Objective
The aim is to locate fracture zones related to former coal mining activity and determine optimal position for drilling a large diameter borehole which will be used to extract gas reserves (coalbed methane or coal seam methane) commercially before this energy resource is rendered unusable by flooding or lost by leakage to the atmosphere. Coal seam methane will be sold directly to nearby energy consumers.
Innovative aspects of the technology include : 3D virtual reality modelling of mime workings; integration of data with a surface geographic database to choose optimal location for drilling large diameter boreholes into destressed and fractured strata; use of positive displacement gas extraction pumps; and production of abandoned mine gas from workings directly beneath consumer sites thus precluding the need for a pipeline.
The project is expected to produce about 700 million Mj/y from the first borehole.
The UK's reserves of onshore coal are estimated at about 185 billion tonnes. Assuming an average gas content of 6 Nm³/tonne, the originally in-place coal seam methane reserves were at least 1 trillion Nm³. European coal seam methane reserves are much greater than those of the UK. During mining operations some of this gas was released but a proportion of it collects in voids in the abandoned mines or remains adsorbed in unworked coal.
Coalgas has proved in two production tests that this remaining methane can be produced at commercial rates from mine vents. This project aims to extend Coalgas technology to gas extraction boreholes drilled into fracture zones above former mine workings. The project will operate within the context of abandoned coal mines containing very large methane reserves which can be extracted for socio-economic benefit to the former mining communities and profit for the company.
Innovative aspects of the technology include :
- 3D virtual reality modelling of old coal mine workings using data scanned from 2D plans of underground workings. Integration of this data with a surface geographic database to choose optimal location for borehole on energy user site.
- drilling of large diameter borehole into destressed and fractured strata while causing minimal formation damage.
- a new combination of positive displacement extraction pumps and specially modified intercoolers will be used to extract methane. - cyclones and filters will remove water from the highly saturated gas before it is used as a fuel.
- production of coal seam methane from workings beneath consumer sites thus precluding the need for a gas pipeline.
- Unusual reservoir management techniques required to maintain a negative drawdown pressure, control gas extraction rates and enable methane to desorb from the coal.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences databases
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels fossil energy coal
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels fossil energy natural gas
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry aliphatic compounds
- natural sciences computer and information sciences software software applications virtual reality
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Coordinator
NG181EX Mansfield
United Kingdom
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