International Journal of Coal Geology 35 1998.

326

Coalbed methane: From hazard to resource

Romeo M. Flores
) US Geological Surey, Dener, CO 80225, USA Received 14 April 1997; accepted 1 May 1997

Abstract Coalbed gas, which mainly consists of methane, has remained a major hazard affecting safety and productivity in underground coal mines for more than 100 years. Coalbed gas emissions have resulted in outbursts and explosions where ignited by open lights, smoking or improper use of black blasting powder, and machinery operations. Investigations of coal gas outbursts and explosions during the past century were aimed at predicting and preventing this mine hazard. During this time, gas emissions were diluted with ventilation by airways e.g., tunnels, vertical and horizontal drillholes, shafts. and by drainage boreholes. The 1970s energy crisis led to studies of the feasibility of producing the gas for commercial use. Subsequent research on the origin, accumulation, distribution, availability, and recoverability has been pursued vigorously during the past two decades. Since the 1970s research investigations on the causes and effects of coal mine outbursts and gas emissions have led to major advances towards the recovery and development of coalbed methane for commercial use. Thus, coalbed methane as a mining hazard was harnessed as a conventional gas resource. q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.
Keywords: coal gas outburst; coalbed methane; hazard; resource assessment; recoverability

1. Introduction Coalbed gas has been considered a major mine hazard since the early to mid 19th century when the first documented coal mine gas explosions occurred in the United States in 1810 and in France in 1845. Since the late 20th century coalbed methane has received increased emphasis as a potential energy resource. Coal beds contain a mixture

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R.M. Floresr International Journal of Coal Geology 35 (1998) 326

of gases in which methane makes up 8099% and varies from 0.000318.66 m3rmetric ton 0.01 to ) 600 ft 3rton. with heat combustion ranging from 8455 to 9345 calrm3 9501050 Bturft 3 . Kemp and Petersen, 1988.. Minor amounts of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulphide, and sulphur dioxide make up the other components of coalbed gas. A minimum amount of gas is contained as free gas in fractures cleat system., but it mainly occurs as sorbed gas on micropore surfaces in the matrix of coal beds. In addition, some of the coalbed gas migrates from the coal into adjacent sandstones. Early research investigations of coalbed gas have concentrated on technology to control and manage gas outbursts and explosions Lama, 1995.. Methane research in the United States was separate from health and safety research Deul and Kim, 1986.. Since the 1970s when coalbed methane was determined to be an economically viable energy source, investigations have focused on understanding its origin, occurrence, distribution, availability, producibility, and recoverability. Investigations of coalbed gas in the United States underground bituminous coal mines in the mid 1970s showed a production of 7 = 10 9 m3rd ) 200 million cubic feet per day or mmcfgpd. of methane per day Skow et al., 1980.. Degasification of underground coal mines by draining methane either by horizontal boreholes at the base of mine shafts or by outside mine entries and vertical boreholes in advance of mining have led to concerns about the contribution of methane to the greenhouse effect of the atmosphere. During the course of investigations concerning the gas emissions into the atmosphere, it has become apparent that methane from underground coal mines is a viable energy source. In the United States this effort was enhanced by pioneering work of government agencies e.g. US Bureau of Mines or USBM, US Department of Energy or DOE, and Gas Research Institute or GRI. developing the technology to recover coalbed methane. However, it was not until the vertical wells unrelated to mining operations, were drilled in the central Appalachian, Black Warrior, and San Juan Basins in mid 1970s that coalbed methane was pronounced a viable commercial energy commodity. The most important factor that has influenced the producibility of coalbed methane in the United States is enactment of the Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax of 1980 Soot, 1988.. This tax-credit incentive was proposed for production of unconventional fuels from: 1. oil shale and tar sands, 2. gas from biomass, geopressured brines, or Devonian shale, 3. liquid, gaseous or solid synthetic fuels from coal, 4. some processed wood fuels, and 5. steam from some agricultural by-products. This production tax credit permitted coalbed methane producers to receive $0.75 per million Btu of gas sold in 1986, which rose to $0.78 per million Btu in 1987. This tax credit was projected to increase $1.34 per million Btu in 2001. However, in order to qualify for the tax credit, wells must have been drilled by 1990; production from these wells is eligible for credit until 2001. Thus, the current focus on coalbed methane is on providing safe mining operations, utilization of methane as a unconventional energy source and resulting tax writeoff., and its effect on the environment. In the past this progression of interests provided a vehicle for research investigations that led to coalbed methane becoming a significant part of the energy resource and a target for exploration and development worldwide. This paper summarizes the historical and geological perspectives of the state of knowledge and research advances in coalbed methane as a conventional energy resource.

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2. Historical perspective in coal mining Historically, coalbed methane was vented to conduct safe mining operations in order to increase mine productivity. Coalbed methane was not a problem when coal was mined from outcrops by stripping and shallow shafting in the United Kingdom and other European countries. As shallow coal resources were slowly exhausted at the end of the 18th century and technology was improved to permit construction of large deep mines, coalbed methane in these mines was observed. In the early 19th century, coal mine explosions were recorded in Britain, France, and United States. In the late 19th and early 20th century minor to major disastrous explosions were reported in deep underground coal mines in Australia, Canada, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Poland, Russia, and United States. In all these cases, poor gas ventilation or no gas drainage Diamond, 1994. allowed coalbed methane to accumulate in amounts which could be ignited either by open lights, smoking or improper use of black blasting powder, and sparking from mining equipment. In addition, coal dust propagated explosions through large sections of the mines. Outbursts were described by Hargraves 1983. as violent projections of coal, gas, and rocks from the floor and roof away from the freshly exposed coal face during mining operations. These phenomena may result in explosion if an ignition source is present; however, they do not always result in an explosion. Campoli et al. 1985. indicate that outbursts are caused by high coalbed gas pressure and structural stress created by the load on the mine and are generally not common in the United States. Outbursts are not only restricted to underground coal mines but also occur in salt, potash, and other mines Gimm and Pforr, 1964; Mahtab, 1982; Styles, 1995.. However,

Fig. 1. A diagram showing the relationship of annual fatalities from coal-mine explosions and the influence of mine safety research. During the period of 19001940, the first application of rock dusting, permissible use of electrical equipment, and improved ventilation were enforced. During the period from 19401980 the coal mine health safety, rock dust-coal analyzer, methane degasification, and explosion-proof bulkheads were enforced modified from Deul and Kim, 1986..

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these violent failures are more prevalent and pronounced in underground coal mines because of the development of high pressures and large quantities of methane, carbon dioxide or both stored in the coal. For instance in 1981, the largest ever underground coal-mine outburst in Japan expelled 4000 m3 140,000 ft 3 . of coal and up to 600,000 m3 21 mmcf. of gas Deguchi et al., 1995.. Lama and Bodziony this Special Issue. indicate that an equally large outburst previously occurred in 1969 in the Gagarin coal mine in the Donetsk Basin in Ukraine, which ejected 14,000 tons of coal and 600,000 m3 of gas. Although coal mining in the United States began in the early 18th century, mine explosions in the Appalachian coal basin occurred intermittently in the early to middle 19th century, becoming more frequent from the late 19th century to the middle of the 20th century as described by Deul and Kim 1986.. These workers indicate that the annual number of fatalities from explosions in underground coal mines in the United States has diminished through the last 80 years because of research on mine safety see Fig. 1.. In contrast, more than 15,000 coal-gas outbursts or explosions have occurred in China during the same time Deguchi et al., 1995. with a resulting large number of fatalities and injuries e.g., ) 10,000 to date in China, in Murray, 1996; Humphrey, 1960; Machisak et al., 1961; Moyer and Jones, 1968; Skow et al., 1980; Litwiniszyn, 1995.. Worldwide, most of these underground coal-mine gas outbursts or explosions were caused by coalbed methane Anderson, 1995; Lama, 1995; Okten et al., 1995..

Fig. 2. Relationship of gas pressure and content gradients to outbursting and non-bursting conditions in the Gemini coal seam, Leichhardt Colliery, Bowen Basin, Australia modified from Hanes, 1995..

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Outbursts involving the carbon dioxide component of the coalbed gas are more violent than those related to methane because the sorptive capacity of coal for carbon dioxide is 23 times greater than that for methane and the desorption rate of carbon dioxide is much faster than methane, yielding a high pressure gradient Styles, 1995.. However, coalbed methane is a major factor in outbursting or explosions worldwide and a coalbed with methane content greater than 9 m3rmt is considered coal and gas outburst prone Campoli et al., 1985.. In addition a high gas pressure gradient also contributes to outbursting as shown in Fig. 2 Hanes, 1995.. Research on coalbed methane for the past several decades has been directed toward its management, control, and prediction in order to reduce outbursts in underground coal mines Deul, 1964; Kozlowski, 1980; Janas, 1985; Tarnowski, 1988; Noack, 1995; Sergeev and Ivanov, 1995; Hatherly et al., 1995; Murray, 1996.. Because coalbed gas outbursts occur in mines worldwide, a unified effort toward solving this problem started before World War I Loiret and Laligant, 1923.. This effort has resulted in intensive research investigations on the causes of underground coal-mine gas outbursts outside the United States where outbursts are more common. These investigations were designed to help predict, prevent, and manage coal-mine gas outbursts and include the origin and mechanism of coal-mine outbursts. 2.1. Origin and mechanism of coal-mine outbursts It was suggested by Kotarba 1990. that rock aggregates in the earths crust by virtue of their physical and chemical characteristics consist of a network of structures that include fractures, micro-cracks and pores, which were filled with gaseous and liquid substances. Coal is one such rock aggregate that accumulated gaseous substances such as carbon dioxide, methane, andror nitrogen in these structures during coalification. Coal consists of organic and inorganic matters, which have undergone a series of devolatilization stages during coalification into higher grades or ranks e.g. lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, and anthracite.. Low rank coals e.g. lignite and subbituminous. lose a minor amount of volatile matter during the process of coalification. High rank coals bituminous and anthracite. lose a large amount of volatile matter during this process, producing methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and large amounts of water. Coalbed methane generated at low temperature is of a biological biogenic. origin and that generated at high temperature is of a thermal origin thermogenic. Meissner, 1984; Rightmire, 1984; Rice, 1993.. There is a continuing debate on the mechanism responsible for outbursts in underground coal mines. Cheng and Ding 1971. suggested that the driving force of coal-mine outbursts is the internal energy of the gas contained in the coal bed rather than the stressrstrain energy of the coal bed and surrounding rocks. Gas pressure and gas quantity are significant factors in coal-mine outbursts Khodot, 1961; Christianovich, 1953; Christianovich and Salganik, 1983; Lama, 1995.. In addition, rock pressure and strength are also important factors contributing to coal-mine outbursts as suggested by Christianovich and Salganik 1983.. These researchers argue that a continuous medium e.g. coal bed. is divided into several zones e.g. elastic, oriented cracks, plastic. due to

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existing strain. Mining activity is interpreted to displace these zones; gas is released and migrates into the plastic zone, which serves as a sponge and a barrier. The thinner this barrier, the greater the probability of a outburst. Mroz and Zacharski 1990. supported this argument by indicating the existence of oriented cracks or slices.. Thin slices provide conduits of gas flow between them. Rock slicing is confirmed in laboratory experiments by Bodziony et al. 1990. and Gawor et al. 1991.. This mechanism of propagating coal-mine outbursts led to a concentrated effort to understand the topology of continuous to multi-phase medium Ryncarz, 1989, 1990; Majewska, 1990; Litwiniszyn, 1987, 1995; Gotoh et al., 1995; Bodziony and Kraj, 1995; Chen et al., 1995; Tarnowski, 1995; Topolnicki, 1995.. Other mechanisms of coal-mine outbursts are directly related to microseismic activity propagated by reactivation of faults and explosives Davies et al., 1987; Styles, 1995. as well as indirectly associated with the maceral composition of the coal Beamish and Crosdale, 1995.. 2.2. Prediction and preention of coal-mine outbursts Knowledge gained through investigations of the origin of coalbed gas and mechanism of coal mine outbursts has enhanced the techniques of prediction and prevention of outbursts and explosions. Prediction includes monitoring of gas emissions Lama, 1995., of acoustic signal spectrum characteristics in relation to structures in the rock mass e.g. state of stress; Bobrov, 1995; Deguchi et al., 1995; Hatherly et al., 1995; Seto and Katsuyama, 1995; Birukov, 1995., and of microseismic acoustic emissions Styles, 1995; Talebi et al., 1995.. The techniques of prediction may be applied to control and prevent underground coal-mine outbursts. For example measurements of gas content and pressure from drillholes on the surface and subsurface permits determination of threshold conditions for outburst occurrence Zhang, 1995.. These measurements provide information on the irregular distribution of gas and change in gas trends allowing the emplacement of methods to control and prevent coal-mine outbursts. In addition, mining methods and machinery may be modified and designed e.g. influence on coal room and pillars, longwall panel, etc.. to account for rock-mass stresses, which could trigger coalbed gas outbursts from an advancing mine face. Different methods of gas ventilation or drainage also may be adopted such as removal of gas by vertical wells in advance of mining or vertical gob wells drilled into the cave area behind the longwall panel. Thus, information on prediction, control, and prevention of gas emission and associated outbursts is important not only in planning the ventilation of mines but also in planning mine workings, development, and production e.g., determining the length of the coal face., which in turn, influence the total coal production Zabourdyaev, 1995.. This, in turn, directly relates to mine safety, efficiency of mine operations, and mine economics.

3. Geological perspectives in coalbed methane development Gas dilution by ventilation during active mining operations and post- and pre-mining methane drainage activity mainly has been conducted in order to improve mine safety,

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increase productivity, and improve mining economics. However, ventilation and drainage efforts related to underground mining has also led to production of coalbed methane by conventionally drilled vertical wells Diamond et al., 1989; Diamond, 1994; Dunn, 1995.. Production was followed by successful recovery and sale of coalbed methane into the conventional natural gas markets Dunn, 1984.. This economic utilization of coalbed methane not only stimulated significant commercial interest but also focused interest and research on the geological factors that are directly related to their accumulation, distribution, and recoverability Gamson and Beamish, 1992.. 3.1. Towards exploration of coalbed methane Because coalbed methane exploration has gone beyond coal mining areas into undeveloped coal-bearing basins, strategies of exploration require an understanding of the factors leading to concentrations or accumulations of methane. Coal rank may be the most traditional factor in locating concentrations of methane. Although an oversimplification, it is believed that the type of coalbed gas methane vs. carbon dioxide. generated during the entire process of coalification varies with rank Fig. 3; Hunt, 1979.. In general, during early stages of coalification e.g., formation of lignite to subbituminous rank coals. a large amount of carbon dioxide is generated. During the later stages of coalification e.g., formation of high volatile bituminous to anthracite rank coals. a large amount of methane is generated about 100300 cm3rgm of coal.. However, the methane yield is also influenced by the coal maceral content Fig. 4; Juntgen and Karweil, 1966; Higgs, 1986; Levine, 1987.. Another factor to consider in the accumula-

Fig. 3. Diagram showing the amount of gas generated from coal during coalification. modified from Hunt, 1979..

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Fig. 4. Cumulative methane generation curves for a perhydrous German Tertiary coal and a subhydrous Carboniferous coal of the United States. Total gas generation shaded. is about equal between the two coals modified from Higgs, 1986..

tion of methane is that coal may generate more methane than it can store; thus coalbed gas may be expelled and migrate to adjacent reservoirs, such as sandstone beds, during coalification into higher ranks Rice, 1993.. In addition, methane storage capacity of coal increases with increasing pressure and decreases with increasing temperature Meissner, 1984.. Levine 1991. argues that the storage capacity of coal is affected by its maceral composition, as well. The amount of inorganic matter also affects storage capacity in a very significant way. Successful exploration for methane accumulations also requires understanding of areas where rock-mass permeability may have been altered Clark and Boyd, 1995.. Increased permeability in rock masses occur in areas affected by shear or torsional loads which may in turn be affected by local structural e.g. folding, faulting. and regional deformation e.g. compressional.. Stress modeling utilizing these mechanisms stimulates changes in rock volume, which are accompanied by modification in gas permeability and storage capacity. Permeability is also controlled by the fracture types and orientations of the coal bed. The fracture systems e.g. face and butt cleats. in coal beds and their geometry e.g., orthogonal vs. perpendicular to bedding surfaces. are best described by Close 1993.. Although natural coal fracture systems result from coalification, stress

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due to tectonic or structural deformation and compaction by sediment loading Ammosov and Eremin, 1960; Ting, 1977; Law et al., 1991. may also cause their development. The density of the fracture systems, and therefore increased storage capacity for gas, has been directly associated with coal composition, thickness, and rank Law et al., 1991; Levine, 1992; Law and Rice, 1993.. Thus, recognition of permeability of coal reservoirs is essential in understanding the accumulation of methane and its drainage; however, a knowledge of associated exogenic fractures tectonic. is equally important Decker et al., 1992; Koenig et al., 1992.. 3.2. Distribution of coalbed methane and resource assessment A simplified method of investigating the distribution of coalbed methane is associated with assessing coal resources in coal-bearing basins or coalfields Hobbs, 1978; Rightmire, 1984; Tyler et al., 1997.. Because coal resource assessment is directly related to finding potential minable beds in the shallow parts - 915 m or - 3000 ft. of coal basins or coalfields, investigation of high-potential areas for coalbed methane resources may be extended into the deeper parts of these areas. In the conterminous United States, ICF Resources 1990. analyzed in-place methane resources in major coal-bearing coal basinsrcoalfields in the United States Fig. 5. in which the coal beds range from Pennsylvanian to Tertiary in age and from bituminous to subbituminous in rank. On the basis of this study, in-place methane resources in these coal basins and coalfields were estimated to be between to be 11.3 Bm3 400 Tcf. of which 2.5 Bm3 90 Tcf. are potentially recoverable. However, the latest estimate by Tyler et al. 1997. of in-place gas in the United States is about 19 Tm3 also see Bibler et al., this Special Issue.. This in-place methane resource estimate is smaller than that of Alaska in which coal resources 5.3 trillion metric tons or 5.8 trillion short tons. exceed 40% of the total resources in the conterminous United States Merritt and Hawley, 1986; Stricker, 1991.. Smith 1995. estimated that these coals contain more than 28 Tm3 1000 Tcf. of methane. In Alaska the coals are equally as high rank and as old Mississippian to Tertiary in age. as those in the conterminous United States Stricker, 1991.. A majority of these coals are contained in Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks. An estimate of the Cretaceous and Tertiary coal resources subbituminous B to high-volatile bituminous in rank. by Stricker 1991, 1993. is 4.5 trillion metric tons 5 trillion tons.. Based on this estimate and additional information from Smith 1995., Stricker 1993. and Flores et al. 1997., it is estimated that the in-place coalbed methane resource of 7 Cretaceous and Tertiary coal-bearing basinsrcoalfields in Alaska Fig. 6. is as much 22 Tm3 786 Tcf.. Thus, about 80% of the total methane resource of Alaska is contained in the Cretaceous and Tertiary coal basinsrcoalfields and majority of this resource lies beneath the offshore and onshore North Slope and Cook Inlet Basins Fig. 6.. Site-specific evaluation of the distribution of coalbed methane in the coal basins in the western conterminous United States is summarized by Tyler et al. 1992.. This investigation emphasizes the importance of regional deformation in predicting the distribution of methane in association with fracture permeability. Thermal maturation maps based on vitrinitereflectance studies were made by Amuedo and Bryson 1977.,

12 R.M. Floresr International Journal of Coal Geology 35 (1998) 326 Fig. 5. A map showing coal basinsrcoalfields in the United States and estimates of in-place coalbed methane resource. Modified from ICF Resources 1990., Tyler et al. 1997. and Bibler et al., 1998 this volume..

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Fig. 6. A map of 7 Cretaceous and Tertiary coal basinsrcoalfields in Alaska and estimates of the in-place coalbed methane resource Stricker, 1993; Smith, 1995; Flores et al., 1997.. Gray shades in the North Slope and Cook Inlet Basins are offshore areas.

Freeman 1979., Law 1992., Waller 1992., and Nuccio and Finn 1994. in order to maximize efforts in exploring for high potential methane areas in the coal basins or coalfields in the United States. In general, these studies indicate that the thermal maturity of basins is due to burial history, circulation of hot fluids, and high heat flow from a deep seated source Fig. 7.. Based on vitrinite reflectance R o . the deeper part of the coal basins has achieved R o ) 0.6% allowing thermogenic gas generation Rice, 1992; Law, 1992; Nuccio and Finn, 1994.. Where R o values are - 0.6% the coal-bearing basin is thermally immature for significant thermogenic gas generation but does not preclude biogenic gas generation Rice, 1992.. Based on these studies, most of the coal basins in the United States have reached a sufficiently high thermal maturity to exceed the threshold of significant methane generation Rightmire et al., 1984; Tyler et al., 1992; Waller, 1992.. However, a large amount of biogenic gas accumulations occur in six Tertiary coal-bearing basins in the northern Rocky Mountains region Fig. 8.. The vitrinite reflectance trends in these basins show decreasing R o values or greater potential for biogenic gas accumulations. toward the northeastern part of the Rocky Mountains region Nuccio and Finn, 1994; Pontolillo and Stanton, 1994.. The decreasing vitrinite reflectance values to the north and east shown in Fig. 8 are related to the migration and younging of Paleocene Laramide deformation fronts Flores et al., 1994; Perry and Flores, 1997.. That is, coals formed in basins associated with early deformation fronts see Fig. 8; Laramide uplifts 1 and 2. resulted in deep burial and rapid basin subsidence; thus, high thermal conditions. Coals formed in basins related to later deformations fronts see Fig. 8; Laramide uplift 3. are affected by shallow burial and less rapid basin subsidence; hence, low thermal conditions. The Paleocene coals in these

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Fig. 8. Map showing variations of vitrinitereflectance values in six Tertiary coal basins in the northern Rocky Mountains region of the United States. Vitrinitereflectance values in each basin decrease towards the north and east as influenced by younging of Laramide deformation fronts e.g., Laramide uplifts: 1. early Paleocene, 2. middle Paleocene, and 3. late Paleocene.. Modified from Pontolillo and Stanton 1994., Nuccio and Finn 1994., Flores et al., 1994, and Perry and Flores 1997..

six basins probably contain greater than 0.9 Tm3 32 Tcf. of methane resources that are mainly biogenic in origin Rice, 1993.. The approach in the United States to investigating the accumulation and distribution of coalbed methane in coal-bearing basins or coalfields containing abundant coal resources is also used in Australia, New Zealand, China, and Europe Gray, 1991; Mallett and Russell, 1992; Vance and Cave, 1992; Murray, 1996; Gayer and Harris, 1996.. In eastern Australia, interconnected Permian and Triassic coal basins have been explored for coalbed gas. There vitrinite reflectance, which ranges from 0.6% to 3.0% Fig. 9., displays a level of thermal maturity in which thermogenic gas may have been generated in the eastern parts of the basins Mallett and Russell, 1992.. The western margins of the basins exhibit - 0.6% vitrinite reflectance, suggesting a possible biogenic methane source. The thermal maturity in the eastern part of the basins is probably controlled by either high heat flow or deep burial. Other Permian and Carboniferous basins in eastern Australia display vitrinite reflectance values ranging from 0.35%0.7%, which would allow generation of mainly biogenic methane with subordinate thermogenic methane Durie et al., 1992.. A study of the isotopic composition of bituminous coals in eastern Australia Smith and Pallaser, 1996. indicates that

Fig. 7. A map of a typical thermally mature coal basin Raton Basin. in Colorado and New Mexico in the United States. The basin contains Cretaceous and Tertiary coals affected mainly by high heat flow HFU. due to igneous intrusions. Modified from Amuedo and Bryson 1977. and Dolly and Meissner 1977..

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Fig. 9. A map showing thermal maturity, as indicated by vitrinitereflectance values of the Late Permian coals in the BowenGunnedahSydney Basins, Australia modified from Mallett and Russell, 1992..

microbial reduction of carbon dioxide played a major role and thermal decomposition a minor role in methane generation. In New Zealand the distribution of coalbed methane has also been associated with coal basins and coalfields containing abundant coal resources Vance and Cave, 1992.. These workers indicate that New Zealand coalfields contain 15.7 Btu of in-place coal resources of which 65% are lignite and 35% are subbituminous and bituminous ranks very minor semi-anthracite and anthracite.. Although lignite comprises a large part of the in-place coal resources, this low-rank coal resource is mainly found in a few coalfields Fig. 10; Sherwood, 1986.. Most of the high-volatile bituminous coals are found in coalfields in the northern part of South Island. Regional syntheses of thermal maturity of these high rank coals in South Island based on vitrinite reflectance indicates R o values varying mainly from 0.45% to 1.2%, with extreme values from 0.3% to 1.7% Suggate, 1959; Nathan et al., 1986.. Four major coalfields exhibit R o ) 0.75%, which

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Fig. 10. A diagram showing the range of coal ranks within New Zealand coalfields of Cretaceous and Tertiary age adopted from Sherwood, 1986..

may indicate thermogenic gas generation Fig. 11.. The thermal maturity of these coal basins and coalfields is controlled by heat flow from shallow to deep seated igneous intrusions Nathan et al., 1986.. Investigations of the distribution of coalbed methane in China are concentrated in the northern and eastern coal basins Dai et al., 1987; Rice, 1993; Murray, 1996.. In northern China, Permian and Carboniferous anthracite resources have been determined to be a viable source of coalbed methane Murray, 1996.. Coals in this part of China range from semi-anthracite to anthracite with R o values ranging from 2.4% to 6.0%. These coals are well fractured by tectonic deformation, which makes them good gas reservoirs. The eastern China coals vary from Carboniferous to Tertiary in age and from high volatile bituminous to anthracite with R o values from 0.5 to 3.8% Rice, 1993.. The study of Dai et al. 1987. indicates a direct correlation between rank and depth. Coals with R o values from 1.0% to 1.7%, or high volatile A to medium volatile bituminous, contain wet gas. However, coals at shallow depths with wide ranging R o values are methane-rich. Zhang and Chen 1985. identified the presence of biogenic methane in some northeastern China coalfields. The Carboniferous coal-bearing rocks in England, Germany, and Poland have been the objectives of coalbed methane exploration Gayer and Harris, 1996.. Variscan foredeep coal basins in England have been determined by Fails 1996. to have potential coalbed methane accumulations. In western Germany, hardcoal resource, which is 454 = 10 9 m3 of coal, may translate to 1 = 910 3rm3 of in-place gas Juch, 1996.. The Carboniferous coals of the Ruhr District may yield as much as 151 = 10 9 m3 of in-place

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Fig. 11. Map showing variations of vitrinite-reflectance values of coals in Cretaceous and Tertiary coal-bearing basins and coalfields in northern South Island, New Zealand adopted from Nathan et al., 1986..

gas Freudenberg et al., 1996.. Colombo et al. 1970. studied the carbon isotopic composition of coalbed gases in the coal district in western Germany, and found that methane becomes isotopically heavier at depth. These coals vary from high-volatile A bituminous to anthracite R o values of 0.84.9%.. In Poland, Carboniferous coals, which vary in rank from high-volatile A bituminous to anthracite R o values between 1.12.6%., are considered potential sources of thermogenic methane gas accumulations Kotarba, 1988..

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3.3. Recoerability of coalbed methane and production Reservoir characterization of coal beds and its relation to recoverability and producibility of methane has been the focus of research since the late 1960s. Ever since the first successful production from test wells in the Black Warrior Basin in the United States, research investigations into more efficient methods of recovering coalbed methane have continued. Recoverability and volume in-place gas. of methane accumulations depend on the rank, composition, quality, permeability, and porosity of the coal reservoirs; pressuretemperature conditions; and well completion and stimulation techniques Ettinger et al., 1966; Faiz et al., 1992; Gamson and Beamish, 1992; Harpalani and Chen, 1992; Paterson et al., 1992; Beamish and Crosdale, 1995.. Faiz et al. 1992. indicated that the amount of gas retained in coal beds is controlled by rank, maceral and mineral composition, porosity, pressure, temperature, and related structuraltectonic conditions. Ettinger et al. 1966. suggested that low- to medium-rank coals and inertinite-rich coals have a higher capacity for methane sorption than vitrinite-rich coals. However, in higher rank coals with both maceral types, methane sorption is similar in amounts. The methane sorption capacity of vitrinite is greater than inertinite as shown by Beamish and Crosdale 1995. in their investigation of the coals in the Bowen Basin in eastern Australia. Their study indicates that the inertinite-rich coals have greater porosity than vitrinite-rich coals. For high- to low-volatile bituminous coals, inertinite-rich coals are characterized by macropores and vitrinite-rich coals by micropores. However, Beamish and Crosdale 1995. concluded that vitrinite-rich coals appear to have a higher sorption capacity than inertinite-rich coals but vitrinite-rich coals have a slower desorption rate than inertinite-rich coals. Methane recoverability and production from coal beds and their relationships to coal type, microstructure, and gas flow were studied by Gamson and Beamish 1992.. These workers show that a hierarchy of micro-sized fractures and microcavities 0.0520 m m in width. are related to coal lithotypes. That is, bright coals contain mainly microfractures and dull coals contain mainly microcavities. These workers demonstrated that the size, continuity, and connectivity of these microstructures play a significant role in the permeability and flow of methane through the coal reservoir. Thus, methane flow in the coal reservoir is governed by these microstructures microporosity. and the accompanying macrostructures macroporosity. that make up the cleat system. Harpalani and Chen 1992. investigated, in the laboratory, the relationship of these dual-porosity roles in coals. Their investigation focused on the behavior of the strain by volume. on the coal matrix with the microstructures. and its effect on the intervening cleat system. They demonstrated that as the coal matrix volume decreases shrinkage. with desorption as methane pressure decreases, the cleat fracture. porosity or aperture increases, which, in turn, leads to increasing permeability of the coal. Permeability in the coal reservoir may be enhanced by acid leaching of secondary minerals as demonstrated in the laboratory by Paterson et al. 1992.. Although permeability decreases at depth Fig. 11., gas content increases but finally levels off at depth McKee et al., 1986.. Thus, the rule of thumb for methane exploration should be at least from 152 m 500 ft. below the surface to 1830 m 6000 ft. at depth Fig. 12.. The enhanced reservoir characteristics in combination with other properties such as hydrology, coal thickness and continuity,

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R.M. Floresr International Journal of Coal Geology 35 (1998) 326

Fig. 12. Relationship of permeability and depth see shaded area. for coal seams in some coal basins in the United States modified from McKee et al., 1986..

basin-coalfield geology, and well completion and stimulation contribute to the producibility of coalbed methane Durucan et al., 1992; Ellard et al., 1992; Tyler et al., 1992; Waller, 1992.. 4. Summary Although the detrimental effects of coalbed gas on mining and development has been known for more than 100 years, harnessing the associated coalbed methane as an energy resource is still in its infancy. Release of coalbed gas during underground mining and its migration into the network of tunnels or mine workings have been the focus of investigations because of safety and productivity. This research towards safe and productive mining has led to understanding the origin, mechanism, prediction, and prevention of coalbed gas outbursts and explosions. These studies also have led to the methane drainage technology that is now applied to commercial recovery of coalbed gas. Control and management of this vented gas and the energy crises of the mid 1970s gave rise to commercial exploitation of coalbed methane 25 years ago. Since then, there have been concentrated research efforts directed towards the origin, accumulation, distribution, availability, and recoverability of coalbed methane. Advances in multidiscipline researches in coal mining and geology have truly moved coalbed methane from a mining hazard to a new energy resource. References
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