New Attempts at the Underground Gasification of Coal

摘要

The first objective of the joint Belgian-German project after intensive laboratory work will be to carry out full-scale industrial linking as well as pressure and pressure-alternation in-situ gasification experiments in Belgium. To begin with, boreholes will be sunk from the surface to the coal seam using hydraulic pressure followed by compressed air to expel the water. Then, using the backwards-burning technique, a channel will be formed to link the boreholes together, and so enable the gasification to commence. In these full-scale experiments, the coal will be used in-situ with air to yield a low-Btu gas for the generation of electricity. The first experiments with air will be followed by gasification experiments using oxygen. The object of these studies is basically threefold, to investigate: (1) gasification in deposits which, because of their structural conditions and depth, would be too costly to mine by conventional techniques; (2) gasification first under static, and then under alternating pressure; and (3) the application of, first, air, then oxygen with steam and, finally, hydrogen as gasifying reagents, the switching from one to the next to be determined by the market requirements, which means in the present context the relation between energy demand and price. (ERA citation 05:003975)