Summary of the geology at the underground coal gasification site, Pricetown, WV
The Morgantown Energy Technology Center is planning to conduct a field experiment for the in situ recovery of the Pittsburgh Coal at the Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) test site, Pricetown, West Virginia. Since the project's inception, field data have been collected and used to evaluate the pre-burn character of the coal seam and the adjacent strata. The results show that the Pittsburgh Coal, at the study area, is a rock unit commonly split into two sub-units with a total thickness not generally exceeding eight feet. It is a relatively deep, bituminous bed that is approximately 900 feet below the surface. The face cleat orientation, which corresponds to the direction of gaseous flow during a UCG test, is about N73/sup 0/W. The rate of water influx into the wellbore, an indicator of in situ permeability, is on the order of half a gallon per day. The strata overlying the coalbed consist generally of a unit of gray shale, three to four feet thick, followed by a thick sequence (about ninety feet) of limestone and lime shale; deposited below the Pittsburgh Coal is an apparently thick unit of gray shale. And finally, the field is characterized by gently dipping sedimentary beds which do not show any vertical displacement indicative of dip slip or oblique slip type faulting. With respect to this underground coal gasification experiment, adverse effects from these subsurface, geologic conditions should be minimal.
- Research Organization:
- Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA (USA). Geologic Div.
- OSTI ID:
- 6581020
- Report Number(s):
- METC/RI-78/11
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Instrumentation for Pricetown I in-situ coal gasification program
In-situ coal gasification: a future source of energy. [Pricetown, WV]
Related Subjects
010404* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Gasification
BITUMINOUS COAL
BLACK COAL
BOREHOLE LINKING
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CENTRAL REGION
COAL
COAL GASIFICATION
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GASIFICATION
GEOLOGY
IN-SITU GASIFICATION
IN-SITU PROCESSING
LITHOLOGY
NORTH AMERICA
PROCESSING
SITE SELECTION
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
USA
WEST VIRGINIA