Marquis Industrial Complex : Employing BECCS to Decarbonize the Economy

Marquis’ Vision is to be the world’s leading producer of sustainable fuels and products. The Marquis Industrial Complex in Hennepin, IL started as a small family farming business. It is now home to the largest dry ethanol plant in the world with over 400 million gallons of ethanol production a year that captures over 1 million tons of biogenic carbon dioxide. Marquis is seeking to prove that CCUS projects are viable with current market and legislative drivers. Starting with a feasibility study in late 2020, Marquis has worked with a team of experienced subsurface geoscientists from Battelle Memorial Institute to model and simulate CO2 in the subsurface. Marquis will capture, compress, and sequester their carbon dioxide in the Mt. Simon sandstone formation which lies 3,000 feet below its surface. Sequestration of this carbon decreases the carbon intensity of the ethanol that is produced. Marquis has acquired 2-D and 3-D seismic data, drilled a stratigraphic test well, collected water and core samples, and acquired a comprehensive suite of logs to confirm the integrity of the caprock, the salinity of the formation, porosity, and permeability of the sandstone, and other suitability parameters for carbon sequestration. The team has submitted its first UIC Class VI permit and is currently working with the EPA Region 5 to ensure the technical review goes smoothly and injection can begin as soon as possible. The ethanol produced will have an Argonne National Lab GREET 2021 carbon intensity score near neutral which will allow for the development and commercialization of technologies such as sustainable fuels, low-carbon intensity polymers, and chemicals. This project is proof of concept for the years of studies and research and pilot testing that so many in the CCUS community have worked for. Its success will be a motivating factor to those who have worked so hard and proof to those who have been skeptics. Marquis also believes in the public-private partnership and is working with the Midwest Regional Carbon Initiative to share data and lessons learned with the entire CCUS community as well as o allow some additional testing of characterization and monitoring methods on a real-world project. This partnership will add value to the CCUS community as we all strive for success. Marquis sees this project as the first step in decarbonizing the industry. Marquis is constantly looking for ways to lower carbon intensity in all processes- from the farmers who grow the corn used to make ethanol to efficiencies in the plant and the development of sustainable fuels. By decarbonizing ethanol and associated products, Marquis is paving the way to a low-carbon future for aviation fuels, ammonia, fertilizer, plastics, and a host of other associated products. Marquis is showing what the future can look like. The market can and will react positively to carefully planned environmental measures that not only help the environment but improve processes and products