ABSTRACT
Archer Daniels Midland's (ADM's) wastewater heated greenhouse is the central artifact of the study of postindustrial Illinois. The coal-fired electricity plant on ADM's campus is innovative. ADM has already identified wastes— used tires, spent grain, ethanol, lower-quality higher-sulfur coal, heated water— and articulated them as new inputs. The power plant mixes limestone into the furnaces, which drastically reduces the amount of sulfur dioxide released into the atmosphere. The primary fuel used for combustion is coal, but these additives are used to both increase efficiency and reduce emissions into the atmosphere. ADM's contribution to the innovation network centered at the Decatur plant involves taking agricultural production from around the Midwest and turning the yield into a variety of products, from the hybrid production of finished goods, foodstuffs, energy, industrial materials, to knowledge and expertise. This chapter considers a hybrid postindustrial agriculture and describes the Decatur site as a postindustrial hybrid.
