Mitigation of methane emissions from coal mine ventilation air
US EPA's coalbed methane outreach program, (CMOP) has prepared a technical assessment of techniques that combust trace amounts of coal mine methane contained in ventilation air. Control of methane emissions from mine ventilation systems has been an elusive goal because of the magnitude of a typical airflow and the very low methane concentrations. One established and cost-effective use feeds the air into a prime mover in lieu of ambient combustion air. This method usually consumes just a fraction of the flow available from each ventilation shaft. The authors evaluated the technical and economic feasibility of two emerging systems that may accept up to 100% of the flow from a nearby shaft, oxidize the contained methane, and produce marketable energy. Both systems use regenerative, flow-reversal reactors. One system operates at 1,000 C, and the other uses a catalyst to reduce the combustion temperature by several hundred degrees. Above certain minimum methane concentrations the reactors can exchange high quality heat with a working fluid such as compressed air or pressurized water. This paper discusses two illustrative energy projects where the reactors produce energy revenue and greenhouse gas credits and yield an attractive return on invested capital.
- Research Organization:
- Alternative Energy Development, Inc., Silver Spring, MD (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 20020943
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 8th US Mine Ventilation Symposium, Rolla, MO (US), 06/11/1999--06/17/1999; Other Information: PBD: 1999; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the 8th US mine ventilation symposium, by Tien, J.C. [ed.], 740 pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Ventilating the box cut of a two-pass 40-ft extended cut
Capture and Use of Coal Mine Ventilation Air Methane