Many of the world’s coal deposits contain methane, a dangerous gas that can cause explosions and sudden outbursts in underground mines. Coal must be drained of methane before mining can commence but dealing with this problem costs millions of dollars each year. The current technique to drain methane is called ‘in-seam drilling’ and this requires humans and infrastructure to undertake drilling underground.
At the same time, methane is an energy source. The methane trapped within Australia’s coal deposits could satisfy a significant portion of the nation’s need for energy, through into the medium term. A number of mining and petroleum companies have invested heavily in coal-bed methane exploration and in the development of extraction techniques, but difficulties in extracting the resource have made it commercially unattractive.
CMTE has developed a methane extraction technology that will enable underground coal mines to be drained of methane safely and inexpensively. The technology operates at the ground surface, nullifying the risks to human lives and avoiding the costs of current techniques. It is capable of yielding large quantities of methane, making it attractive for commercial gas extraction. As well, it can capture the methane effectively for later use in energy production, as opposed to current techniques which generally vent the potent greenhouse gas to the atmosphere.
The technology, called Tight-Radius Drilling (TRD) has been developed in collaboration with one of CMTE’s industry partners, BHP Mitsui Coal Pty Ltd. As testament to the effectiveness of the device, another of CMTE’s industry partners, Anglo Coal Pty Ltd, has used Tight-Radius Drilling (TRD) to pre-drain methane from coal seams it intends to mine in the future.
In May 2001, CMTE and BHP Mitsui Coal received an Award for Technology Transfer at the Cooperative Research Centres’ Association Conference in Perth. This award recognised the merits of the technology and the support it has from the Australian coal mining industry.
CMTE is now commercialising the technology and sees two potential markets for TRD: commercial gas extraction (extracting and selling gas) and mine gas drainage (helping mines to solve their methane problems).
Background
R&D
Intensive experimental research has gone into the development of tight-radius drilling. TRD’s capabilities have been proven over numerous field trials conducted in cooperation with CMTE’s industry partners.
Current techniques
Currently, a team of people go underground, using pre-developed roadway infrastructure, to drill holes into the coal seams through which methane can escape. Production delays resulting from the methane hazard and its extraction generate additional costs. As higher concentrations of methane exist at deeper levels, the hazards and costs will only increase as mines continue to expand underground.
The Innovation
CMTE set out to develop a methane extraction technique that would eliminate the need to send humans underground, that would save money for Australian coal mines, and that would pre-drain coal seams effectively, ensuring gas levels at the commencement of mining were lower than is currently achievable. TRD does all of these things.
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