Transport of heat, moisture, and gaseous chemicals in hydro-mechanically altered strata surrounding the underground coal gasification reactor

An, Ni, Zagorscak, Renato ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8408-8585 and Thomas, Hywel Rhys ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3951-0409 2022. Transport of heat, moisture, and gaseous chemicals in hydro-mechanically altered strata surrounding the underground coal gasification reactor. International Journal of Coal Geology 249 , 103879. 10.1016/j.coal.2021.103879

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Abstract

Underground coal gasification (UCG) has a great potential to be accompanied by the technology of (enhanced) coal bed methane ((E)CBM) and carbon capture and storage (CCS), enhancing coal energy efficiency and mitigating climate change. This study aims to assess the environmental impact of three field-scale UCG hypothetical sites targeting deep-buried seams during the UCG operational stage in the combined CBM-UCG application. For this purpose, a risk assessment methodology is developed with consideration of the geomechanical and hydrogeological impact of UCG operations on the overlying strata by analogy to longwall mining operations. A series of numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the effect of variations in the saturation conditions around the UCG reactor, the change of rock permeability, and the UCG reactor operation duration on the propagation of heat, moisture and gaseous chemicals. The results demonstrate that CBM-UCG activities in the three sites are not likely to cause negative impacts on the environment during the UCG process when the behaviour of the reactor and the change of the surrounding strata are in control as expected. This work can provide insights in terms of environmental decision making, regulation and management to prevent reduction in gasification efficiency, to conduct the post-UCG (E)CBM process and to mitigate the UCG gas leakage and contamination of surrounding aquifers, highlighting where additional information is required in CBM-UCG activities.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Engineering
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0166-5162
Date of Acceptance:	31 October 2021
Last Modified:	19 May 2023 01:46
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/146738

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