The Central Appalachian Basin encompasses approximately 10,000 square miles in southwestern Virginia, southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky. It is the most mature and extensively mined coal-producing region in the United States. However, difficult mining conditions, stringent environmental regulations, strong competition from other coal producing regions and other energy sources and depletion of most accessible and low cost reserves, have contributed to declining coal production in central Appalachia. As a result, it is important to examine alternatives to traditional mining for the region, including opportunities offered by underground coal gasification (UCG). This technology has the potential to harness energy from deep, thin, low-grade and unminable coal seams, thus greatly enhancing the availability of exploitable coal reserves.UCG site selection depends upon a number of parameters related to coal, strata, water conditions and surface facilities. Most important parameters are coal rank, seam thickness and depth, type of overlying and underlying strata, permeability and porosity of coal and strata, geological features such as faults, joints, beddings and fracture networks, location of potable aquifers & their composition and closeness to surface infrastructure.
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