Mercer International has launched a carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture demonstration unit at its Peace River pulp mill in northern Alberta, marking a key step in evaluating carbon capture technology for biogenic emissions in the pulp and paper industry.
The project is being carried out by Mercer’s subsidiary, Mercer Peace River Pulp Ltd., in collaboration with Svante. The pilot unit will test Svante’s solid sorbent-based carbon capture system on CO₂ emissions from the mill’s recovery boiler flue gas over a six-month period.
This phase follows completion of a Front-End Engineering and Design Phase 2 (FEL-2 / pre-FEED) study, which assessed technical design, site integration, cost factors, and potential pathways toward commercial-scale deployment. Data gathered during the demonstration will support future engineering work and long-term decarbonization planning.
Mercer said the on site testing will provide valuable insight into how carbon capture systems perform under real operating conditions in a kraft pulp mill. The company is assessing whether the technology could help lower biogenic emissions across its Canadian operations.
Svante noted that testing its solid sorbent technology within a commercial pulp mill represents an important milestone in evaluating its scalability for wider industry applications. Any decision to move beyond the demonstration phase will depend on technical performance as well as economic and commercial viability.
Mercer Peace River Pulp Ltd. operates a kraft pulp mill in Peace River, Alberta. The mill produces northern bleached softwood kraft (“NBSK”) and northern bleached hardwood kraft (“NBHK”) pulp for customers in global tissue, packaging, and other cellulose-based markets.
Svante is a purpose-driven carbon capture and removal solutions provider. The company designs and manufactures nanoengineered filters and modular rotating contactor machines that capture and remove CO₂ in an environmentally responsible way from industrial emissions and the air.
Source: Mercer
