Environment + Energy Leader magazine has recognized the Illinois Basin – Decatur Project, a partnership between ADM and the Illinois Geological Survey at the University of Illinois, as a Top Project of the Year for 2022. The award recognizes exemplary work being done today in the fields of energy and environmental management.
Related: ADM Releases Global Human Microbiome Market Predictions
The Illinois Basin – Decatur Project is the world’s first successful completion of a pure storage carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. Led by the University of Illinois and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the project confirmed the ability of Mt. Simon Sandstone to safely store one million metric tons of CO2 over a period of three years, the equivalent of annual emissions from about 200,000 passenger cars, according to the U.S. EPA calculator.
To date, ADM’s overall carbon capture and sequestration capabilities, including the Illinois-Basin Decatur Project and a second well, the Illinois Industrial Sources Carbon Capture and Storage Project, have allowed it to safely and permanently store more than 3.5 million metric tons of CO2. ADM is continuing to explore an expanded 280-mile pipeline to transport CO2 from ADM’s ethanol and cogeneration facilities in Clinton and Cedar Rapids, Iowa to be stored permanently underground in the Illinois Basin. Additionally, ADM announced in 2021 an agreement with 8 Rivers to explore the potential to construct a zero-emissions power plant adjacent to ADM’s Decatur corn complex that will also utilize the CCS site.
One judge expressed, “ADM’s project is fantastic. The world truly needs pure storage CCS projects in order to overcome climate change, and it is, therefore, incredible to learn that this has been the first successful completion of such a project.”
Chris Cuddy, president, of Carbohydrate Solutions for ADM, said, “We have now demonstrated CO2 can be safely injected a mile and a half under the earth, setting a new milestone for the world’s understanding and ability to implement industrial CCS systems. This project is paving the way to scale the impact of CCS technology as ADM continues to decarbonize its footprint, while also applying this cutting-edge technology to reduce CO2 emissions and deliver more sustainable solutions for our customers.”
Want to know everything going on in flavor & fragrance? Sign up for P&F+'s newsletter. You can also follow along on Instagram and LinkedIn.
