Observations Concerning the Residue of a Thirty-Year-Old Underground-Coal-Gasification Burn at a Site in Gorgas, Alabama

摘要

In early February 1983, the Russel Coal Company partially uncovered a large burn area that appears to be the electro-linking site. This was the second site to be uncovered here and evaluated in this way. As in the first case, Mr. A.J. Liberatore of the METC and the author were contacted to access and photograph this latest exposure of an old underground-coal-gasification (UCG) burn. Conclusions from this site evaluation are: (1) confirmation of the Bu mines report which speculated that the electro-linkage at this site deviated from the planned design; (2) confirmation of the material balance calculations which indicated that minimum quantities of coke were left behind when oxygen was used for gasification. Although exposing a UCG site by surface mining is the most positive way to access the burn, there are some important impediments that must be considered. Foremost, the coal mining operations are conducted in the most economical way, to the possible detriment of any sensitive areas. Although the operator may be very cooperative, he is not likely to deviate much from his mining plan without compensation. The constant movement of equipment (trucks, dozers, etc.) in the pit is a threat to the integrity of the burned section. Valid conclusions may be impossible because of the age of this site. In spite of these difficulties, surface mined burn areas provide UCG engineers an opportunity to positively access and confirm previous speculations about events that took place below the surface while the site was in production. (ERA citation 08:035014)