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OUR STORY
To prevent the worst effects of climate change, scientists have estimated that we need at least 10 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere, and permanently stored, per year by 2050. Let's face the facts, concentrating and storing 10 billion tons of anything is going to be hard!
Using the power of photosynthesis, evolution, and reactor engineering, Carba's scientists and engineers have discovered and developed a process that can seamlessly scale to reach climate goals, permanently. We use plants to suck carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the air and convert their waste to a recalcitrant solid carbon. Then we sequester the carbon underground to stabilize it for thousands (possibly millions) of years.
Carba puts carbon back in the ground - mimicking the process that created coal 300 million years ago in just minutes. Check out the science behind the process!
Why Carba
Our founders have been working on biomass-derived alternative fuels for 30+ years. We understand how to handle biomass, how to measure the products, and how to design cutting-edge catalytic reactors.
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Carba's technology uses a fraction of the energy of other approaches, and yields the highest carbon yield possible. This makes the Carba Way the most energy efficient and material efficient use of biomass waste.
PRODUCT
CO2 REMOVAL & PERMANENT STORAGE
Carba's engineered-based removal technology collects carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, directly from plant waste, converts the plant waste to a recalcitrant solid carbon, and sequesters the carbon underground for thousands of years. Carba focuses on high-value, permanent removal for B2B. The technology is energy neutral - requiring near zero additional power, high quality (safe and stable), permanent, and additional.
Engineered removal lasts longer and is easily measured and verified.
BIOMASS
NATURE'S WASTE PARTNER PROGRAM
Carba is actively seeking sustainably sourced biomass waste partners. When biomass biodegrades, up to half of the carbon can be converted into methane, which carries 28 times the greenhouse warming potential. Don't burn or let the waste biodegrade - let us convert it and sequester that carbon underground. We are looking for 100,000+ ton per year sources of waste including woodchips, yard waste, agricultural wastes and more. We can't do our job without global biomass partners teaming up with us to save the world!
Become a Carba partner today!
Our Solution
Carba puts carbon back in the ground.
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Photosynthesis pulls CO2 out of the air. Carba then converts biomass waste into a recalcitrant solid carbon, which is sequestered underground in a stabilized form. Carbon is removed from the atmosphere for thousands of years.
Photosynthesis
REMOVING C02
How we do it
1. Photosynthesis
Plants use energy from the sun and photosynthesis to pull carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the air and convert it into carbohydrates, lignin, cellulose and other organic molecules. This removes CO2 from the air, however, over time the plants die and decompose, or are burned. In the process they release the majority of the carbon that was stored back into CO2 and also methane. Up to 50% of the carbon can turn into methane, and methane has 28 times the greenhouse warming potential!
2. Stabilization
The carbon in plants is susceptible to microbial and fungal attack once the plant dies. Fortunately, we can use science to stabilize the carbon and limit degradation. At temperatures above 300 °C in an inert atmosphere, the molecules in plant matter lose oxygen and are converted to long chains of carbon that are resistant to microbial and fungal attack. This carbon is similar to the char left over after a fire, except Carba's proprietary technology eliminates the temperature gradients and bio-oil formation (carbon loss) that plague modern pyrolysis reactors.
3. Burial
The resulting carbon resists attack from microbial and fungal agents, but does nonetheless, degrade in soils over time through a variety of mechanisms. To improve the permanence of these carbons, Carba has developed the Biomass Torrefaction and Burial™ (BTB™) process, which takes these carbon solids and sequesters them in various mines, pits and landfills around the world. By doing this, we can increase permanence to thousands (possibly millions) of years. The process mimics the formation of coal from trees 300 million years ago in minutes.
