Mitigating Coal Mine Methane Emissions
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Benefits of Capturing and Using CMM
There are numerous benefits to capturing and using CMM, including:
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
- Conserving a local source of valuable, clean-burning energy
- Enhancing mine safety by reducing in-mine concentrations of methane
- Providing revenue to the mine
CMM Recovery and Utilization
Technology is readily available to recover and use methane – the major component of natural gas – from coal mines. Specific CMM end-uses depend on the gas quality, especially the concentration of methane and the presence of other contaminants. Worldwide, CMM is most often used for power generation, district heating, boiler fuel, or town gas, or it is sold to natural gas pipeline systems.
CMM can also be used in many other ways:
- Coal drying
- Heat source for mine ventilation air
- Supplemental fuel for mine boilers
- Vehicle fuel as compressed or liquefied natural gas (LNG)
- Manufacturing feedstock
- Fuel source for fuel cells
Drainage and Degasification
- Coal Mine Methane: A Review of Capture and Utilization Practices with Benefits to Mining Safety and to Greenhouse Gas Reduction (March 2011)
- Best Practice Guidance for Effective Methane Drainage and Use in Coal Mines (February 2010) (PDF) (86 pp, 2 MB) Exit
- Coal Mine Methane Recovery: A Primer (September 2009)
End Uses
- CMM Recovery and Use: Opportunities at Western U.S. Mines (July 2016)
- Coal Mine Methane Mitigation and Utilization Technologies and Project Profiles (also referred to as the Coal Mine Methane Technology Database) (November 2011) (PDF) (35 pp, 423 K) Exit