Canada: Mantra Venture Group has completed the first phase of engineering for its 'Electro-Reduction of Carbon Dioxide' (ERC) pilot plant. BC Research (BCRI), the technology commercialisation arm of NORAM Engineering and Constructors, has delivered a comprehensive first phase report that details the estimated cost of the plant, which will capture waste carbon dioxide at the Lafarge cement plant in Richmond, British Colombia. The second phase of engineering, which will provide a 'ready-to-build' plant design, is set to begin soon.

So far this work has resulted in several process improvements, including the introduction of a product treatment stage that will deliver a highly concentrated liquid product. As this will be capable of reaching the levels at which the products are typically used in industry, Mantra expects to be able to sell product directly out of the pilot plant. Improved process control, instrumentation, and flow scheme will deliver a more robust demonstration and greatly facilitate the commercial scale-up of the process.

"This will be the very first plant to electrochemically reduce carbon dioxide in an industrial setting. I think people will be very excited when they see a valuable, salable liquid product coming out of the Lafarge flue gas stack," said Mantra's Chief Technology Officer Patrick Dodd.