Enhanced coal bed methane recovery
Encyclopedia
Enhanced coal bed methane recovery is a method of producing additional coalbed methane
from a source rock
, similar to enhanced oil recovery
applied to oil field
s. Carbon dioxide
(CO2) injected into a bituminous coal
bed would occupy pore space and also adsorb onto the carbon
in the coal at approximately twice
the rate of methane
(CH4), allowing for potential enhanced gas recovery. This technique may be used in conjunction with carbon capture and storage
in mitigation of global warming
where the carbon dioxide that is sequestered
is captured from the output of fossil fuel power plant
s.
A research project at ETH Zurich
is studying the process of pumping carbon dioxide into unminable coal seams and recovering the methane that is subsequently displaced. Without other incentives, enhanced coal bed methane recovery is not economical as the commercial value of the released methane does not completely offset the cost of pumping.
Penetration of CO2 into coal is simulated using a stress-enhanced diffusion model.
Coalbed methane
Coalbed methane or Coal Bed Methane, coalbed gas or coal mine methane is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. In recent decades it has become an important source of energy in United States, Canada, and other countries...
from a source rock
Source rock
In petroleum geology, source rock refers to rocks from which hydrocarbons have been generated or are capable of being generated. They form one of the necessary elements of a working petroleum system. They are organic-rich sediments that may have been deposited in a variety of environments including...
, similar to enhanced oil recovery
Enhanced oil recovery
Enhanced Oil Recovery is a generic term for techniques for increasing the amount of crude oil that can be extracted from an oil field...
applied to oil field
Oil field
An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...
s. Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
(CO2) injected into a bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
bed would occupy pore space and also adsorb onto the carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
in the coal at approximately twice
the rate of methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
(CH4), allowing for potential enhanced gas recovery. This technique may be used in conjunction with carbon capture and storage
Carbon capture and storage
Carbon capture and storage , alternatively referred to as carbon capture and sequestration, is a technology to prevent large quantities of from being released into the atmosphere from the use of fossil fuel in power generation and other industries. It is often regarded as a means of mitigating...
in mitigation of global warming
Mitigation of global warming
Climate change mitigation is action to decrease the intensity of radiative forcing in order to reduce the potential effects of global warming. Mitigation is distinguished from adaptation to global warming, which involves acting to tolerate the effects of global warming...
where the carbon dioxide that is sequestered
CO2 sequestration
Carbon sequestration is the capture of carbon dioxide and may refer specifically to:* "The process of removing carbon from the atmosphere and depositing it in a reservoir." When carried out deliberately, this may also be referred to as carbon dioxide removal, which is a form of geoengineering.*...
is captured from the output of fossil fuel power plant
Fossil fuel power plant
A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...
s.
A research project at ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
is studying the process of pumping carbon dioxide into unminable coal seams and recovering the methane that is subsequently displaced. Without other incentives, enhanced coal bed methane recovery is not economical as the commercial value of the released methane does not completely offset the cost of pumping.
Penetration of CO2 into coal is simulated using a stress-enhanced diffusion model.
Further reading
- Reznik, A., Singh, P. K., and Foley, W. L., 1982, An analysis of the effect of carbon dioxide injection on the recovery of in-situ methane from bituminous coal: An experimental simulation: Society of Petroleum Engineers/U.S. Department of Energy 10822
- Gale, J., and Freund, P., 2001, Coal-bed methane enhancement with CO2 sequestration worldwide potential: Environmental Geosciences, v. 8, no. 3, p. 210–217.
- Schroeder, K., Ozdemir, E., and Morsi, B.I., 2002, Sequestration of carbon dioxide in coal seams: Journal of Energy and Environmental Research, v. 2, no. 1. p. 54–63. (from U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, First National Conference on Carbon Sequestration, 2001).