Concerns over ongoing global warming has many companies looking at ways to prevent the release of methane into our atmosphere. One of the leading air pollution problems is underground coal mining operations.
Methane represents a potent green house gas with a global warming potential over 20 times that of carbon dioxide measures are being reviewed to try to reduce the atmospheric effects.
Underground mine ventilation air methane systems correspond to 54% of all methane emissions from coal mines in the U.S. The averageunderground 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. thermal oxidizer sales and 124 million in electricity 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. If we evaluate global warming and consider the costs associated with increased temperatures, I think we can all say that it would be money well spent. Estimates includeincreasing U.S. based equipment manufacturing jobs in the ventilation air methane sector to 10,000.