Carbon Dioxide

Removal Pathway:
Ocean Health and MRV

10/19/2023
 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

This document was developed by Captura Corporation It is our intent to provide transparency and accountability
(hereafter referred to as Captura) with feedback and with this document, and we invite feedback and reviews
review by seven external experts. The purpose of this on an ongoing basis to MRV@capturacorp.com.
document is two-fold:
This is a living document that will be revisited and
1. It provides a description of Captura’s practices updated when new information is available and at
for ensuring our ocean operations are safe for the least every six months. We assume a basic level of
marine ecosystem. We have included environmental understanding of marine chemistry in the document and
monitoring plans to evaluate the impact of our provide resources for review in the appendix.
technology using the best available information and
have identified potential co-benefits and risks of our
technology, with mitigation pathways and plans.

2. This document also describes a monitoring, reporting,

and verification (MRV) protocol for Captura’s Direct
Ocean Capture (DOC) technology for marine carbon
dioxide removal (mCDR). MRV specifications will be
targeted for commercial scale operations, however, we
will also include pilot testing results herein as we ramp
up to commercial scale.

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

Table of Contents

1. Summary 01 10. Site selection considerations for 12

commercial plants
2. Process overview 02
11. References 14
3. Environmental monitoring plans 04
for ocean health 12. Appendix 15

4. Primary and potential secondary 06 i. Resources for marine carbon cycling 15

benefits and impacts
ii. Southern California Coastal Water 15
5. Evolving definition of CDR 07 Research Project (SCCWRP) ROMS BEC
model description
6. Net CO2 removal mass 07
balance for MRV iii. Frontier carbon removal application 15
(includes LCA)
7. Emissions assessment 08

8. Reporting and verification 09

9. Current state of technology 09

i. Preliminary small scale tank tests in 09

Newport Beach, CA

ii. Pilot field deployments in Newport Beach 10

and San Pedro, CA

iii. Preliminary modeling work 12

iv. Future pilots 12

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

1. Summary remove a measurable stream of CO2 directly from the

upper surface ocean that will subsequently be either
sequestered or utilized (Fig.1). While there are several use
To limit global warming to 1.5-2°C by 2100 and avoid the
cases for CO2 (fuel production, concrete manufacturing,
most severe impacts of climate change, it is critical to
etc.), this document will focus on the CO2 sequestration
remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere in
path. CO2-depleted, or decarbonized, seawater is returned
addition to drastically reducing emissions (IPCC 2022).
to the ocean with the regenerated capacity to absorb CO2
Captura has developed an innovative electrochemical
from the atmosphere at an amount equivalent to the
technology, called Direct Ocean Capture (DOC), to conduct
quantity removed through Captura’s process (Fig.1). The
marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) at large scale.
process does not add chemicals or foreign materials to the
ocean and does not create any byproducts. The long-term
Captura’s approach has the potential to remove significant
goal of the company is to remove CO2 at gigaton scale by
quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere with high energy
leveraging the ocean’s natural ability to absorb and store
efficiency and low capital cost. Captura’s DOC method
atmospheric CO2.
requires only seawater and renewable energy as inputs.
It uses an electrochemical pH-swing based process to

4 Over time and space, discharged

seawater will disperse and dilute
while CO2 in surface seawater will
re-equilibrate with the atmosphere

1 Using renewable CO2 CO2

energy, ambient
seawater will be
Intake

Outlet

Outlet

drawn into the

Captura plant CO2

Decarbonized CO2
2 During the seawater Decarbonized seawater pH≈8.1-8.2
Captura process, pH≈8.5-9
Ambient CO2 is stripped
seawater from the seawater
pH≈8.1 and can be later
3 Seawater with low CO2 is
sequestered returned to the ocean where
the disequilibrium of CO2
between the air and surface
ocean will pull CO2 into the
surface ocean

1a CO2 storage 1b

Figure 1. Description of the primary inputs and outputs of Captura’s process at points 1-4.
a) A local (tens of meters from the discharge port), near-term (minutes to hours) snapshot
b) Over a larger spatiotemporal scale (kilometers from the discharge port and months to years after initial discharge),
decarbonized seawater has spread and diluted, while absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere during re-equilibration.

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

Deployments of Captura’s DOC technology will include 2. CO2 is extracted at a target of >90% extraction efficiency;
a suite of in situ measurements to ensure ocean safety the CO2 stream is captured and will be sequestered
and to inform ocean models to conduct monitoring, geologically (sequestration not shown). Note that
reporting, and verification (MRV). Captura is currently during the CO2 extraction process, dissolved oxygen
conducting a technology piloting program and is also removed.
information gathered from pilots will inform commercial
3. Calcium and magnesium alkaline solids from pre-
scale operations. For commercial deployments, the
treatment as well as NaOH base from electrodialysis are
Captura MRV team will work closely with independent,
added back to the acidified, CO2-depleted seawater.
third-party organizations and/or government agencies to
establish near-field observational modeling and a robust 4. Alkaline, decarbonized seawater is diluted with ambient
model-based framework to evaluate location-dependent seawater to ensure the seawater achieves a target
DOC carbon credits. We are collaborating with experts, 8.5<pH<9 (range designated for California/US, will be
such as Southern California Coastal Water Research location dependent) and returned to the ocean (the
Project (SCCWRP) and others, who are developing MRV amount of dilution depends on the CO2 extraction
models needed to estimate CO2 removal and additional efficiency, where higher extraction efficiency would
modeling tasks described in this document. Removal will result in a higher pH and require more dilution).
be verified by an independent third party and data will be Additionally, dissolved oxygen levels will be increased
compiled into reports that will be made publicly accessible to appropriate limits for California waters, >5 mg L-1.
through openly accessible platforms.
5. CO2-depleted seawater with restored alkalinity and pH
levels elevated above local surface ocean pH can then
absorb additional CO2 from the atmosphere relative

2. Process overview
to the baseline condition without DOC intervention.

Briefly, during Captura’s DOC process (Fig. 2), <1% of

seawater intake is diverted for purposes of acid and base
feedstock generation, beginning with pre-treatment
to soften the seawater by removing dissolved calcium
and magnesium salts before electrodialysis. After
electrodialysis, seawater has been dissociated into
hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) base
through an electrochemical pH-swing process. Then, the
following occurs:

1. HCl acid from electrodialysis is added to primary stream

of filtered seawater to drive dissolved inorganic carbon
(DIC) species into CO2.

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

2a Figure 2a
CO2 from
atmosphere Schematic of the major steps
in the Captura DOC process.
Upper 5 Intake
seawater
ocean CO2
drawdown

1 Acidification

Dilution Pre-treatment
4 and discharge
Alkaline
Ambient solids
seawater
Electrodialysis

Decarbonized Acidified
alkaline seawater
seawater NaOH HCl

CO2 extraction 2
3 Basification

CO2 from
seawater
Decarbonized
acidified
seawater

2b pH (total scale) Figure 2b

Composition diagram of the process described
0 8 6
9. 8. 8. 8.4 8.2
.0
.4

.2

9.8

6
4

in part a) describing the carbonate chemistry

2
10

10
10

9.
9.
9.

8.0
Dilution factor 0.5 1 2 calculated for a theoretical 90% CO2 extraction
2400 4. Dilution and discharge 5. CO2 drawdown efficiency with 2X dilution using ambient seawater
7.0
before discharge and temperature of 25°C, salinity
Total Alkalinity (μmol kg-1)

of 35, and 1 atm of pressure. Grey contour lines

2000
denote the pH (total scale).
6.4

6.2
1. Acidification

1600
3. Basification

6.0
1200
5.8

800 5.6

5.4

400 5.2
2. CO2 extraction 5.0
4.8
0 4.4
400 800 1200 1600 2000

Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (μmol kg-1)

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

3. Environmental that discharge water into the ocean such as wastewater

treatment and desalination plants.

monitoring plans Note: The following describes the current plan for

for ocean health

monitoring at the 100-ton/year pilot site in San Pedro, CA.
We will adjust it accordingly if other variables are found
to be more useful or extraneous. Data collected from
Captura is committed to preserving ocean health and monitoring at pilot sites will be published online within
safety. Environmental variables will be measured at the six months of collection and incorporated into models for
seawater intake and outlet as well as after the discharge MRV. Lessons learned from this pilot deployment will be
to monitor the ecosystem impacts of our technology. used to inform future monitoring plans for other pilots and
Local monitoring will confirm that our processes stay commercial plants.
within acceptable limits for permits of existing processes

4 Modeled CO2_ASG
2b T, S, pH, pCO2, TA, DIC, DO

CO2 CO2
Intake

Outlet

1 T, S, pH, pCO2, CO2 2a Outlet

TA, DIC, DO
Decarbonized CO2
seawater Decarbonized seawater pH≈8.1-8.2
pH≈8.5-9
Ambient
seawater
pH≈8.1
3 T, S, pH, pCO2, TA, DIC, DO,
TB, Chl, BGA, TSS

3a CO2 storage 3b

Figure 3. Measurements will be made at different locations of Captura’s process in pilot and commercial scales.
a) Measurement point 1 is after the seawater intake and before Captura’s DOC process. Measurement points 2a and 2b
are after Captura’s DOC process that follow the stream of CO2 gas that is extracted and geologically stored as well as the
CO2-depleted seawater. Point 3 is after the discharge is released back into the ocean (depending on the environment, these
measurements may be made in multiple locations with one close to the source and others downstream of the release).
b) Point 4 is model-estimated CO2 absorbed through air-sea gas exchange (CO2_ASG) into the upper surface ocean from the
atmosphere over large scales of time and space.

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

Table 1. Primary variables to be measured during Captura’s process. See locations of measurements in Fig. 3. Target ranges are based on local
regulations for wastewater where applicable or based on minimal impacts from the process.

VARIABLE LOCATION OF MEASUREMENT TARGET RANGES FOR DISCHARGE AT

MEASUREMENT TYPE POINT 3 (OR 2b, AS INDICATED)

Temperature (T, °C) 1, 2b, 3 Discrete, continuous ± 3°C of local temperature

Salinity (S, PSS-78) 1, 2b, 3 Discrete, continuous ± 5% of local salinity

pH (total scale) 1, 2b, 3 Discrete, continuous 8.5-9

pCO₂ (μatm) 1, 2b, 3 Discrete, continuous < 10% of local pCO₂ at 2b

Total alkalinity
1, 2b, 3 Discrete ± 5% of local alkalinity
(TA, μmol kg -1)

Total dissolved inorganic

1, 2b, 3 Discrete < 10% of local DIC at 2b
carbon (DIC, μmol kg-1)

Dissolved oxygen (DO, mg L-1) 1, 2b, 3 Discrete, continuous >5 mg L-1

Turbidity (TB, NTU) 3 Continuous <75 NTU

Chlorophyll a (Chl, μg L-1) 3 Continuous N/A

Blue green algae (BGA, μg L-1) 3 Continuous N/A

Total suspended solids

3 Discrete <10 mg L-1
(TSS, mg L-1)

Mass of CO₂ gas removed (g) 2a Continuous N/A

Model-estimated CO 2_ASG (g) 4 Modeled N/A

In situ measurements will be provided by continuous instruments. Once that CO2 is sequestered, it will be
sensors [YSI EXO2 Multiparameter Sonde: T, S, pH, DO, monitored by sequestration partners according to their
TB, Chl, BGA and Turner C-Sense: pCO2] or with discrete standard practices, which require approval by relevant
bottle samples as indicated in Table 1 at locations regulation agencies for the sequestration site. Captura
described in Figure 3. Continuous sensors will record will work with model development teams to develop and
approximately hourly measurements. Sensors will be incorporate economically feasible observational strategies
calibrated, maintained, and validated with bottle samples to constrain key elements that will provide calibration/
as recommended by the manufacturer to achieve high validation datasets for the oceanographic models to
performance. Baseline monitoring will occur for a period quantify model-estimated CO2 absorbed through air-sea
long enough to capture seasonal variability in addition to gas exchange (CO2_ASG). These strategies may contain
using existing publicly available data to estimate baseline periodic sampling transects, current measurements, or
conditions, when possible. Mass of CO2 gas removed will tracer experiments.
be quantified using mass flow meters or similar analytical

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

4. Primary and In addition to the primary carbon removal benefit of

Captura’s DOC technology, it also provides the environmen-

potential secondary tal co-benefit of mitigating ocean acidification (OA) locally.

By releasing seawater with elevated pH back into the ocean,

benefits and impacts

Captura’s process directly counteracts ocean acidification.
We expect the impact to be localized to the system location
and operation. We will use observations collected from the
The primary outcomes of Captura’s technology are: site combined with local modeling to determine the extent
of OA mitigation.
1. Remove CO2 directly from the upper ocean
CO2 is captured in a gas stream that is quantitively Possible localized risks and our plan to address them:
measured by mass flow meters, gas chromatography
and/or similar analytical instruments. Uncertainty of 1. Abiotic or biologically mediated calcification—Through
this value is negligible due to the accurate metered our ongoing lab scale tank experiments, we will
measurement of CO2 that is extracted. CO2 will be use literature values (Moras et al. 2022, Hartmann
sequestered by partners, such as Northern Lights, who et al. 2023) to test conditions for which secondary
will ensure durability of long-term storage of >1000 years precipitation occurs and avoid approaching those limits
at a minimal leakage rate. Storage will be monitored, and in pilot field trials and beyond.
leakage will be quantified. Uncertainty depends on the 2. Filtering, pH swing, and elevated pH/low DIC effects
method of storage or utilization but is expected to be on marine biota—During the CO2 extraction process,
minimal. large volumes of seawater are filtered, acidified, and
2. Remove CO2 indirectly from the atmosphere basified. We expect that the effects of our filtering
process will be similar to those found in desalination
CO2-depleted seawater returned to the ocean from plants. Periodic backwash of the filtering process
Captura’s process will induce atmospheric CO2 returns marine biota with characteristic length scale
drawdown, and this quantity will be estimated using > 100 μm back to the ocean. In Captura’s process, the
location specific models. The uncertainty in this estimate residence time of marine biota in acidified seawater is
can be determined within the model. As mentioned ~10 seconds before base addition. Although there has
previously, we are partnering with multiple external been extensive research conducted on largely negative
parties who are developing robust modeling framework impacts of decreased pH or ocean acidification on
and MRV protocols to address this. marine organisms at exposure times of ~days or
The durability of the CO2 is essentially permanent longer (Fabry et al. 2008, Kleypas et al. 2005, Kroeker
as it will be converted to bicarbonate and carbonate ions et al. 2010 and 2013, Kurihara 2008), there is less
and can be stored on the order of 10,000 to 100,000 years information regarding the effects of lower pH on the
(Falkowski et al. 2000, Caldeira et al. 2018, NASEM 2022). order of seconds and the effects of high pH and low
DIC. With a preliminary model, we have found that the
most elevated levels of pH and lowest DIC will be diluted
quickly within tens of meters of the discharge port such
that maximum impacts will be localized.

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

We will conduct studies to address the effects of 1) filtering, for Captura and its customers. Until that latter definition
2) brief exposure to pH ~4, 3) longer term exposure to high is fully accepted, we will continue to consider CDR as the
pH/low DIC. For an initial study to look at the biological carbon removed from the atmosphere and have described
impacts of these processes, we are leveraging the expertise more of the MRV process in the next few sections.
of a sustainable aquaculture company called Holdfast
Aquaculture to run experiments on local phytoplankton
(green and brown algae, diatoms), bivalves (including
mussels and oysters), sea urchins, and seaweed species
to determine impacts of Captura effluent, both with
6. Net CO2 removal
and without filtered material, on growth and health of
each marine species at different stages of life. We are
mass balance for MRV
also exploring opportunities to conduct ecosystem
To produce high quality carbon credits, MRV will need to
assessments made through a regional ocean model by
assess additionality, leakage, and durability of the mCDR
applying physiological species-specific thresholds to
deployment. Additionality indicates the net CO2 removal
quantify biological effects of modeled exposure to slightly
above the natural baseline, in other words, how much
elevated pH and low DIC.
additional CO2 would be removed from the atmosphere
using an mCDR technique compared to what would
happen without the mCDR intervention. Leakage is

5. Evolving definition
described as the amount of CO2 that would escape the
removal process. Durability or permanence refers to the
length of time that the CO2 is stored. We address these
of CDR aspects with respect to quantifying the amount of CDR in
the following mass balance (g CO2):
As the carbon removal industry continues to develop,
the definition of carbon removal is also changing. This CO2_CDR = CO2_ASG – CO2_emissions – CO2_leakage,
document refers to carbon removal from the atmosphere where terms are defined as follows:
via the ocean, however, some organizations have started
to adopt a “one-ecosystem” approach that considers CO2_CDR – Net atmospheric carbon dioxide removed
removal from the atmosphere and upper hydrosphere
(0-200 m) as equivalent. The Carbon Removal XPRIZE CO2_ASG – Amount of CO2 absorbed from the atmosphere
allows either and we note that the US Government’s first into the upper surface ocean through Air-Sea Gas exchange
carbon removal purchase program from the Department of (ASG, a positive quantity refers to flux into the ocean) or
Energy (DOE) released in September 2023, defines carbon amount of CO2 that is prevented from outgassing from
dioxide removal approaches as those that “capture CO2 the ocean. This amount will be based on how much CO2
that is already in the atmosphere or upper hydrosphere and is directly removed from seawater in the upper surface
involves the subsequent secure storage of the captured CO2 ocean (CO2_SW) and the proportion of that quantity that is
in geological, biobased, and ocean reservoirs”. Captura’s replenished from the atmosphere, represented by α, such
core process removes CO2 from the upper hydrosphere that CO2_ASG = α CO2_SW. We will seek deployment locations
(i.e. the upper surface ocean) and produces a measurable with characteristics that would bring α close to 1 (details
stream of CO2 for permanent sequestration. Defining described in section 10). The completeness of equilibrium
carbon credits to include measurable CO2 removed from of the CO2-depleted seawater over time and space as well
the upper surface ocean would simplify the MRV process as the quantity of CO2 drawdown will be estimated through

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

high-resolution, biogeochemical modeling. Modeling will In addressing the uncertainties of these terms, we expect
be used to estimate CO2_ASG for MRV due to the following that the largest source of uncertainty will be in CO2_ASG
reasons, among others: 1) the plume of CO2-depleted term. We note that many forms of carbon removal are
seawater will cover a spatial footprint too large to capture not definitive in their quantification of carbon removed
with direct observations using currently available sensor and the associated timescale. For example, afforestation
technology, 2) to quantify additionality, CDR will need to be requires time for trees to grow and may release CO2 in the
evaluated against a baseline scenario without intervention. future, Direct Air Capture (DAC) may result in outgassing of
Several efforts by external parties are currently underway CO2 from the ocean which offsets some of the benefit of
to develop an MRV framework that will enable us to atmospheric CO2 removal. Captura expects that the carbon
estimate this quantity and the uncertainties associated removal market will reach a consensus on how these
with it. We describe one such collaboration in section 8 of uncertainties are addressed in claiming carbon credits
this document. Durability of the CO2 absorbed from the (which may include a buffering mechanism for example)
atmosphere is considered permanent (>10,000 years, see and will work with customers and regulatory authorities
further details in section 4). throughout that process. As models are refined and
impacts are better understood, uncertainties will decrease,
CO2_emissions – Emissions associated with the energy, and the carbon credits will be adjusted accordingly.
materials, and equipment used for Captura’s DOC
construction, operation, separation, and transport of CO2
from capture to sequestration site, as well as monitoring
and sequestration. A third-party life cycle analysis (LCA)
with detailed emissions accounting has been conducted
7. Emissions
by an environmental engineering consultant and is
referenced in the appendix of this document.
assessment
An emissions assessment will be conducted for each
CO2_leakage – Any leakage from CO2 removed from seawater
commercial Captura plant such that the LCA will be site-
that is stored geologically. Geologic sequestration is an
specific to include emissions associated with Captura
already established, mature industry with processes
technology and a renewable energy source in addition to
that have been developed for 50 years and technology
the sequestration or utilization component. Major sources
readiness levels (TRLs) of the highest level of 9 (Bui et al.
of emissions are listed below:
2018, Keleman et al. 2019, Kearns et al. 2021). Captura will
partner with experienced sequestration companies, such
1. Materials and equipment for construction and operation
as Northern Lights project, both onshore and below the
of Captura plant
seabed to ensure the verifiable and permanent storage of
CO2. Sequestered CO2 will be in a supercritical liquid state 2. Electricity for Captura’s DOC process
once injected into either depleted oil and gas formations,
3. If sequestering CO2 geologically, equipment and
or into geologic saline aquifers. Sequestration sites will be
electricity for compression, pumping, transportation,
selected for characteristics that prevent CO2 from escaping
and injection of CO2, and CO2 leakage from pipeline and
and include monitoring for verification that will be under
injection system
the responsibility of the sequestration company. Leakage
could also include biotic feedbacks, such as alteration of
Please see Appendix for an example LCA of Captura
the biological pump, that are presently poorly understood.
systems from a third-party report.

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

8. Reporting and 9. Current state

verification of technology
Verification will be performed by a certified validation and Results from Captura’s laboratory, pilot systems, and
verification body (VVB) accredited by a standard body such modeling work are detailed below and will be updated as
as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) new data becomes available.
14065. This will confirm that the amount of CO2 removal
that we report is evaluated correctly. Measurements i. Preliminary small scale (300 gallon) tank test
from Table 1 will be reviewed. Verification of the estimated results from Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory,
atmospheric CO2 drawdown will likely include additional Newport Beach, CA
model simulations and validation by external parties.
Monitoring and verification of the fate of CO2 that is Before discharge to the ocean, different components
removed from seawater will differ based on the method of generated in the Captura process, including 1) acidified CO2-
CO2 storage or utilization. depleted seawater, 2) alkaline solids (magnesium hydroxide
(Mg(OH)2) and calcium carbonate (CaCO3)) from the pre-
treatment, and 3) sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution from
electrodialysis, must be mixed together and stay within
pre-determined limits from Table 1 to ensure ocean safety.

4a 4b

Figure 4
a) Schematic and
b) Picture of lab-scale tank set-up for mixing acid-
ified CO2-depleted seawater with generated base.
Numbered labels refer to positions of pH probes.
The acidified CO2-depleted seawater flows into a
1-inch pipe from the right inlet and mixes with alka-
line solids and NaOH base

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

Figure 4
c) Top panel shows the pH of the acidified
seawater, second panel shows the pH of the
acidified seawater after mixing with alkaline
solids and NaOH base measured by pH probe
1 and 2 placed within the 1-inch pipe to
monitor the pH after the mixer and before the
discharge. The third panel shows measured
pH values in the tank over time from pH
probes 3-8 as labeled in Fig. 4a and 4b. pH
probes 3-6 were placed near the surface of
the water in the tank, and pH probes 7 and 8
were immersed under the water.

4c

During this tank experiment (Fig. 4a-b), acidified, CO2- Captura has two existing pilot systems – a 1-ton/year
depleted seawater from the 1-ton pilot (to be discussed system that has been operating at Caltech’s Kerckhoff
further in the next section) operating at 75-80% CO2 Marine Laboratory in Newport Beach, CA, and a 100-ton/
extraction efficiency was directed to the tank. The pH of the year system, currently located at AltaSea at the Port of
acidified seawater was ~4 and increased to ~9 after mixing Los Angeles in San Pedro, CA.
in the alkaline solids and NaOH (Fig. 4c). The turbidity of
the combined effluent was <3 mg/L based on earlier test The components of a fully scaled system feature high
results. When the effluent mixture was discharged into current density electrodialysis technology combined
the tank, pH increased from 8.1 to 8.35-8.4 after 200 min or with conventional water/gas handling equipment. The
more than 3 hours. At the current CO2 extraction efficiency, water and gas handling equipment (filters, pumps, CO2
the discharge pH does not require further dilution. At higher stripping, vacuum pumps) are all commercially available
CO2 extraction efficiency (target for pilot field trials is >90%), at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 9. The overall
pH of the effluent will be higher and may require dilution Captura system is currently moving into TRL 6, having
with ambient seawater to decrease pH to a safe level before accomplished 2000+ hours of on-site seawater testing
discharge. Our next steps for test tank experiments involve with our 1-ton/year CO2 removal pilot system (Fig. 5a).
monitoring more parameters in addition to pH, including Initial results from the 1-ton system (Fig. 5b) captured CO2
pCO2, dissolved oxygen, and more accurate flow rates. concentration from seawater of >90%, from measurements
of outflow (the remainder is nitrogen and oxygen which is
ii. Pilot field deployments in Newport Beach, CA easily removed), and an overall CO2 capture rate of >90% as
and San Pedro, CA the seawater flows through.

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

100
N2
100 O2
80

(%)(%)
N2
CO 2
O2
80 CO2

Concentration
60

Concentration
60
40

40
20

20
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

100

(%)(%)
100
80

efficiency
80

efficiency
60

60

2 removal
40

removal
40
20

CO2CO
20
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Time (hr)6 7 8 9 10 11

Time (hr)

5a 5b

5c
Figure 5
a) Captura’s 1-ton/year pilot operating at
Newport Beach, California
b) Preliminary results from the 1-ton pilot
system show the concentrations of nitrogen,
oxygen, and CO2 on the top panel and CO2
removal efficiency on the bottom panel
c) Captura’s 100-ton/year pilot at the Port of
Los Angeles.

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

Captura’s 100-ton/year pilot at the Port of Los Angeles

(Fig. 5c) will begin operations in Fall 2023 with the
10. Site selection
monitoring plan shown earlier in section 2. The 1-ton and
100-ton systems currently use commercially available considerations for
commercial scale
membranes for electrodialysis and seawater degassing,
but commercial scale systems will use Captura proprietary
membranes (currently TRL 4) to increase system
efficiency by 7-10x. (>20,000 ton-CO2/
iii. Preliminary modeling work year) plants
Captura has partnered with Southern California Coastal Captura plants can be situated either on-shore or off-
Water Research Project (SCCWRP) to conduct modeling shore and can be built as dedicated platforms or can
simulations of a commercial scale system. SCCWRP uses make use of existing infrastructure. In the near term, if
a Regional Ocean Model System (ROMS) (Shchepetkin built onshore, desalination plants and thermal power
and McWilliams 2005) dynamically coupled to plants that use seawater for cooling provide ideal initial
Biogeochemical Elemental Cycling (BEC; Moore et al. 2004), deployment locations due to the pre-existing infrastructure
a biogeochemistry and lower-ecosystem model that was for water intake and discharge. Near-shore deployment on
enhanced specifically for the California Current System decommissioned oil/gas platforms provide the advantage
(Deutsch et al. 2021). Please see further details describing of repurposing equipment and access to a pipeline and
the model in the appendix. ROMS-BEC is being applied to geologic reservoir to permanently sequester CO2 captured
evaluate the regional-scale fate of DIC-depleted Captura from our process.
waters and the temporal and spatial evolution of CO2_ASG,
defined in section 2. CO2_ASG is assessed as the difference For future standalone systems, we will use coarser
in the air-sea gas exchange of CO2 between two ROMS-BEC resolution global models as a first screening step to
scenarios. The first scenario is a baseline ocean simulation determine suitable deployment locations and then high-
(hindcast simulation, Kessouri et al. 2021) and the resolution regional models to optimize site selection for the
second is a scenario that includes DOC. The difference is greatest efficacy of our technology. Appropriate locations
considered as CO2 additionality of DOC relative to baseline would be established using methods similar to those found
conditions. in He and Tyka 2023 and Bach et al. 2023, that show how
a CO2 deficit generated by ocean alkalinity enhancement
iv. Future pilots (OAE) in the ocean will equilibrate with the atmosphere over
time. An example from Bach et al. 2023 provides modeling
We have announced our partnership with Deep Sky to for a CDR process similar to DOC that creates a CO2 deficit
install a 100-ton pilot in eastern Quebec, Canada in Q3 in surface seawater to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere
2024. Additionally, we will be deploying a 1000-ton pilot (Note that for the large scale used in this paper, a 100,000
with the location expected to be announced in November ton-CO2/year Captura plant would need to operate for 110
2023. Following our rigorous piloting program, we expect years). In Fig. 6 on next page, a 0.25 Tmol pulse of seawater
our first commercial facilities to be operational by 2026. CO2 deficit was simulated in the Amazon estuary near
Fortaleza, Brazil that showed 95% equilibration within 3
years and how the deficit spreads in the surface ocean over
the first 10 years.

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

Figure 6 Modified from Bach et al. 2023 Fig. 1b. Simulated equilibration of an initial seawater CO2 deficit with atmospheric CO2.
(Note that y-axes show DIC instead of CO2 as DIC was the variable manipulated in the model. However, CO2 and DIC removal are equivalent
when alkalinity remains unchanged.) The initial seawater CO2 deficit of 0.25 Tmol was simulated in the area marked in black on the maps.
The left panel shows the rate of re-equilibration. The maps to the right illustrate the spread of the deficit in the surface ocean indicated by
the surface pCO2 difference relative to the control model run (note the log scale of the color map). The small panels below the maps show the
depth of the integrated CO2 deficit (integrated over the entire ocean). In other words, they show at which depths most of the initial CO2 deficit
occurs.

We will aim for deployment sites with some or all of

the following characteristics: 1) no net harm on local
ecosystem, to be quantified by comparing baseline field
sampling of marine biogeochemistry to operational
conditions, 2) operations will not significantly interfere
with long-term biogeochemical ocean time-series (i.e.
the signal from the plant will not be greater than the
observational noise), 3) ocean circulation patterns that
will help keep the carbon-depleted water we release at
the surface to maintain contact with the atmosphere
so that gas exchange can replenish > 90% of process-
induced DIC deficit (i.e. negligible downwelling), 4)
baseline environment can be established from existing
publicly available data or in a timeframe on the order of
~months in order to quantify additionality, 5) co-located
with renewable energy sources and efficient access to
sequestration/utilization, 6) site can be operational for >10
years with minimal decrease in efficiency.

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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

11. References
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Gruber, K. Hibbard, P. Högberg, S. Linder, F. T. Mackenzie, B. Moore III, T. P.W., Galbraith, E.D., Geider, R.J., Guieu, C., Jaccard, S.L. and Jickells, T.D.,
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9. IPCC. 2022. Climate change 2022: Mitigation of climate change. In P. R. 22. Renault, L., McWilliams, J.C., Kessouri, F., Jousse, A., Frenzel, H., Chen,
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geological formations. Frontiers in Climate, 1, 9. atmospheric model for weather research and forecasting applications.
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C., Feely, R.A., McLaughlin, K., Ho, M., Howard, E.M. and Bednaršek, N., 2021. 25. Uchiyama, Y., McWilliams, J.C. and Shchepetkin, A.F., 2010. Wave–
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change in a major oceanic upwelling system. Proceedings of the National formalism: Application to the surf zone. Ocean Modelling,
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 Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway: Ocean Health and MRV

12. Appendix silicate, and iron) as driven be phytoplankton (diatoms,

diazotrophs, small phytoplankton, and coccolithophores)
and zooplankton functional groups. Deutsch et al. (2021)
i. Resources for marine carbon cycling
enhanced BEC by linking the ecosystem to a carbon
system module that tracks dissolved in organic carbon and
To better understand Captura’s process and what
alkalinity, and an air-sea gas exchange module that allows
its effects will be on the ocean, it is important to first
realistic representation of dissolved gases (e.g., O2, CO2, and
understand the marine carbon cycle. For a refresher on
nitrous oxide), based on the formulation of Wanninkhof
marine carbon cycling, please refer to:
(1992). Model nests scale from a 4-km horizontal resolution
spanning the entire CCS, to a 1-km resolution grid covering
1. NOAA education resources on carbon cycle
much of the California coast, to a 0.3-km grid in the
2. Part 1 seawater carbonate chemistry from Guide Southern California Bight (Kessouri et al. 2021a,b).
to best practices for ocean acidification research
and reporting ROMS-BEC has been validated at a coast-wide scale for
atmospheric forcing, physics, and biogeochemistry,
ii. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project including O2, DIC, primary productivity, and hydrographic
(SCCWRP) ROMS BEC model description parameters (Deutsch et al., 2021; Renault et al., 2021) and
within the Southern California Bight, on nearshore, to
A physical-biogeochemical numerical ocean model is investigate wastewater outfall plume impacts of coastal
being utilized to assess the amount of CO2 absorbed eutrophication on ocean acidification and oxygen loss
from the atmosphere into the ocean through air-sea gas (Kessouri et al. 2021b). At both scales, ROMS-BEC has
exchange. The physical model, the Regional Ocean Model demonstrated exceptional ability to reproduce the mean
System (ROMS), is a widely used, open-sourced code, distributions and variability of key biogeochemical and
for U.S. coastal waters and elsewhere (Shchepetkin and ecosystem properties, including core carbonate system
McWilliams 2005). The general ROMS functionality is a parameters germane to this proposed application. The
computational solution of the incompressible hydrostatic model is run with a time step of 30 s, and outputs are
equations with a free upper surface, realistic equation saved as 1-day averages. More information on the model
of state, and parameterization for small-scale turbulent setup and forcing is provided in other works (Deutsch
mixing, especially in the top and bottom boundary layers. et al. 2021, Renault et al. 2021, Kessouri et al. 2021b). For
ROMS includes dynamics coupling to surface gravity the 1-km and 0.3-km model nests, 20+ years of hindcast
waves (McWilliams et al. 2004) and extends from the open simulations have been conducted (1997-2017), capturing
sea into the littoral zone with wave breaking (Uchiyama variability on time scales of daily to decadal.
et al. 2010). It requires spatially detailed patterns of wind
and surface buoyancy forcing, obtained from simulations iii. Frontier carbon removal application
of the regional Weather Research and Forecast model
(WRF; Skamarock and Klemp, 2008). ROMS is dynamically Frontier carbon removal purchase application with LCA
coupled to Biogeochemical Elemental Cycling (BEC; Moore starting on page 14 (link)
et al. 2004), a biogeochemistry and lower-ecosystem
model that was enhanced specifically for the California
Current System (Deutsch et al. 2021). It simulates
the cycles of organic and inorganic carbon, alkalinity,
oxygen, and nutrients (nitrate, ammonium, phosphate,

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