Oct. 6--DECATUR -- A major project involving Decatur-based Archer Daniels Midland Co. to see if greenhouse gases can be stored underground received $1.5 million in extra taxpayer-funding Monday.

U.S. Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., announced the award, which was made by U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu. The ADM project is among 12 nationwide initiatives to capture greenhouse gas that benefitted from funding paid from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

ADM is a partner with the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium, one of seven regional research partnerships established by the Department of Energy to explore underground storage of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas, or even reusing it..

ADM's project will take three years and involves storage of the gas by pumping one million tons of it 6,000 feet below the surface of the company's Decatur factory campus. The gas, equivalent to the yearly emissions of 220,000 automobiles, will be fused into a saltwater-bearing rock formation called the Mount Simon Sandstone.

Solving the problem of what to do with greenhouse gases, ADM says, will help lessen the "environmental footprint" of company products like ethanol by reducing the impact of C02 generated during its manufacture. Scientists believe C02 pumped out from sources like factories and car exhausts traps heat and produces a "greenhouse effect", heating up the Earth's atmosphere and prompting disastrous climate change.

The ADM project cost is $84.3 million of which $66.7 million is already coming from the Department of Energy, with the Decatur company and other partners shouldering the rest. The new money announced today will further help with the overall cost.

"As one of the world's largest agricultural processors, ADM understands that responsible, sustainable business practices are essential to meeting the world's growing needs for food and energy and to the ongoing success of our business," the company said in a statement.

Burris called the Decatur project an important initiative and welcomed the extra government money.

"These funds will ensure that America is leading the way on climate change and working its way towards an economy that includes clean energy," he said.

treid@herald-review.com 421-7977

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