PINE BLUFF, Ark — One company is working to deplete carbon dioxide levels in Arkansas's air to fight climate change issues.
The interesting part is it happens to be right under your nose.
Graphyte is the world's largest carbon dioxide removal plant, located in Pine Bluff. Founded by Barclay Rogers, the startup company aims to reduce carbon dioxide levels by using natural resources.
"One way of going about doing that is literally taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and storing it away and such so that it doesn't re-enter the atmosphere," Rogers said.
Rogers' vision came to life in February 2023, and the company officially began production 14 months later.
Plant matter residues like timber and rice hulls are dried out step-by-step. The process stops decomposition and kills microbes that eat the carbon material.
Once dried, the matter is shaped into two-pound bricks that hold approximately 40% of carbon. Each brick is then packaged into a water-proof barrier and packed into a block, which weighs about one ton.
"The reason for making, shaping, it... is really for packaging and logistics wise, getting into the sequestration site to actually put it underneath the ground and bury it forever," Graphyte Pine Bluff General Manager Nathan Davis said.
In perspective, three blocks are equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from an average vehicle each year.
The final plan for the carbon removal process is to transport the block into an underground sequestration, or storage, chamber and seal it up for good, stopping the carbon from rising into the atmosphere.
Rogers said it's more than dealing with climate change issues as a local company. Backed by world-renowned venture capitalists like Bill Gates, he strives to build relationships within the local community and drive innovation.
"I think it's really powerful when you kind of put America in that lens, put Arkansas on that lens, and understand that innovation occurs every day," Rogers said. "Innovation drives the economy forward, and I'm incredibly proud to be doing that in the state of Arkansas."