A reaction network approach to modeling carbon dioxide removal systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces the Reaction Network Carbon Dioxide Removal (RNDCR) framework, using chemical reaction network theory to analyze negative emissions technologies and their potential to stabilize Earth's carbon cycle.

Contribution

It develops a novel reaction network model to compare different carbon removal methods and assess their ability to achieve stable, multistationary states in Earth's carbon cycle.

Findings

Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage can exhibit multistationarity.

Afforestation/Reforestation shows similar network properties to bioenergy methods.

Certain species in the network demonstrate concentration robustness.

Abstract

This paper focuses on what we call Reaction Network Cardon Dioxide Removal (RNDCR) framework to analyze several proposed negative emissions technologies (NETs) so as to determine when present-day Earth carbon cycle system would exhibit multistationarity (steady-state multiplicity) or possibly monostationarity, that will in effect lower the rising earth temperature. Using mathematical modeling based on the techniques of chemical reaction network theory (CRNT), we propose an RNDCR system consisting of the Anderies subnetwork, fossil fuel emission reaction, the carbon capture subnetwork and the carbon storage subnetwork. The RNCDR framework analysis was done in the cases of two NETs: Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage and Afforestation/Reforestation. It was found out that these two methods of carbon dioxide removal are almost similar with respect to their network properties and their capacities to exhibit multistationarity and absolute concentration robustness in certain species.