TheScience Speaksblog series offers a deep dive into topics of science, technology and innovation in the minds of the public. The series explains focal topics through relatable analogies and asks readers to consider key opportunities, explore avenues to advance gender equity and equality, and answer the ultimate question: why should we care?
In the 2009 animated comedy Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, fictional inventor Flint Lockwood creates a machine to turn water vapor into food. The machine accidentally gets lodged in the stratosphere and causes cheeseburgers to fall from the sky. The rationale for Flint’s fantastic invention is reminiscent of a much more realistic but equally exciting technology: the use of carbon dioxide.
As part of the larger category of technologies referred to as “carbon capture, utilization and storage” (CCUS), carbon dioxide utilization is the concept of reusing carbon dioxide from the greenhouse gas after it has been collected via carbon capture. . As with Flint’s invention, the use of carbon dioxide seeks to transform an abundant atmospheric gas into a practical and value-added product. By finding alternative uses for captured carbon dioxide, utilization offers exciting opportunities for research and enterprise, which means it can also provide opportunities for women’s economic empowerment.
But in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, character Sam Sparks, a reporter covering Flint’s invention, explains how women and girls regularly deal with harmful stereotypes that threaten their leadership in climate innovation. In Sam’s case, this includes being mocked for her interest in meteorology, and in the real world, systemic and cultural barriers prevent women and girls from studying science, technology, and engineering disciplines critical to developing the use of carbon dioxide and other technologies. important.
Within these disciplines — as if inspired by the variety of foods produced by Flint’s invention — researchers are expanding the scope of marketable products that can be made from carbon dioxide. These include chemical feedstocks (needed to synthesize pharmaceuticals, plastics, and more) and carbon-neutral fuels (so called because burning them doesn’t result in any new carbon dioxide reaching the atmosphere). If carbon dioxide-derived fuels are used alongside a second round of carbon capture, the entire process could theoretically be carbon negative.
One of the most studied methods of utilizing carbon dioxide is catalysis, often through a process called electroreduction. A voltage is applied to drive a chemical reaction that transforms carbon dioxide into a different carbon-containing molecule, such as the alternative fuel methanol. When carried out in water, electroreduction can even be adapted to generate “synthesis gas”, which is further reacted to produce fuels. But the field of electrochemistry (where much of this research takes place) consists of disproportionately few female scientists.
Non-catalytic methods also exist. For example, captured carbon dioxide can be injected into concrete mixes, where it chemically reacts with calcium ions to form solid calcium carbonate. Not only does this trap carbon dioxide, it strengthens the concrete, potentially decreasing the amount needed for a project. This has numerous benefits, as concrete was responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2020. As is the case with electrochemistry, women are underrepresented in construction fields, including concrete production.
Nature-based utilization methods exploit photosynthetic processes. Plants and plant-like organisms (e.g. microalgae) consume carbon dioxide and can be used as a base for carbon-neutral biofuels. Also, just as Flint’s invention produces an abundance of airborne food in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, agricultural yields (albeit in soil) can be increased by treating fields with biochar, a by-product of biofuel synthesis.
While researchers have suggested that different methods of utilization will offer different magnitudes of emissions reductions, an effective strategy will likely employ several tools in the carbon dioxide utilization toolbox, selected based on the needs and resources of a given location. Pieces of this puzzle are increasingly emerging, such as a women-led startup demonstrating generating jet fuel from carbon dioxide.
Using carbon dioxide does not risk spaghetti tornadoes or other food-related weather events, but there are challenges to its implementation. Electroreduction (and other catalytic methods) require robust energy inputs, as carbon dioxide is extremely stable and therefore reluctant to undergo chemical reactions. As a result, it is crucial that the energy used in these processes is derived from renewable sources, particularly as utilization efforts are scaled up.
The United States recognizes the need to explore numerous solutions to achieve our goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The State Department is working with allies and partners to advance technological climate solutions , such as carbon capture and utilization, and Interagency is conducting and funding research that seeks to transform carbon waste streams into value-added products. Diplomatic and programming efforts support women and girls as they pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math and help women access climate-relevant sectors, including renewable energy and construction.
Flint Lockwood should consider turning to a different greenhouse gas the next time he creates a physics-defying invention. Where can the use of carbon dioxide show up in your life?
About the Author: Aubrey R. Paris, Ph.D., is a Gender, Climate & Innovation Policy Advisor at the Secretariat for Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI). Dr. Paris received her Ph.D. in Chemistry and Materials Science from Princeton University and B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from Ursinus College.
