Wastewater alkalinity addition as a novel approach for ocean negative carbon emissions

Conceptualization of adding alkaline materials to the effluent of wastewater treatment plants to achieve ocean alkalinity enhancement and ocean carbonate chemistry principles (the inserted part)

Anthropogenic CO2 emissions have greatly increased atmospheric CO2 contributing to global warming and leading to ocean acidification (Figure 1). As reflected in the recent IPCC report, the scientific community's consensus is that emissions reductions alone are not sufficient or timely enough to avoid a global warming catastrophe. Thus, negative-carbon-emission technologies are needed to avoid atmospheric CO2 overshoot scenarios and limit global warming to less than 2°C by the end of this century per the Paris Agreement.