Centralia partial seam CRIP test. Preliminary design
One of the most economical methods of gasifying coal underground is through the use of the high wall left at the worked out boundary of a surface mine. Access to the coal through the high wall eliminates some of the most expensive preparatory drilling compared to pure surface entry. If, in addition, a mine mouth electric power plant provides a potential customer for the gas, the economic situation improves even further. The proposed Centralia partial seam CRIP test is the first step in the realization of such an idea. This test, and the full seam test designated to follow it, will provide the basic technical data to allow a realistic evaluation of the economic potential of in-situ coal gasification at this site. These tests (part of the Tono test series) are designed to take every advantage possible of the particular high wall location in the WIDCO mine near Centralia, Washington and to utilize the equipment still available from the Large Block Test series recently completed at that site. Also by restricting the scale, we are able to keep the costs low compared to some of the larger scale tests done in the past. The design for the first test is based on the CRIP (controlled retracting injection point) concept of in-situ coal gasification. Normally, there are only three parameters that can be used to control in-situ coal gasification: injection flow rate, injection composition and system operating pressure. The CRIP concept adds one more control parameter, the position of the injection point. With the CRIP system, when the product heating value has declined to an unacceptable level, the injection point is moved back upstream along the horizontal injection well into a region of fresh coal and a new burn cavity is begun. The product gas heating value rises to that characteristic of low heat loss and the gas exhausts through the previous cavity.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 6703300
- Report Number(s):
- UCID-19610; ON: DE83003058
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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