The groundbreaking CNR laser-based analyzer is portable and offers fast, high-precision measurements of radiocarbon that have not been previously available.
Currently, the technology is under development in a partnership between the INO-CNR and Planetary Emissions Management (PEM) Inc. "The SCAR method uses non-linear effects that are often observed when studying matter, in this case molecules, with laser light," stated INO-CNR researcher Giovanni Giusfredi. "These effects, which need high-reflectivity mirrors to enhance the light intensity in the gas, have been avoided in the standard techniques used so far. SCAR represents, in a sense, the 'cornerstone rejected by the builders,' necessary to identify the very low signal used to identify the particles of 14CO2 from the so-called 'background noise.'"
The applications of the new radiocarbon technology are required for measurement of atmospheric radiocarbon related to anthropogenic emissions at the local project scale. Bruno D.V. Marino, CEO of PEM, Inc., said, "You can't trade what you can't measure--the INO-CNR advancement is revolutionary, providing for verifiable accounting of fossil fuel CO2 emissions and carbon products related, for example, to carbon capture utilization and storage, mega-cities, and transportation."
Increased direct measurement of atmospheric radiocarbon in the field will leverage extensive climate change measurement campaigns (typically with few radiocarbon analyses) and can eliminate estimation of fossil fuel emissions typically employed for carbon trading. "A vastly increased data rate and lower costs for 14CO2 will change our approach to the management of anthropogenic CO2 and usher in an era of private sector monitoring and verification for new carbon financial products for voluntary and compliance markets worldwide," Marino said. The collaboration is developing plans for manufacturing and service-based businesses worldwide.
About INO-CNR: The mission of the Istituto Nazionale di Ottica-Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche, headquartered in Florence, Italy, is to develop, advance, and support Italian and international research in strategic areas of optics, atomic and molecular physics, and radiation–matter interaction.
About Planetary Emissions Management, Inc.: Planetary Emissions Management, Inc., located in Cambridge, MA, and Portland, ME, is a greenhouse gas services and technology company that addresses the management of atmospheric composition and greenhouse gas markets worldwide.