Carbon Sequestration Center Opens on Richland Campus

Construction on a center dedicated to capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide began Wednesday at Richland Community College in Decatur. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas linked to climate change.

The new facility, known as the National Sequestration Education Center, will be used as a teaching lab to train Richland students on how to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. The center, which is the only one of its kind, is being funded by the U.S. Energy Department. David Larrick, director of sequestration at Richland Community College, said he expects the new center will garner additional interest in renewable energy.

"I am in favorable of renewable energy resources, but we're not moving there fast enough," Larrick said. "Carbon capture sequestration can be used now to reduce atmospheric CO2 emissions. We can't wait for decades for wind and solar to be our primary energy resources."

The actual carbon sequestration won't happen at the new center, but rather in a well on the grounds of Archer Daniels Midland Company in Decatur.

"So, they'll be able to monitor the wells, groundwater, soils, atmospheric conditions, CO2 levels, maybe even do some seismic surveys," Larrick explained. "There will be a lot of real world data that they can use. It's not just going to be learned in a textbook."

Larrick said the facility should be open by next spring. He said officials with Richland Community College plan to revise the school's curriculum by adding a degree for students who want to learn about capturing and storing carbon dioxide. He said the degree could be available by January 2012.

"We're going to have to my knowledge the first associate of applied sciences degree in the nation in sequestration technology," Larrick added.

The new center won't just be available to students attending Richland Community College. The Illinois State Geological Survey also said it plans to also use the center to offer a series of courses to the public on energy conservation.

"Understanding and researching technology that will help us balance our environmental and our energy needs is essential to society," said Sally Greenberg, assistant director of the Advanced Energy Technology Initiative at the Illinois State Geological Survey. "We will look to what the best educational opportunities are and how to work with those."

Greenberg said the courses could last from anywhere between a week to an entire semester. The discussions could focus on topics like developing a carbon capture sequestration project, researching carbon capture sequestration, and implementing that research to other areas of science.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Department said construction has begun on a $207 million project at Archer Daniels Midland. The goal is to capture one million tons of carbon dioxide a year and store it more than a mile underground starting in 2013.

The government has provided $141 million in financial support. The rest of the financing is private.

ADM also has a smaller, existing carbon-capture project at the site. The new project is one of several other government-backed carbon-capture projects being planned or built around the country.