Million-Ton Carbon Sequestration Project Underway in Illinois (ContributorNetwork)
According to Click Green, the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium has begun a three-year trial that aims to bury 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, making it the first of its kind in the U.S. The project will specifically help sequester carbon created by the fermentation of corn at Archer Daniels Midland in Decatur, Ill. MGSC, managed by the Illinois State Geological Survey, has begun pumping the greenhouse gas into Mount Simon Standstone, located more than a mile below ground in the central Illinois city.
With this major project underway, here are some facts about carbon sequestration and similar efforts aimed at curbing the carbon dioxide and global warming:
* Carbon sequestration involves capturing and storing carbon as means of preventing it from entering the atmosphere and contributing to global warming, according to the Kansas Geological Survey.
* The three main categories of this storage method are ocean, geologic and terrestrial sequestration, with geologic generally having the largest potential for application.
* Cenovus Energy’s Weyburn unit, conducted in Saskatchewan since 2000, is currently the world’s largest carbon sequestration project, noted Reuters Canada.
* The Weyburn project has not been without criticism; earlier this year a couple living near the project claimed that gas may have been leaking, though Cenovus concluded otherwise, prompting concern over the safety of large scale sequestration projects.
* The Environmental Protection Agency maintains the requirements of geologic sequestration under the Safe Drinking Water Act’s Underground Injection Control Program as a way to protect watersheds and other groundwater sources.
* Requirements under the program also detail the extensive testing and monitoring of projects and surveying, constructing, and closing sites.
* The National Energy Technology Laboratory currently runs the Carbon Sequestration Program in order to research cost-effective and safe methods of storing carbon created by the use of fossil fuels.
* The Carbon Sequestration program received a total of $70 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in order to establish projects and related job training opportunities at universities across the country.
* An article from Nature noted that worldwide, carbon dioxide storage could help provide more than 15 percent of the emissions reductions needed to limit atmospheric carbon concentrations of 450 parts per million by 2050.
* Canada has been especially proactive about funding other similar projects to help sequester carbon from energy projects, including oil-sands development in Alberta and a power plant in Saskatchewan, both of which have seen a combined $3.3 billion in government investments.
Rachel Bogart provides an in-depth look at current environmental issues and local Chicago news stories. As a college student from Chicago pursuing two science degrees, she applies her knowledge and passion to both topics to garner further public awareness.
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