Engineering and economic evaluation of gas recovery and utilization technologies at selected US mines

Methane liberated in underground coal mines is a severe safety hazard to miners. It is also a major contributor to the build-up of greenhouse gases in the global atmosphere. This report presents an engineering and economic evaluation of several methane recovery and end-use technologies which can remove, purify, and utilize methane from coal seams. The methane recovery technologies evaluated are widely applicable to US underground mines, and include conventional systems such as vertical extraction wells, gob area wells, horizontal boreholes, and cross-measure boreholes. More advanced and developmental technologies, such as the nitrogen injection process, have also been examined. Methane utilization technologies examined include the use of gas turbines for the generation of on-site power, compression and transport systems needed to sell the gas to a national distributor, and the generation of electrical power for off-site sale. The applicability and performance of each technology were assessed at nine representative coal mine sites, and the economic and emissions reduction performance between existing and alternative recovery operations were examined.