Methane released into our atmosphere, has many of the mining industry looking at ways to preventing release. One of the principal air pollution problems is underground coal mining operations.
With methane representing a potent green house gas (GHG) with a global warming potential over 20 times that of carbon dioxide measures are being looked at to try to reduce the atmospheric effects.
Ventilation air methane exhaust systems from underground coal mining operations represent 54% of all methane emissions in the U.S. Within the U.S. the average underground coal mine releases between 212,000 to 530,000 cubic feet per minute of diluted .2 to 1.0% methane concentrations.
Several technologies are involved with this effort. One of the current and most feasible technologies available is thermal oxidation which utilizes a thermal oxidizer to reducethese coal mining emissions.
Advanced regenerative thermal oxidizer system called ventilation air methane thermal oxidizer or VamTox systems have developed methodsto capture the methane emission and use the emissionas a source to internally convert the methane to H2O and CO2. These systems can also use the heat generated to provideelectrical energy.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimated that the full deployment of VamTox typetechnology for power generation applications at gassy coal mines in the U.S. alone could reduce 25.8 million tones of CO2 equivalent methane andcould produce 1.2 billion in U.S. equipment sales and over 124 million in electrical power generation sales each year.
Other authorities have estimated consumer electricity costs would raise approximately$1 per person per month, inpart due to costs associated with bringing this advanced technology to the gassy coal mines. When we consider global warming and consider the costs associated with the increased temperatures, I believe we all can say that it would be money well spent. Estimates includeincreasing U.S. based environmental manufacturing jobs in the ventilation air methane division to 10,000.
The technology is readily available, it's time that we preserve the future of ourplanet, make a difference.