhouse effects would aid in achieving Net zero targets by 2050. The use of various biotechniques to find for sustainable bio-solutions would lead to a bio-aided low carbon economy.

DIBYANI PANDA

University/College name : Utkal University