On 30-31 March 2023, a meeting was held to kick-off the implementation of the project titled "Reduction of methane emissions from post-mining goafs to minimise their inflow into VAM” (RME), co-funded by the EU’s Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) and the Ministry of Education and Science. The project will be completed in July 2027.
The meeting was attended by project partners from Poland, Romania and Spain: Central Mining Institute – project coordinator, Oil and Gas Institute – NRI, Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa S.A., Polish Geological Institute – NRI, Universidad de Oviedo, National Institute for Research and Development in Mine Safety and Protection to Explosion, as well as a representative of the European Commission, REA Project Officer, Michael Laubenheimer.
The Polish Geological Institute – NRI was represented by its Upper Silesian Branch’s employees: Director Janusz Jureczka, PhD, Katarzyna Strzemińska, Grzegorz Suszka and Jerzy Hadro, who delivered two presentations: “Polish Geological Institute – National Research Institute" and “Identification of methane accumulation in reservoirs for its capture by a reduced methane content installation (less than 30%) at JSW („Pniówek” mine) and Romanian Jiu Valley mine".
The pilot and demonstration project titled “Reduction of methane emissions from post-mining goafs to minimise their inflow into VAM” is aimed at demonstrating the smart management of mine gas type AMM (Abandoned Mine Methane) with reduced methane content (less than 30%) accumulated in post-mining goafs of the “Pniówek” coking coal mine through the following: designation of such locations in the post-mining goafs and sealing them off, gas take-off using state-of-the-art technology of Long Reach Directional Drilling (LRDD), gas transport using custom-designed pipelines to surface compressor stations, supplying gas to custom-designed gas engines adapted to burn gas with reduced methane content to produce electricity and heat.
The emission of Ventilation Air Methane from mine shafts into the atmosphere will be monitored using the state-of-the-art optical gas imaging (OGI) technology and unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
The implementation of the RME project will allow for the construction of an installation for capturing gas with reduced methane content from post-mining goafs in an active coal mine using LRDD, a custom-designed and built pipeline adapted to reduced methane content gas, a custom-designed and built surface compressor station adapted to reduced methane content gas, custom-designed and built gas engines adapted for burning reduced methane content gas to produce electricity and heat, the VAM monitoring technology used in mine shafts, utilising optical gas imaging (OGI) and unmanned aerial systems.
The reduction of methane emissions (RME) from post-mining goafs (AMM) to minimise their inflow into VAM constitutes an element of sustainable and smart management of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in mines according to the green economy provisions, which is crucial for minimising the costs of decommissioning coal mines and reducing the emissions of methane from coal mines into the atmosphere.
It is a completely innovative and comprehensive management of post-mining chain of methane emissions to drastically reduce VAM in Polish and Romanian black coal mines with the intent to drastically improve occupational safety and reduce the carbon footprint at mines. It will be a great contribution to the achievement of the Global Methane Pledge agreement’s ambitious goals set for the energy sector. The innovative techniques proposed for the RME will be the objects of international patents and can be repeated and re-scaled in black coal mines around the world.
Link to the REM project site: rem.gig.eu
The Polish project partners are members of the International Centre of Excellence on Coal Mine Methane (ICE-CMM Poland), acting under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which associates experts working on new methods of acquiring and using methane from mines, improving occupational safety in mines, mining effectiveness and environmental protection, as well as supporting the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Centre collects information on methane management from around the globe, constituting a platform for the coal sector to exchange experiences, and promotes the implementation of best practices in effective take-off and use of methane in coal mines.
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