Resource World Magazine

58 www.resourceworld.com a p r i l / m a y 2 0 1 5 ALTERNATIVE e n e r G y r e v i e w Developments in Alternative Energy by Jane Bratun harvestinG enerGy froM carbon dioxide eMissions Mantra energy Alternatives Ltd., a subsidiary of Mantra Venture Group Ltd. [MVTG-OTCQB] is developing a novel approach to carbon capture and utilization (CCU) called elec- tro-reduction of carbon dioxide (ERC). ERC has been under development since 2001 when Professor Colin Oloman began investigating its commercial viability at the University of British Columbia's Clean Energy Research Centre. Acquiring the intel- lectual property in 2008, Mantra has continued to develop ERC, which is now on the path towards commercialization. Fossil fuel combustion, the primary source of energy for humans since the Industrial Revolution, releases so-called green- house gases, which absorb energy re-radiated from the earth that most scientists say contribute to global warming. Although the consequences are uncertain, anthropogenic (of, relating to, or resulting from the influence of human beings on nature) global warming may result in irreversible climate change, threatening the balance of the earth's ecosystems. One method of reducing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emis- sions, carbon capture and storage (CCS), offers the benefits of using the energy infrastructure and cheap fossil fuels while addressing global warming concerns. But, this carbon capture requires storing massive quantities of carbon dioxide indefinitely, buried in the earth or in the ocean. By capturing and treating carbon dioxide as a resource, carbon capture and use provides products that can be sold to recover the costs of capture and conversion. Where CCS would depend indef- initely on subsidization to be economically practical, CCU offers the possibility of being financially self sufficient and profitable. Mantra Energy Alternatives seeks to become a global leader by producing green chemicals using widely abundant waste carbon dioxide as a feedstock. The chemicals produced in this way include formic acid and its salts, carbon monoxide, methanol, formaldehyde, and hydrocar- bons. While Mantra is exploring all of these options, the formic acid and formate salts technology is the company's most devel- oped. The cornerstone of the technology is the ERC reactor. At the cathode of this electrochemical reactor, carbon dioxide, which is in a two-phase mixture with a liquid electrolyte, is electro- chemically and catalytically converted to the product – in this case, formic acid. Electrons are provided by one of a variety of possible oxida- tion reactions at the anode of the same reactor, which produces a useful co-product. If, for example, water is oxidized at the anode, oxygen gas is also produced. This co-product has value, and it can be used or sold to further improve the economics of the process. Although reducing water to hydrogen gas at the cathode is thermodynamically favorable to reducing carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide reduction can be promoted by using an appropriate cath- ode material. This material is known as an electro-catalyst and its selection is vital to the reactor's functioning. Several metals, such as tin, are excellent for this application, and Mantra Energy is developing these catalysts further. Mantra's patent covers several liquid fuels and various cell configurations. The fuels include formic acid and its salts, prod- ucts that can be derived through converting carbon dioxide by the ERC method, capturing the carbon dioxide at the industrial sources. Integrating these two technologies represents a unique opportunity for energy storage, a rapidly growing market recog- nized as the key to renewable energy technologies. Mantra's main technology turns carbon dioxide into formic acid and other useful chemicals. To that end, Mantra is working with Lafarge, the world's largest cement manufacturer, to install a pilot plant in Lafarge's Richmond, British Columbia facility. The concrete manufacturing process creates large amounts of car- bon dioxide, and the pilot plant will use Manta's technology to capture and convert the flue gas before it escapes into the envi- ronment. And, as noted in a recent news release, a pilot plant is in the works for Ayinger Brewery in Aying, Bavaria, which will be funded 100% by the European Union. Mantra recently patented their Mixed-Reactant Fuel Cell (MRFC) that simplifies and reduces the costs of fuel cell systems. Because it uses a mixture of fuel and oxidant, the expensive, A view of the Mantra Energy Alternatives electro-reduction of carbon dioxide (ERC) technology. Photo courtesy Manta Energy Alternatives Ltd.

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