Joint Venture (Detail)	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 EUR (€)
Joint Venture, Ownership Percentage	50.00%	50.00%
Joint Venture Agreement, Initial Capital Contribution,Amount	$ 66,000	€ 50,000
Joint Venture, Shareholder Loan, Contribution	$ 261,000	€ 200,000

This item represents the amount of contributions during the period made by the entity as per the Joint Venture Agreement in form of Shareholders loan.

No definition available.

Name:	cdti_JointVentureShareholderLoanContribution
Namespace Prefix:	cdti_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration