Coalbed methane: places of origin, perspectives of extraction, alternative methods of transportation with the use of gas hydrate and nanotechnologies
Purpose. To investigate the main basic physical and chemical properties of coalbed methane (CBM), conditions of its formation and places of occurrence. Special attention is paid to CBM utilization using alternative methods such as gas hydrate technologies and nanotechnologies. Findings. The reserves...
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Hanushevych, K. Srivastava, V. 2019-01-27T20:09:22Z 2019-01-27T20:09:22Z 2017 Coalbed methane: places of origin, perspectives of extraction, alternative methods of transportation with the use of gas hydrate and nanotechnologies / K. Hanushevych, V. Srivastava // Розробка родовищ: Зб. наук. пр. — 2017. — Т. 11, вип. 3. — С. 23-33. — Бібліогр.: 74 назв. — англ. 2415-3435 DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/mining11.03.023 https://nasplib.isofts.kiev.ua/handle/123456789/145721 622.3241 Purpose. To investigate the main basic physical and chemical properties of coalbed methane (CBM), conditions of its formation and places of occurrence. Special attention is paid to CBM utilization using alternative methods such as gas hydrate technologies and nanotechnologies. Findings. The reserves of CBM in different countries are classified according to the amount of gas in each country. A wide review is given to the methods of gas hydrates formation rate intensification and nanotechnologies application using different chemical compounds to utilize and transport CBM by ground transportation. Мета. Дослідження основних фізичних і хімічних властивостей вугільного метану, умов його формування та місць виникнення. Особлива увага приділяється утилізації метану із використанням альтернативних методів, таких як газогідратні технології та нанотехнології. Результати. Класифіковані запаси вугільного метану у відповідності з його кількістю в різних країнах світу. Проведено широкий огляд методів інтенсифікації гідратоутворення й застосування нанотехнологій, використовуючи різні хімічні речовини для утилізації та транспортування вугільного метану у твердій формі. Цель. Исследование основных физических и химических свойств угольного метана, условий его формирования и мест возникновения. Особое внимание уделяется утилизации метана с использованием альтернативных методов, такие как газогидратные технологии и нанотехнологии. Результаты. Классифицированы запасы угольного метана в соответствии с его количеством в различных странах мира. Проведен широкий обзор методов интенсификации гидратообразования и применения нанотехнологий, используя различные химические вещества для утилизации и транспортирования угольного метана в твердой форме. We would like to thank Chemical and Biological Engineering Faculty, Center for Hydrate Research at Colorado School of Mines (USA) headed by Dr., Prof., Carolyn A. Koh for giving an incredible opportunity to be a part of excellent group and supporting ideas as to combining coal mining with gas hydrate technologies. We are immensely grateful for the insights and comments that have greatly helped the research. en УкрНДМІ НАН України, Інститут геотехнічної механіки НАН України Розробка родовищ Coalbed methane: places of origin, perspectives of extraction, alternative methods of transportation with the use of gas hydrate and nanotechnologies Вугільний метан: місця походження, перспективи вилучення, альтернативні методи транспортування із використанням газогідратних і нанотехнологій Угольный метан: места происхождения, перспективы изъятия, альтернативные методы транспортировки с использованием газогидратных и нанотехнологий Article published earlier |
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Digital Library of Periodicals of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine |
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| title |
Coalbed methane: places of origin, perspectives of extraction, alternative methods of transportation with the use of gas hydrate and nanotechnologies |
| spellingShingle |
Coalbed methane: places of origin, perspectives of extraction, alternative methods of transportation with the use of gas hydrate and nanotechnologies Hanushevych, K. Srivastava, V. |
| title_short |
Coalbed methane: places of origin, perspectives of extraction, alternative methods of transportation with the use of gas hydrate and nanotechnologies |
| title_full |
Coalbed methane: places of origin, perspectives of extraction, alternative methods of transportation with the use of gas hydrate and nanotechnologies |
| title_fullStr |
Coalbed methane: places of origin, perspectives of extraction, alternative methods of transportation with the use of gas hydrate and nanotechnologies |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Coalbed methane: places of origin, perspectives of extraction, alternative methods of transportation with the use of gas hydrate and nanotechnologies |
| title_sort |
coalbed methane: places of origin, perspectives of extraction, alternative methods of transportation with the use of gas hydrate and nanotechnologies |
| author |
Hanushevych, K. Srivastava, V. |
| author_facet |
Hanushevych, K. Srivastava, V. |
| publishDate |
2017 |
| language |
English |
| container_title |
Розробка родовищ |
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УкрНДМІ НАН України, Інститут геотехнічної механіки НАН України |
| format |
Article |
| title_alt |
Вугільний метан: місця походження, перспективи вилучення, альтернативні методи транспортування із використанням газогідратних і нанотехнологій Угольный метан: места происхождения, перспективы изъятия, альтернативные методы транспортировки с использованием газогидратных и нанотехнологий |
| description |
Purpose. To investigate the main basic physical and chemical properties of coalbed methane (CBM), conditions of its formation and places of occurrence. Special attention is paid to CBM utilization using alternative methods such as gas hydrate technologies and nanotechnologies. Findings. The reserves of CBM in different countries are classified according to the amount of gas in each country. A wide review is given to the methods of gas hydrates formation rate intensification and nanotechnologies application using different chemical compounds to utilize and transport CBM by ground transportation.
Мета. Дослідження основних фізичних і хімічних властивостей вугільного метану, умов його формування та місць виникнення. Особлива увага приділяється утилізації метану із використанням альтернативних методів, таких як газогідратні технології та нанотехнології. Результати. Класифіковані запаси вугільного метану у відповідності з його кількістю в різних країнах світу. Проведено широкий огляд методів інтенсифікації гідратоутворення й застосування нанотехнологій, використовуючи різні хімічні речовини для утилізації та транспортування вугільного метану у твердій формі.
Цель. Исследование основных физических и химических свойств угольного метана, условий его формирования и мест возникновения. Особое внимание уделяется утилизации метана с использованием альтернативных методов, такие как газогидратные технологии и нанотехнологии. Результаты. Классифицированы запасы угольного метана в соответствии с его количеством в различных странах мира. Проведен широкий обзор методов интенсификации гидратообразования и применения нанотехнологий, используя различные химические вещества для утилизации и транспортирования угольного метана в твердой форме.
|
| issn |
2415-3435 |
| url |
https://nasplib.isofts.kiev.ua/handle/123456789/145721 |
| citation_txt |
Coalbed methane: places of origin, perspectives of extraction, alternative methods of transportation with the use of gas hydrate and nanotechnologies / K. Hanushevych, V. Srivastava // Розробка родовищ: Зб. наук. пр. — 2017. — Т. 11, вип. 3. — С. 23-33. — Бібліогр.: 74 назв. — англ. |
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2025-11-26T17:52:06Z |
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| fulltext |
Mining of Mineral Deposits
ISSN 2415-3443 (Online) | ISSN 2415-3435 (Print)
Journal homepage http://mining.in.ua
Volume 11 (2017), Issue 3, pp. 23-33
23
Founded in
1900
National Mining
University
UDC 622.3241 https://doi.org/10.15407/mining11.03.023
COALBED METHANE: PLACES OF ORIGIN, PERSPECTIVES
OF EXTRACTION, ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION
WITH THE USE OF GAS HYDRATE AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES
K. Hanushevych1*, V. Srivastava1
1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, United States
*Corresponding author: e-mail kosganush@gmail.com, tel. +17203694403
ВУГІЛЬНИЙ МЕТАН: МІСЦЯ ПОХОДЖЕННЯ, ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ
ВИЛУЧЕННЯ, АЛЬТЕРНАТИВНІ МЕТОДИ ТРАНСПОРТУВАННЯ
ІЗ ВИКОРИСТАННЯМ ГАЗОГІДРАТНИХ І НАНОТЕХНОЛОГІЙ
К. Ганушевич1*, В. Срівастава1
1Кафедра хімічного і біологічного інжинірингу, Колорадська гірнича школа, Голден, Сполучені Штати
*Відповідальний автор: e-mail kosganush@gmail.com, тел. +17203694403
ABSTRACT
Purpose. To investigate the main basic physical and chemical properties of coalbed methane (CBM), conditions of
its formation and places of occurrence. Special attention is paid to CBM utilization using alternative methods such as
gas hydrate technologies and nanotechnologies.
Methods. Analysis of geological conditions of CBM occurrence and its content in several countries and methods of
increasing gas hydrate formation rate to intensify gas utilization.
Findings. The reserves of CBM in different countries are classified according to the amount of gas in each country.
A wide review is given to the methods of gas hydrates formation rate intensification and nanotechnologies applica-
tion using different chemical compounds to utilize and transport CBM by ground transportation.
Originality. Gas hydrates and dry water have been proposed as alternative methods of CBM utilization and transpor-
tation in a solid form.
Practical implications. Colossal amounts of methane released into the atmosphere from underground coal mines can
be captured and converted into a solid or powder form for transportation over large distances under moderate ther-
mobaric conditions.
Keywords: coalbed methane, greenhouse gases, gas hydrates, dry water, nanoparticles, gas transportation, use of
surfactants, water spraying
1. INTRODUCTION
Coalbed methane is a natural gas adsorbed in coal,
i.e. gas adsorbs on the surface of coal and is stored in
micropores or is located in natural fractures of coal.
Its calorific value changes in a wide range depending
on age and rank of coal, bedding depth and wetness (Rice,
1993). The amount of gas in coal bed primarily depends
on temperature, pressure, fracturing degree, coal permea-
bility and adjacent strata (Krevelen, 1961; Airey, 1968).
1.1. Coalbed methane as a greenhouse gas
Coalbed methane, having the same properties as ordi-
nary natural gas, is a powerful greenhouse gas that is
21 times more potent than CO2 in terms of heat capture.
But Dr. Drew Shindell and his colleagues from NASA
have found that methane heat-trapping potential can be
not only 21 – 25 times greater but it can be more potent
by 105 times compared to CO2 when methane interacts
with some aerosols in the atmosphere within a 20-year
period of time and 79 times without aerosol effects
(Shindell et al., 2009).
As an explosive gas (it is most explosive in the range
of concentration from 5 to 15%), it presents the risk of
sudden outbursts during underground coal extraction,
which is considered to be one of the most important
factors influencing the volume of extracted coal within a
specific period of time and, hence, leads to worsening of
economical performance of a given mining enterprise.
As the coal is broken, it releases free methane into
the mine openings and, as a result, the concentration of
K. Hanushevych, V. Srivastava. (2017). Mining of Mineral Deposits, 11(3), 23-33
24
CH4 gradually rises to a dangerous level unless safety
measures are taken in time. There are also official regu-
lations as to the concentration of methane and other
toxic and harmful for human’s health gases at the work-
ing face, in return air or incoming air splits and also for
local accumulations (Tien, 1996). If safety measures are
not taken in time or in advance, methane released from
coal mixes with oxygen and becomes explosive causing
disasters underground.
The implemented safety measures are usually the in-
jection of fresh air into the coal face, sucking out me-
thane from the face to the surface or combination of
these two methods using local ventilation fans.
Except for the safety reasons, the “gas factor” signifi-
cantly slows down all kinds of mining operations taking
place underground, and sometimes the operations must
be fully stopped with possible evacuation of workers
from the working area until the concentration of CH4 in
the mine’s atmosphere will come back to the norm. Only
then can the operations be continued.
Nowadays the mining depth is continuously increas-
ing as coal reserves located closer to the surface are be-
ing depleted. And there is a common correlation between
mining depth and gas content – the deeper you go the
more gas you have (Guidebook…, 1999). So, as the gas
content in coal is also increasing, it leads to the rise of
the number of possible gas explosions, drawbacks in
production and, hence, to worsening of the mining enter-
prise economical situation.
Nowadays, one of the most effective and safest ways
to reduce the amount of gas underground is preliminary
degasification (gas drainage) using degassing wells
drilled into the coal seams before mining operations even
start (A Regional Handbook…, 2011). This method suc-
cessfully solves the safety concerns as there is almost no
methane left underground when mining begins. Also, this
method can be used during mining operations.
Preliminary degasification solves the following issues:
1. Safety aspect: increases safety of mining due to
mitigation of gas factor and this leads to higher produc-
tion volumes of the enterprise.
2. Ecological aspect: CH4 is a powerful greenhouse
gas that is 21 – 23 times more powerful than CO2. Even
if to flare methane, it releases CO2. So, this way of CH4
utilization does not fully solve the issue of the environ-
ment pollution.
3. Energy aspect: additional source of energy for the
population: heating buildings, generating electrical pow-
er, fuel for vehicles as well as for the industrial needs.
Also, the recovery can also be implemented during or
after mining operations (from worked-out areas) using
both vertical and directional drilling depending on geo-
logical conditions and properties of the coal seam. The
selection of drilling technique strictly depends on bed-
ding depth and geology of the coal reservoir. Usually, the
deeper the coal seam, the more complex technique has to
be implemented (Bue, 2012).
The principle scheme of coalbed methane extrac-
tion technology is shown in Figure 1. The borehole
should cover the area with the biggest number of frac-
tures. Sometime a grid of boreholes is used to cover a
larger area.
Figure 1. CBM recovery basic scheme (Fossil Energy…, 2012)
The basic principle behind CBM extraction is introduc-
ing water into the coal seam through a borehole to make
the gas flow up when water is removed lowering the pres-
sure in the bed. The pumps located at the bottom of the
borehole are used to pump an excessive amount of water
and sucking out the gas from the coal seam (Stearns, Tin-
dall, Cronin, Friedel, & Bergquist, 2005). But this method
is mostly good for coals with high level of permeability. If
the permeability is not high enough, hydraulic fracturing
technique, just like in shale gas extraction, can be used to
connect the well with the system of cleats and, hence, to
increase the gas flow (Davidson, Sloss, & Clarke, 1995).
Another, even more efficient, technique implies introduc-
tion of water and air under a very high pressure and after
that, rapid drop in pressure causes explosion of rock, thus
increasing the diameter of the production well and area of
the fractures (Coalbed Methane…, 2012). There is also a
method of injecting chemicals such as hydrochloric acid
into the coal seam to enlarge the size of cleats in coal
(Kumar & Mathews, 2006).
The safety concerns are paid the biggest attention to
in underground mines all over the planet, although, for
fairness’ sake, it should be mentioned that in Ukraine,
according to one of the present article authors, who has
some experience in working underground, miners daily
violate various safety regulations so that there are no
operational downtimes or delay in production that
would cut the miners’ salary. Also long-term underin-
vestment has led to unsafe, outdated equipment that
presents its own danger of failure and causing a disaster
(Ukraine’s Mine…, 2007).
Very similar situation is also observed in Russian coal
mines. May 2010 saw a huge methane-blast disaster in
Russia’s biggest underground coal mine “Raspadskaya”
killing 66 people and injuring 99, with other 24 consid-
ered missing. As it was explained by consequent investi-
gations, this happened because of outdated equipment,
failure to follow safety regulations and absence of degasi-
fication systems installed at mines (Raspadskaya mine…,
2010). In 2007, 150 coal miners were killed by two con-
secutive explosions of methane underground.
K. Hanushevych, V. Srivastava. (2017). Mining of Mineral Deposits, 11(3), 23-33
25
According to RosTechNadzor, the explosions were
caused by failure to check concentration of methane in
the mine atmosphere and violations of ventilation re-
quirements (Coal Mine Methane in Russia, 2009).
2. GLOBAL RESERVES OF COALBED METHANE
One of the fundamental laws in mineral resources ex-
ploitation is the Law of natural resources limitation that
originates from the fact that the planet of Earth is one
solid piece, hence, it cannot have limitless pieces (parts)
existing on it. So, the category of “inexhaustible” minerals
simply is not applicable to our planet. Therefore, if we
cannot escape depletion of natural resources, it is neces-
sary to pay specific attention to a more complete (compre-
hensive) use of them. That means utilizing any byproducts
or implementing their continuous recycling to make the
technology ecologically friendly and maximum profitable.
According to the BP Statistical Review of World En-
ergy (Statistical Review..., 2008), the largest proven coal
reserves belong to the USA with 28.6% of the total
amount of coal on the planet. Russia takes the second
place, having 18.5%, then China with 13.5%, Australia
with 9.0% and India (6.7%).
But, at the same time, according to US DOE (Al-
Jubori et al., 2009), Russia takes the first place in the
world in terms of coalbed methane reserves (Table 1).
Table 1. Largest reserves of coalbed methane by countries
Country Quantity, Tcf
Russia 1.730
USA 1.037
China 1.307
Australia 1.037
Canada 699.000
United Kingdom 102.000
India 71.000
Ukraine 42.000
Kazakhstan 23.000
It should be mentioned that Alaska alone has immense
reserves of CBM equal to about 1.037 Tcf (Al-Jubori et
al., 2009). As seen from Table 1, there are 4 other coun-
tries except the previously listed coal giants, present on
the coalbed methane market with fairly large reserves:
Canada, United Kingdom, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Stud-
ies conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency of
the United States of America show that 33% of all global
emissions of coal mine methane belong to China, 13% –
to the USA, 6% – to Russia and the same amount to
Ukraine (Coal Mine Methane in Russia, 2009).
According to another source (Thakur, 2017), coalbed
methane reserves are distributed somehow differently on
our planet (Table 2). In this Table, the USA takes only
the fifth place by global reserves of coalbed methane,
followed by Ukraine that is behind India. Canada, ac-
cording to these studies, takes the first place compared
only with the fifth given by Schlumburger in 2009 (Al-
Jubori et al., 2009). Germany and Poland that are not
even presented in Table 1, rank number 8, having 3 tril-
lion m3 of coalbed methane each. Also the Republic of
South Africa and Turkey appear among the biggest coun-
tries it terms of coalbed methane reserves according to
studies conducted in 2003.
Table 2. Coalbed methane reserves by countries
Country Reserves evaluation,
trln m3
Canada 17 – 92
Russia 17 – 80
China 30 – 35
Australia 8 – 14
USA 4 – 11
Ukraine 2 – 12
India 0.85 – 4
Germany 3
Poland 3
Great Britain 2.45
Kazakhstan 1.1 – 1.7
RSA 1
Czech Republic 0.38
Turkey 0.1
So, it turns out that there is a significant difference in
data provided between 2003 and 2009, and some coun-
tries, such as Germany, Poland, RSA, Czech Republic
and Turkey, they are not even present in 2009’s studies
but listed in the 2003’s review. According to CBM, Asia
Development Corporation, Indonesian reserves of CBM
are estimated to be 453 Tcf, which has never been stated
by other sources.
Are there some miscalculations possibly incurred or
is it an intentionally biased approach?
2.1. Britain’s coalbed methane
According to the Department of Energy and Climate
Change (DECC) (The Unconventional Hydrocarbon…,
2013), even if 10% of the UK CBM is recovered, it
would correspond to UK’s three-year natural gas supply.
The UK’s National Coal Board that conducted a program
of measuring gas content in their coals back in the
1980’s, has found that typically the coalbed methane had
80-95% of methane, 0 – 8% – ethane, 0 – 4% – propane
and higher alkanes, 2 – 8% – nitrogen, 0.2 – 6% – carbon
dioxide (Creedy, 1991).
2.2. India’s coalbed methane
Due to high prices for LNG (liquefied natural gas)
and rapidly growing demand for energy sources, Indian
government has started putting an accent on coalbed
methane extraction. There are eight potentially attractive
CBM fields in India at the moment: Jharkhand, West
Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarj, An-
dhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat (Developments in
India-CMM/CBM, 2010). The gas content in these coal
fields is evaluated to be within 7.3 – 23.8 m3 per ton of
coal at the depths of 150 – 1200 m3. For these coals, an
increase of each 100 meters down leads to the increase of
methane content of about 1.3 m3 per ton (Ojha, Karmak-
ar, Mandal, & Pathak, 2011).
According to miningweekly.com from October 28th,
2015 (India’s ONGC…, 2015), India’s ONGC (Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation Limited) is investing
400 million dollars into development of two CBM coal
blocks to start the production. ONGC is planning to drill
about 80 wells over the next three years, starting in 2016.
There are four largest CBM blocks that can be distin-
guished: Jharia – with 85 billion m3, North Karanpura –
K. Hanushevych, V. Srivastava. (2017). Mining of Mineral Deposits, 11(3), 23-33
26
62 billion m3, Bokaro – 45 billion m3 and Raniganj
North – 43 billion m3 (ONGC to invest…, 2015).
From the words of Prashant Modi, Chief Operating
Officer of Great Eastern Energy Corporation (GEECL),
India has a great potential and is a very attractive country
for CBM producers, considering the fact that this country
has the fifth-largest reserves of coal in the world. There
is no cost for recovery and only 10 per cent royalty to the
government plus a biddable percentage on sales (Real
Potential…, 2015). Also, after the gas is recovered, the
producer has the right to sell it on the domestic market at
any price. So, the CBM contract appears to be very at-
tractive both for domestic and foreign investors. GEECL
has already drilled about 156 wells reaching productivity
of about 22.8 mcf per day.
2.3. USA’s coalbed methane
Methane is usually the main component of coalbed
gas, although it also has a variety of other hydrocarbons in
its composition, such as propane, butane, hydrogen sulfite,
carbon dioxide. According to Pittsburgh Mining and Safe-
ty Research Center, methane concentration in coalbed
methane of various coal deposits all over the USA varied
from 63 to 99%, carbon dioxide – from 0.1 to 15%, alt-
hough no correlation depending on age, rank or bedding
depth has been found for these two gases (Kim, 1973).
The studies conducted by Ann G. Kim represent tests
for gas composition of several coalbed samples taken
from multiple coal fields at different coal mines. Tests
for gas composition have shown that it is methane that is
of the highest concentration in each gas sample. Its high-
est value was 99.22% and lowest 63.1%. Ethane was
usually present in all gas samples, propane and butane
were not as common. Carbon dioxide and sometimes
nitrogen and hydrogen were present in very small quanti-
ties. The heat of combustion for most of the tested sam-
ples was quite comparable to the values of natural gas.
2.4. Russia’s coalbed methane
Coal in Russia is notable for its high methane content.
And there is only about 20% of mine methane released
into the atmosphere that is captured. All the remaining
billions of cubic meters of methane go straight into the
atmosphere. According to Gazprom (O perspektivakh
dobychi…, 2017), reserves of coalbed methane in Russia
present about one third of the country’s reserves of natu-
ral gas. Since 2003 the OJSC “Gazprom Dobycha Kuz-
netsk” – the only coalbed methane recovering company
in Russia has started extraction. Currently, the company
has been developing three huge deposits (Puchcov,
Slastunov, & Karkashadze, 2006).
The average methane content of coal by countries
(Ruban, 2006) is presented the Table 3.
Table 3. Average methane content of coal by countries
Country Average methane
content, m3/t
Russia 11.6
UK 10.3
China 9.3
USA 7.0
Germany 5.0
In 2008, coal methane emissions in the Kuznetskiy
basin (one of the biggest basins) increased to 320 mln m3
a year, compared to 252 mln m3 in 2006, but the volume
of utilized methane stayed very low – about 40 mln m3 for
local use in boilers (Coal Mine Methane in Russia, 2009).
Degasification of coal in Russia is only considered to
be viable for gas content of more than 10 m3 per ton of
coal. So, the coalbed methane recovery coefficient stays
very low – 0.2 (Puchcov, Slastunov, & Karkashadze,
2006). The other thing is that reserves of natural gas in
Russia are truly immense, and it tops the list of ten biggest
countries in terms of natural gas reserves, thus, develop-
ment of coalbed methane recovery technologies cannot
compete with conventional methods in terms of strategic
importance at this stage of the energy sector development.
2.5. China’s coalbed methane
According to data provided by (Che et al., 2008) the
resources of CBM in China are estimated at 36.8∙1012 m3.
At this moment, there are 15 national projects and 6
demonstration projects under way (Wu, Sun, & Feng,
2011). At the same time, safety level in underground
mines of China is improving.
According to (Mu et al., 2015), the major problems
concerning CBM recovery at this moment are poor under-
standing of geological conditions, low production of wells
and lack of investments. There is also a problem related to
lack of pipelines for gas transportation leading to venting
of “excess” gas into the atmosphere.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government has started
paying a lot of attention to the environment protection
and air pollution prevention and such an initiative di-
rectly involves utilization of coalbed methane reserves.
There are six major CBM production fields in China at
the moment with predicted productivity of about
600∙108 – 820∙108 m3/year. So, the overall picture of
CBM recovery perspectives in China is very promising.
2.6. Australia’s coalbed methane
In Australia, coalbed methane is usually referred to as
coal seam gas (CSM) and coal seam methane (CSM)
depending on the location in the country. But the part of
methane that is vented into the atmosphere through venti-
lation systems is called ventilation air methane (VAM)
(Coalbed Methane, 2006). VAM is considered to be the
largest source of methane in Australia in terms of amount
of emissions into the atmosphere (Miyazaki, 2005).
There are two major coal basins in Australia – Bowen
and Surat that have suitable conditions, in terms of bed-
ding depth, for CSM extraction. The mean volume of
methane per 1 ton of coal is rather high – 25 m3. Austral-
ia’s total reserves of coalbed methane are estimated to be
from 8.6 to 14.3 trillion m3. To enhance productivity,
nitrogen (N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) can be injected
into the coal seam to increase coal permeability: nitrogen
reduces pressure of methane and, hence, its flow, and
carbon dioxide removes methane from the coal surface
and adsorbs on the coal surface (Ham & Kantzas, 2008).
According to the forecast made by CBM Asia Devel-
opment Corporation, Australia has all the chances to
become #1 CBM producer in the world displacing the
USA by 2020.
K. Hanushevych, V. Srivastava. (2017). Mining of Mineral Deposits, 11(3), 23-33
27
2.7. Germany’s coalbed methane
Based on studies made by Mosle et al (Mosle,
Kukla, Stollhofe, & Preube, 2009), Germany has CBM
reserves of about 3 trillion m3. There are three main
coal fields in Germany: Ruhr, Ibbenburen and Saar
(Brown Coal Statistics, 2014).
As of 2014, there are 43 CBM projects operating in
Germany. 37 of these projects are abandoned mines. 30
projects serve for power generation, the rest 13 – for com-
bination of heat and power (Global Methane Initiative,
2014). According to the same source, the amount of aban-
doned mine methane (AMM) captured annually in Ger-
many is equal to more than 400 million m3. The potential
utilization of CBM in Germany can be associated with
boilers, heat and power generation, secondary fuel sources
such as methanol, liquid gas, chemical industry, coking
plant, electrical power plant (Dinkelbach & Mader, 2004).
2.8. Ukraine’s coalbed methane
Ukraine is one of the biggest coal and coalbed me-
thane producing countries in the world. It is the fourth
largest coal producer in Europe after Russia, Germany
and Poland. Its 33.9 billion tons of coal is enough to
sustain current consumption rates for the next 390 years.
Most of Ukrainian underground coal mines (about 80%)
are highly gassy (more than 15 m3 of gas per 1 ton of
coal) and prone to sudden outbursts of gas and coal dust
with thickness of coal seams only within the range of
0.4 – 1.5 m (Coal of Ukraine, 2013). For this reason,
extraction of coal in Ukraine is both technologically and
ecologically difficult task requiring modern equipment
and wise approach.
Specific methane content in Ukrainian coal is about
20 m3 per ton (Coal Mine Methane in Ukraine, 2001) that
is a quite high value.
Nevertheless, almost all of its CBM is just vented into
the atmosphere. 10 percent of utilized methane is degasi-
fied with the help of drilling three types of wells from the
surface: vertical, horizontal and wells drilled through the
coal seam and surrounding rocks. Vertical wells are used
as means of preliminary degasification removing about
70% of methane, i.e. before even mining operations start.
The utilized gas is primarily used in mine boilers instead
of using coal.
Horizontal boreholes are used to suck methane out of
unmined areas. They are usually from 30 to 50 meters
long. However, the efficiency of this method can be 50%
less than when using vertical boreholes. All wells are
connected to a central vacuum pump by a system of inter-
connected pipelines (Ukraine Coalbed Methane …, 1998).
Nowadays Ukraine is heavily dependent on imported
natural gas, therefore, any source of gas within the coun-
try would benefit its economy and would be a crucial
step towards even partial sustainable energy existence.
Extracted mine gas can, at least, partially replace the
gas imported from Europe and Russia, improve ecologi-
cal and economic situation in the country.
3. UTILIZATION OF COALBED METHANE
Taking into account the fact that CBM in not only a
dangerous gas threatening miners but also a colossal
source of natural gas, it is proposed to use an alternative
method of gas transportation without pipelines. One of
these methods can be usage of gas hydrate technologies.
Since gas hydrates are well known for consuming large
amounts of gas under high pressures and low temperatures
forming solid crystalline compounds (complexes), they
can be used to transport gas in a solid gas hydrate form.
But the main challenge of implementing such an idea
is intensification of gas hydrate formation process, its
storage and transportation. The time of gas hydrates
formation depends on many factors, such as various
gases concentration in the gas mixture, water content,
presence of dust particles in the gas, moisture content in
the gas, rate of cooling, speed of diffusion, thermody-
namic driving force (Kashchiev & Firoozabadi, 2002;
Anklam & Firoozabadi, 2004; Mottahedin, Varaminian,
& Mafakheri, 2011; Fandiño & Ruffine, 2014).
There are several ways to promote gas hydrate for-
mation rate known at present: use of surfactants (Kumar,
Bhattacharjee, Kulkarni, & Kumar, 2015), water spray-
ing to increase surface area between phases (Brown,
Taylor, & Bernardo, 2010), use of dry water concept
(both of speeding the process and transportation) (Wang,
Bray, Adams, & Cooper, 2008), hollow silica (Prasad,
Sowjanya, & Dhanunjana Chari, 2014), use of copper
nano-particles in water (Li, Liang, Guo, Wang, & Fan,
2006), even use of potato starch (Fakharian, Ganji,
Naderi Far, & Kameli, 2012).
After the gas hydrate is created, it needs to be stored
and transported. The following promising methods are
proposed at present: creating gas hydrate pellets for con-
venient transportation (Katoh & Fukazawa, 2011; Rehder
et al., 2012), transportation in trucks (Mimachi et al., 2014;
Taheri, Shabani, Nazari, & Mehdizaheh, 2014;), shipping
in vessels (Mannel & Puckett, 2008), storage as frozen
hydrates (Gudmundsson, Parlaktuna, & Khokhar, 1994),
transportation of hydrate slurry (Martin, Sinquin, & Dar-
bouret, 2011; Lv, Shi, Wang, & Gong, 2013).
3.1. How do surfactants work?
Surfactants (also hydrate promoters) are mainly used to
increase water-to-hydrate conversion and enhance water-
gas interactions. So, the induction time that occurs right
after nucleation is reduced due to the use of promoters
(surfactants), whereas, growth rate gets extended (Kumar,
Bhattacharjee, Kulkarni, & Kumar, 2015). The right
amount of a surfactant can even change the morphology
enhancing better water-gas contact and, therefore, increase
growth rate of a hydrate (Kalogerakis, Jamaluddin,
Dholabhai, & Bishnoi, 1993; Zhong & Rogers, 2000).
Surfactant coating reduces surface tension of water,
since this monomolecular layer covering water surface
has lower energy. In our case the system consists of a
liquid phase, gas phase and surfactant. Thus, it is pro-
posed that methane bubbles are injected through the
water-surfactant solution. The number of bubbles reaches
tens of thousands of billions in 1 m3.
The main condition is that gas bubbles have to be
covered with the solution film not allowing them to get
out of the system (Fig. 2). If such a film does not exist,
the gas bubbles burst immediately (Artemenko, 1980).
K. Hanushevych, V. Srivastava. (2017). Mining of Mineral Deposits, 11(3), 23-33
28
Figure 2. Gas bubbles covered with water-surfactant solution
Methane bubbles released onto the surface without
using a surfactant, exist only some milliseconds, where-
as, when using surfactant – they can exist for much long-
er periods of time. This is reached with the help of the
water surface tension decrease. When surfactant is added,
its molecules aggregate to form the so-called micelles
(structures) in water with various forms and orientations
(Fuhrhop & Koning, 1996).
When water and a surfactant get in contact they form
not only firm adsorption film at the solution-gas inter-
phase and enhance gas bubbles stability, but also increase
the possibility of formation of bubbles of critically
important size.
According to the results obtained in the National
Mining University (Ukraine), using a surfactant for pro-
moting gas hydrate formation rate, it is of high im-
portance to use an optimal amount of a surfactant. If
there is not enough surfactant added to water, the struc-
turing does not occur, because promoter molecules cover
only some part of a water molecule surface and, there-
fore, do not structure it. On the contrary, when there is an
excessive amount of a surfactant present in the system,
the number of micelles will grow until they start to ad-
here to each other because there is not enough water
between them serving as a lubricant (Ganushevych, Sai,
& Korotkova, 2014).
However, he above mentioned conclusions, most
probably, do not refer to all the hydrate promoters. Pro-
moter that has been used for methane hydrate growth rate
is widely used in coal industry for coal dust suppression.
Its chemical formula is presented on the Figure 3.
Figure 3. Structural formula of the used surfactant, where n –
is equal to 7 (in average)
During the experiments, it was established that
O(CH2CH2)n H group structures water into a hexagonal
shape crystallizing it and, as a result, increasing the rate
of hydrates formation (Fig. 4). Therefore, this surfactant
promotes water carcass formation – “host” that
encapsulates gas molecules forming gas hydrate.
Figure 4. Water structuring by using the surfactant
3.2. Water spraying
The technology of water spraying in a form of a mist
is also considered to be one of the methods for hydrate
formation process intensification. The technique is real-
ized with the help of high-pressure nozzles installed in a
reactor. The number of nozzles can vary as well as the
pressure under which the water is sprayed inside the cell.
Water injection angle plays a role too, as it can signifi-
cantly influence the phase interaction mechanism. The
main idea of this technique is the creation of a bigger
surface area of the phases contact which is critical for
promoting faster nucleation of gas hydrate. Figure 5
schematically illustrates the basic of idea of this method.
Figure 5. Schematic illustration of water-spray interaction
with gas
The main operational parameters changing during the
process are pressure and temperature inside the cell.
These two parameters have a direct influence on guest
molecule solubility in water which is proved by Song
(Song et al., 1997). The results of his experiments state
that a gas solubility in water significantly increases at
temperatures right above gas hydrate formation tempera-
ture and right before hydrate formation. Similar conclu-
sions have been made by Servio (Servio & Englezos,
2002), confirming that methane solubility in water de-
creases after gas hydrate has been formed and increases
right before its formation.
One of the critical factors in the water spraying tech-
nique is the size and, hence, weight of the water droplets
released from the nozzle. It may appear that too small
water droplets will not have enough kinetic energy and
velocity to create an adequate water-gas phase boundary,
not allowing gas molecules penetrate water droplets.
water
K. Hanushevych, V. Srivastava. (2017). Mining of Mineral Deposits, 11(3), 23-33
29
Further into this question, Welander at al. has come up
with a comparative table showing the connection of wa-
ter droplet size, number of water droplets and total sur-
face area: cutting droplet size in two yields 8 times more
water droplets and doubles total surface area (Welander
& Vincent, 1999). This means nozzles selection is a
crucial step for the effective realization of the method
that needs deep analysis and examination to fully use the
potential of the suggested method of promotion.
To help promote gas hydrate formation rate, it is
proposed by Ryo Ohmura et al. (Ohmura, Kashiwazaki,
Shiota, Tsuji, & Mori, 2002) to use a second guest mol-
ecule, besides methane, that forms structure H-hydrate.
It is explained by the fact that the pressure needed to
create this type of hydrate – “methane + second guest
molecule” is about 40% of what is required for the
structure-1 hydrate.
To further promote the rate of gas hydrate formation,
it is suggested to use mechanical stirring which facilitates
and increases methane uptake by water (Brown, Taylor,
& Bernardo, 2010).
3.3. Use of nanoparticles as promoters
One of the most perspective methods influencing ki-
netics of gas hydrate formation at the moment is using
nanoparticles of various chemical compounds such as
Al2O3, SiO2, Ag and Cu (Said et al., 2016). According to
the same authors, adding just an insignificant portion of a
compound is able to change gas consumption volume
and kinetics of gas hydrate formation.
As a result of their experiments, SiO2 has turned out
to be the most effective chemical compound capable of
increasing the average amount of consumed gas up to
45% compared with the value obtained when pure water
was used for dissolution and 77% for crystallization. Cu
and Al2O3 have proved to be not very effective in in-
creasing consumption by only 1% using Cu and 15%
using Al2O3 during dissociation but quite well during
crystallization – 30 and 65% correspondingly. The phe-
nomenon of faster hydrate formation using different
nanoparticles is explained by more efficient mass and
heat transfer in fluids thanks to the particles.
3.4. Dry water concept
Based on the concept of nanoparticles usage to in-
crease gas uptake and hydrate formation kinetics, SiO2
nanoparticles can be used not only to increase the kinet-
ics of the process but also in developing an alternative
transportation method of natural gas.
At the first stage, it is proposed to create the so called
“dry water” – compound consisting of water droplets
coated by hydrophobic fumed silica layer preventing
droplets from blending (Wang, Bray, Adams, & Cooper,
2008). Dry water (DW) looks like a white fine powder,
which is dry on the surface but gets wet if the silica coat-
ing is broken and the water is let out. Figure 6 shows a
supposed scheme of what DW might look like inside.
The silica coating itself is measured on a nanoscale,
whereas the water droplet is about 25 – 50 microns in
size (Shirato & Satoh, 2011).
Figure 6. Two supposed schemes of what dry water looks like
To create DW, an ordinary blender is needed to mix
up water with hydrophobic silica under free access of air
(Fig. 7). The speed of stirring can vary in a wide range
and strongly influences the size of created dry water
particles. Average mixing time is only 90 seconds.
Depending on the water-hydrophobic silica ratio,
there will be no phase separation (ideal case) or signifi-
cant phase separation easily detected by a naked eye:
foam or dispersion. It has been established that the per-
fect ratio of water and silica is 95 to 5% respectively. In
this case a pure powder-like substance is formed (Fig. 8).
As seen from the Figure 8, the perfect ratio (96 wt. %)
forms whitish powder-like substance with no visible
phase separation at all.
Figure 7. Sample of dry water (Bland, 2008)
K. Hanushevych, V. Srivastava. (2017). Mining of Mineral Deposits, 11(3), 23-33
30
Figure 8. Phase separation depending on the water-silica
content ratio. From left to right: 96, 97, 98, 99 wt.%
water (Altan & Zhu, 2014)
Whereas the rightmost sample clearly demonstrates
water and hydrophobic silica phases separation with the
last one on top, it is worth noting that water content low-
er than 96 wt. % may lead to clusters formation consist-
ing of relatively large crystals.
The storage capacity of DW is what makes the com-
pound really attractive. DW can uptake about 200 times
more methane than the volume of DW itself under stand-
ard conditions (Hu et al., 2001).
Dry water concept seems to be extremely intriguing
when it comes to the industrial application. The potential
applications are as follows:
1. Storage of greenhouse gases such as CH4 and CO2
(due to molecules encapsulation).
2. Aqueous solutions containing hazardous chemical
agents may also be encapsulated for safe handling, ship-
ment and storage.
3. Safe and convenient transportation and storage in
solid powder-like form.
4. High gas storage capacity (possibly higher than in
bulk water hydrates).
There are still many questions arising as to practical
usage of DW: transportation pressure-temperature condi-
tions, more accurate influence of mixing on DW particles
size, optimal water-silica ratio, silica coating thickness
and its strength, cohesion forces between water droplet
and silica, influence of water repeat usage on DW for-
mation kinetics et cetera.
3.5. Potato starch
Finally, even potato starch can be used to increase the
rate of gas hydrate formation compared to usage of just
pure water (Fakharian, Ganji, Naderi Far, & Kameli,
2012). According to the authors, the starch in concentra-
tions from 100 to 500 ppm enhances hydrate formation
kinetics. In addition, acceleration effect directly depends
on the increase of the starch concentration. Gas content
of gas hydrates created with presence of starch can be
compared with those created using SDS solution (sodium
dodecyl sulfate) or even higher.
4. CONCLUSION
Coalbed methane is a natural gas located in pores and
fractures of coal possessing a great risk of sudden out-
bursts leading to disasters in underground coal mines.
However, CBM is a source of a tremendous amount of
natural gas that can be used in power generation, auto
fuel, steel manufacturing and for people’s needs.
Common challenges when extracting CBM are shared
by all gas producing countries: safety of the operations
(especially if using hydraulic fracturing technique), protec-
tion of the environment, water utilization, governmental
regulations, infrastructure and gas transportation methods.
One of the proposed methods to utilize CBM implies
mixing it up with water under predefined thermobaric
conditions and creating gas hydrates – solid compounds
consisting of water and gas and existing under high pres-
sure and low temperature. Creating gas hydrates is rather
time consuming for an industrial implementation. Thus,
gas hydrate formation rate needs to be accelerated.
At present, there are several sophisticated methods
to increase gas hydrate formation kinetics. Using vari-
ous surfactants is, probably, the most known method to
enhance water-gas interaction and thus speed up the
nucleation and growth of a gas hydrate decreasing its
induction time. When choosing the amount of a surfac-
tant to add, one should be careful, as miscalculations
can lead to inhibiting gas hydrate nucleation rather than
accelerating it.
Water spraying technique is also considered to be one
of the most promising methods to enhance the kinetics of
nucleation. With the help of tiny water droplets sprayed
through the gas a bigger surface area forms that enlarges
phase contact between water and gas. The main concern
of this technique is that the size of water droplets should
be not too small to interact with gas molecules.
Another method of promoting gas hydrate formation
deals with nanoscale investigations. Such chemical com-
pounds as Al2O3, SiO2, Ag and Cu are used to enhance
gas hydrate formation rate thanks to their large surface
area. It has been reported that not only does the for-
mation rate increase but also gas consumption volume
grows when using nanoparticles.
SiO2 has proved to be the most effective compound in
terms of increasing kinetics and gas consumption com-
pared to usage of pure water. The so called “dry water”
created by blending SiO2 and water can be perfectly
implemented as a means of a natural gas transportation in
a powder form from the very place of gas release replac-
ing old-fashioned pipeline method.
Based on the recent investigations, even potato starch
in concentrations from 100 to 500 ppm can be used as a
promoter for faster gas hydrate formation.
Taking into account multiple ways of promoting gas
hydrate formation rate, the proposed alternative methods
of natural gas transportation seem to be quite feasible and
advanced. Replacement of pipelines as a means of gas
transportation will beneficially rebound upon the envi-
ronment and economy of a given country.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank Chemical and Biological En-
gineering Faculty, Center for Hydrate Research at Colo-
rado School of Mines (USA) headed by Dr., Prof., Car-
olyn A. Koh for giving an incredible opportunity to be a
part of excellent group and supporting ideas as to com-
bining coal mining with gas hydrate technologies. We are
immensely grateful for the insights and comments that
have greatly helped the research.
K. Hanushevych, V. Srivastava. (2017). Mining of Mineral Deposits, 11(3), 23-33
31
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ABSTRACT (IN UKRAINIAN)
Мета. Дослідження основних фізичних і хімічних властивостей вугільного метану, умов його формування
та місць виникнення. Особлива увага приділяється утилізації метану із використанням альтернативних методів,
таких як газогідратні технології та нанотехнології.
Методика. Аналіз геологічних умов утворення вугільного метану та його речовинного складу в декількох
країнах, а також вивчення методів збільшення швидкості гідратоутворення для інтенсифікації утилізації газу.
Результати. Класифіковані запаси вугільного метану у відповідності з його кількістю в різних країнах світу.
Проведено широкий огляд методів інтенсифікації гідратоутворення й застосування нанотехнологій, використо-
вуючи різні хімічні речовини для утилізації та транспортування вугільного метану у твердій формі.
Наукова новизна. Газові гідрати і суха вода були запропоновані в якості альтернативних методів утилізації
вугільного метану та його транспортування у твердій формі.
Практична значимість. Колосальна кількість метану, що виділяється в атмосферу з підземних вугільних
шахт, може бути переведена у тверду або порошкову форму для транспортування на значні відстані при помір-
них термобаричних умовах.
Ключові слова: вугільний метан, парникові гази, газові гідрати, суха вода, наночастки, транспортування
газу, використання поверхнево-активних речовин, розпилення води
ABSTRACT (IN RUSSIAN)
Цель. Исследование основных физических и химических свойств угольного метана, условий его формиро-
вания и мест возникновения. Особое внимание уделяется утилизации метана с использованием альтернативных
методов, такие как газогидратные технологии и нанотехнологии.
Методика. Анализ геологических условий образования угольного метана и его вещественного состава в не-
скольких странах, а также изучение методов увеличения скорости гидратообразования для интенсификации
утилизации газа.
Результаты. Классифицированы запасы угольного метана в соответствии с его количеством в различных
странах мира. Проведен широкий обзор методов интенсификации гидратообразования и применения нанотех-
нологий, используя различные химические вещества для утилизации и транспортирования угольного метана в
твердой форме.
Научная новизна. Газовые гидраты и сухая вода были предложены в качестве альтернативных методов
утилизации угольного метана и его транспортирования в твердой форме.
Практическая значимость. Колоссальное количество метана, выделяемое в атмосферу из подземных
угольных шахт, может быть переведено в твердую или порошковую форму для транспортировки на большие
расстояния при умеренных термобарических условиях.
Ключевые слова: угольный метан, парниковые газы, газовые гидраты, сухая вода, наночастицы, транс-
портировка газа, использование поверхностно-активных веществ, распыление воды
ARTICLE INFO
Received: 24 May 2017
Accepted: 7 September 2017
Available online: 30 September 2017
ABOUT AUTHORS
Kostiantyn Hanushevych, Doctor of Philosophy, Research Stuff of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engi-
neering, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois St, Alderson Hall, CO 80401, Golden, United States, E-mail:
kosganush@gmail.com
Vishal Srivastava, PhD Student of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines,
1500 Illinois St, Alderson Hall, CO 80401, Golden, United States, E-mail: vsrivast@mymail.mines.edu
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