400 million tons of CO₂ reduced in about 40 years

 A mega project by China to “drink” the atmosphere, 400 million-ton of CO2 reduced 

Within 40 years, China has made a concerted effort to preserve its natural ecosystems. It was back in 1980 when China put forth large afforestation campaigns, which included the Three-North Shelter Forest Program among other prominent programs. With such lucrative efforts in place, China has produced many green carbon-absorbing forests. With a reduction of 400 million tons of CO₂ in 40 years, a reduction of about 16 billion tons of CO₂ will result in the next four decades. The reason China is engaging in afforestation efforts is to reverse the ecological damage and stabilize the carbon cycle. At the centre of these reforestation projects lies improved soil quality, preserved biodiversity and the fight against desertification. China is proving that while engaging in efforts to prevent climate change, the country can reap economic and ecological benefits as well.  With forests absorbing large quantities of CO₂, China’s technological initiatives have come to the fore. It seems like China tried for 40 years and has finally succeeded in what seems like the biggest transformation in history. In just 40 years, the nation has transformed from being the world’s largest emitter to a core player in the carbon management field. The main figure to note is the 400 million tons of CO₂ removed per year, which has resulted from a combination of afforestation techniques, ecological engineering and emerging biotechnologies. 

China plans to “drink” in the atmosphere. While China will not literally drink the atmosphere, China is keen on addressing one of the gravest atmospheric problems: carbon dioxide (CO₂). Over the last 40 years, China has been involved in numerous ecological engineering and afforestation projects. China is not just stopping with the reduction of 400 million tons of CO₂ under its belt, but the country seeks to transform the CO₂ into vital food resources to address the issue of food insecurity as well. China has made massive strides in the journey towards carbon recovery. Part of the journey included national forest programs, desertification control, watershed restoration and urban greening, which enabled the country to build the world’s greatest artificial carbon sinks. The 400 million tons of CO₂ annually signifies the average amount of CO₂ that has been absorbed by China’s expanding forests and engineered ecosystems over the past 40 years. Far from symbolic, this “atmospheric harvest” has caused the global carbon gap to narrow at a time when climate pressure continued to accelerate. Four decades of investing have resulted in the ability to convert captured CO₂ into essential resources at a rather large scale. The fact that China remained headstrong in its removal capacity set the foundation for an era where the captured carbon was seen as merely a climate burden. Thereafter, Chinese scientists decided to look at the captured carbon as more of a resource, paving the way for an entirely new technological frontier.

China has utilized a strategy whereby climate change and food insecurity can be addressed. In the process, China is also planting billions of trees so as to engineer microbes responsible for turning CO₂ into a food source. The project has yielded noteworthy results and is combining natural ecosystems with synthetic biology. This, however, is not the only initiative which China is undertaking. China is also turning 12 trillion litres of water into energy in a project. As per current research by the Xi’an Jiaotong University and the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, carbon can be reused. With a dual-reactor system, one anaerobic, one aerobic, scientists were able to demonstrate an efficient way of transforming CO₂ and electricity into high-quality single-cell protein (SCP). The first reactor works to convert CO₂ into acetate through microbial electrosynthesis. The second reactor relies on aerobic bacteria, specifically from the Alcaligenes genus, to transform this acetate into protein-rich biomass.

The results have shown:-

74% protein concentration (which is more protein than you would get from fish and soy)

17.4 g/L dry cell weight yield

Food suitable for animal feed and human consumption

Food rich in amino acids

With this system, high waste output is bypassed completely. Food generation is embedded directly into the carbon cycle, using atmospheric CO₂ as the core input.

Chinese scientists are looking at converting CO₂ into a high-protein food with advanced biotechnology. CO₂ and electricity will be converted into a single-cell protein (SCP). The system will convert CO₂ into acetate as per the anaerobic microbial electrosynthesis phase. In the second phase called aerobic bacteria the genus alcaligenes will consume this acetate to produce SCP. After both phases, protein-rich biomass with a 74% protein yield will result. The protein produced is only suitable for animal feed but is also showing promising results in terms of being safe for human consumption. The food produced will be a plant-based alternative but a strong source of protein. China is in this manner drinking the atmosphere by turning a harmful substance like CO₂ into a nutritious food source and in the process the country is addressing issues of food insecurity and climate change. China’s progress in carbon transformation is noted, but it extends beyond what we know. Astronauts on the Tiangong space station looked at artificial photosynthesis to convert CO₂ and water into oxygen and organic compounds. For this, astronauts used plant-like chemical pathways to manufacture a closed-loop life-support system, which has been essential for Martian missions and long lunar missions. The message is clear: China is operationalizing carbon and seeing it not as a form of waste, but as a material for renewal.

The system reassesses how high-protein food can be produced. It is clear that the core premise of the system can be employed in other systems as well. While this may not unlock unlimited energy like China’s other projects can, it is a key strategy towards China becoming the global leader in sustainability efforts. China has triggered global alarm with 94.5 GW of new capacity under construction, and it is clear that, alongside sustainability efforts, the country is interested in recycling all of its captured CO₂. The 400-million-ton legacy is the core foundation upon which China seems to be building a carbon-based resource economy. When combining atmospheric management with scientific research in CO₂-to-protein conversion and space-grade artificial photosynthesis, the country is giving carbon capture a whole new meaning.

A circular carbon economy is being created where CO₂ is not seen as toxic waste, but a  form of feedstock. With fewer resources, minimal waste and no need for balancing chemicals, China’s identified process is beneficial and sustainable. What had once been seen as a form of pollution is now raw material which can be used to create food, oxygen and industrial systems of the future. China may set the tone on how societies can turn the battle against emissions into a valuable resource. However, the country is not stopping with just reducing emissions. The nation is also vested in clean energy generation, and in the pipeline is China’s floating solar revolution, which will be the world’s biggest power network. In matters concerning climate change, what may seem as little steps, China has demonstrated this by trying for more than four decades and finally yielding results.