Charles L. Hooks, an SIUC Reclamation Station researcher, a branch of the plant and soil science department, is overseeing a two-year project funded by the Illinois Clean Coal Institute.

Hooks said the purpose of the project will be to explore the possibilities in using the mineral, gypsum, for different types of soil treatments and improvements.

Gypsum dissolves easily into the ground, he said. This opens up the soil, allowing plants to root deeper and become more drought-resistant.

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Gypsum, a colorless, porous mineral in its pure state, is produced during the process of removing potentially environmentally damaging toxins from gases emitted by coal-firing boilers that are common to agricultural areas.

As toxic gases pass through crushed limestone, a mineral used to filter out toxins, certain properties of the gas combine with the limestone and break down to form gypsum.

Farrel J. Olsen, SIUC professor of plant and soil science, said current methods of gypsum disposal are not cost-efficient for the manufacturing sites.

We are looking to see if it will increase crop yield first, he said. However, regardless of whether it will increase yield, we can look at this as a method of reducing the disposal costs, and in a way, lower power bills for consumers.

Olsen said project findings could be important to local crops. One of the problems with Southern Illinois crops in mid-summer is that the soil dries and plant roots have trouble getting water, he said. Gypsum will help open up the soil and enable roots to reach water.

Making the soil less dense and allowing better access to water are not the only findings researchers said they hope to explore.

Hooks said that for the experiment, corn and beans will be used, but he said these crops are not the only ones that gypsum can be used with.

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This product can certainly be used on many different types of crops, he said. It can be useful in lowering the acidity of soils by diluting aluminum and sodium levels, allowing for diversity of crop production.

Bradley C. Paul, professor of mining engineering, said gypsum used in research is of higher quality than gypsum normally retrieved from mining. This will improve the readings from the soil samples and make the research findings more accurate, Paul said.

We are working with gypsum that is 98 to 99-percent pure, he said. That is better than what is typically found in the mines and poses no threat in regards to field runoff.

Paul, who has been conducting by-product recycling research for five years, said he found his inspiration for involvement in the project in an unusual place.

I was watching my wife out in her flower garden one day and she was using gypsum on the soil, Paul said. It just goes to show that wives can still teach an engineer a thing or two.

Rounding out the team of researchers on the project are the following instructors:S.K. Chong, professor of soil physics, and Edward C. Varsa, associate professor of soil fertility. All have been involved in various roles, from grant writing to soil sampling, since the project began in September.