A new system developed by MIT-spun startup Mantel promises a fresh way to cut industrial CO₂ emissions, without dragging down energy efficiency, tells MIT News.
At the heart of Mantel’s technology is a molten salt, lithium-sodium ortho-borate, which absorbs more than 95% of CO₂ emissions from high-temperature sources such as furnaces, kilns, boilers, and industrial stacks. Unlike traditional solid sorbents, this liquid salt remains stable over hundreds to thousands of capture-release cycles, because it avoids cracking or degradation under thermal stress.
That alone marks a breakthrough. But Mantel adds another twist: rather than simply scrubbing CO₂ for disposal or sequestration, the system recovers waste heat to generate steam, a widely used energy carrier in many industrial processes. This combined capture-and-reuse design reduces the net energy consumption of CO₂ capture to just 3% of what conventional systems require.
Mantel’s setup is modular and retrofittable, meaning existing factories, such as cement, steel, pulp, oil, and gas, among others, can integrate it without rebuilding entire production lines. The startup is already rolling out a larger pilot plant in collaboration with a factory in Quebec, and is engaging with nearly 100 industrial partners globally for future deployment.
For the climate and industrial sectors, this matters because it takes carbon capture from a niche remedy to a practical, scalable tool. Mantel turns a costly waste-management step into a revenue-generating process. Factories don’t just waste CO₂; they capture it, reduce emissions, and recoup energy value.
For engineers, policymakers, and sustainability-driven businesses, such dual-purpose systems could tilt the balance in favor of widespread carbon-capture adoption, especially in “hard-to-decarbonize” heavy-industry sectors.