&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Air and Radiation
(6202J)
EPA-430-F-99-008
August 2001
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
Coalbed Methane Outreach Program (CMOP)
promotes profitable recovery and use of coal mine methane (CMM), a potent greenhouse
gas. By cooperatively working with coal companies and related industries, CMOP helps
to identify and implement methods to use CMM productively, thereby preventing its
release to the atmosphere and mitigating its climate change potential.
Pinpoint potentially
profitable CMM
project opportunities
Generate CMM project development
support from coal companies,
associated industries, local and state
governments, and the public
Help overcome regulatory,
institutional, and technological
CMM project development barriers
1
Conduct site-specific
project analyses
1
Provide information and
technical assistance to accelerate
project implementation
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CMM
PROJECTS
GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION
PROFIT
JOBS
MINE SAFETY IMPROVEMENT
ENERGY PRODUCTION
MM PROJECTS USE PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES
TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND CREATE
PROFITABLE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
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I^UF^IM*!:J:JI[«WIMH
Commercial
and Industrial
Options
• Heating
greenhouses
(heating costs
Developing
Technologies
• Power generation
using
microturbines
or
wnrw l/Mft/-nmiccirm
Ventilation Air
Methane
• Supplement
primary fuels in
power generations
or boilers/
f nrno/^nc
Mine-Site
Uses
• Facility, water, and
ventilation air
heating.
• Coal drying.
have been reduced
by up to 87%
in some cases).
• Cofiring methane
in coal-fired
industrial and
utility boilers.
• Enriching
medium-quality
gas for pipeline
injection.
• Cogenerating
with CMM to
produce electricity
and heat.
fuel cells.
Methanol
production.
Supplemental fuel
for blast furnaces.
Small-scale
liquified natural
gas production.
Brine water
treatment
(see photo).
Heat recovery
using thermal
oxidizers and
catalytic
processes.
,
Tt
Photo: CMM-fueled evaporator at Morcinek Mine, Poland
(courtesy Aquatech Services, Incorporated)
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WHAT IS COALBED METHANE?
Coalbed methane is natural gas. It is formed during coalification, the
process in which plant material forms coal. Contained within the coal
seams and surrounding rock strata, coalbed methane generally does not
escape into the atmosphere unless exposed by coal mining activity.
Released into the mines, the gas becomes Coal Mine Methane, which
must be removed from a coal mine for safety reasons.
Methane is a greenhouse gas 21 tilTIGS
as potent as carbon dioxide; avoiding
its release to the atmosphere can contribute
substantially to protection of the
global environment.
Preventing
one billion
cubic feet [bcf]
of methane
emissions is
equivalent to...
planting 120,000
acres of trees
OR
eliminating the
emissions from
89,000 automobiles
for one year.
•**»
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Pioneers in
CMM
Recovery
Photo: Methane drainage well
(courtesy of Jim Walter Resources)
COAL MINE METHANE =
Coal mine methane recovery can:
Reduce mine ventilation costs,
Improve safety conditions for miners, and
Provide profits from sale of high-quality CMM.
It is estimated that in 1999 CMM projects generated $50 million
in direct gas sales!
SGVGntGGH CMM pipeline sale projects
were active in the U.S. as of January 2000,
recovering almost 43 bcf of
CMM annually, and ...
those projects are preventing significant
releases of greenhouse gases equivalent to
removing almost 4 million cars
from our nation's roads each year!
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WHY COAL MINE
METHANE?
The potential for methane recovery at U.S. coal mines is large. It is estimated that at
least forty percent (88 bcf) of the methane emitted by underground mines could be
profitably recovered in the year 2010. Environmentally, 88 bcf of methane equates with:
• Removing almost 8 million cars from our highways for a year, or
* Supplying energy to heat over 1.2 million homes for a year, or
• Planting over 10.5 million acres of trees (an area twice that of New Jersey).
PIPELINE
INJECTION
CMM can fuel electricity
generators. Mines in the U.S. and
abroad have demonstrated the practicality
of using methane as a fuel for electric
power production to:
• Meet on-site electricity requirements,
and
• Sell excess power to utilities.
CMM can be sold to natur
gas pipelines when methane
ich coal mines ...
• Produce high-quality CMM with a
oncentration of at least 95%
nethane by volume, or
Drain lower-quality CMM that the
developer can economically upgrad
to pipeline quality, and
Are in close proximity to existing
POWER
GENERATION
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C O A L B
METHANE
OUTREACH
PROGRAM
For More
Information
Please contact:
U.S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency
Coalbed Methane
Outreach Program
Mail Stop 6202 J
1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW
Washington, DC
20460 USA
©2001 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Clark Talkington
Karl Schultz
(202) 564-8969
(202) 565-2254 FAX
talkington.clark@epa.gov
(202) 564-9468
(202) 565-6674 FAX
schultz.karl@epa.gov
Visit our World Wide Web site at
http://www.epa.gov/cmop
To order hard copies of CMOP publication
phone 1-888-STAR-YES.
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