UNECE releases guidance to reduce explosions in coal mines
Geneva, 12 October 2010 --
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and the Methane to Markets Partnership (M2M) are releasing a “Best Practice Guidance for Effective Methane Drainage and Use in Coal Mines”.
The Best Practice Guidance provides a contribution to:
- improve mine safety practices at active underground coal mines, and thus save lives,
- encourage the use of coal mine methane to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
- utilize otherwise-wasted energy resources.
Coal supplies 25% of the world’s global primary energy and 40% of global electricity. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that emerging economies will see energy demand grow by 93% by 2030, driven largely by China and India, and coal is expected to be the leading fuel to meet this growing demand (IEA, 2009).
Methane (CH4) is an explosive gas at concentrations of 5% to 15% in the air. Methane released during coal mining creates unsafe working conditions in many underground mines around the world. Although methane is not a problem in every mine, methane-related accidents are notable for their frequency, resulting in many unacceptable human fatalities (table).
Many factors increase the risks of methane explosions, including difficult geologic conditions, underinvestment in mine operations, poor operational practices, ineffective or even counter-productive regulatory standards, and poor enforcement of safety regulations. With the continued dependence on coal production, coal extraction is expected to become increasingly challenging in many parts of the world as shallow reserves are exhausted and deeper and more gassy seams are mined.
The application of best practices for methane drainage and use is thus critical to reduce methane‐related accidents. Based on experiences in coal mines worldwide, the Best Practice Guidance provides a single source of informed but accessible tools for the industry as well as for policy makers.
The Best Practice Guidance demonstrates how good safety practices in coal mines can reduce explosion risk by preventing the occurrence of explosive concentrations of methane, or by rapidly diluting it to safe concentrations (i.e., through the implementation of efficient ventilation systems).
Experience shows that when gas flows are so high that they exceed the capacity of the mine ventilation system to ensure adequate dilution of methane in the mine air, gas should be collected through a mine drainage system before it can enter the mine airways.
Good practice for mine methane drainage systems means both selection of a suitable gas capture method and proper implementation and execution of the mine drainage system.
Following good practice will ensure that methane can be safely captured, transported, and (if appropriate) utilized.
In addition to increasing safety, this can result in a major reduction of greenhouse gas emissions since methane has a global warming potential 20 times higher than CO2. Coal mines release 6% of global anthropogenic methane emissions, or about 400 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) per year, and estimates show that this figure could double by 2020 (ESMAP, 2007).
In order to disseminate these best practices, UNECE will organize dedicated workshops in countries which operate numerous coal mines and have experienced severe accidents in the recent past: China, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The first workshop will be held in Beijing, China, on 20 October 2010 in the framework of the 10th CCII International Symposium on Coal Mine Methane/Coal Bed Methane. (www.nios.com.cn/c/index_en/coalbed/cbmcon/2810.html)
The UNECE publication is published as part of the ECE Energy Series, No. 31 (ECE/ENERGY/73). It is available for sale from the United Nations Publications, Sale and Marketing Section at https://unp.un.org
For more information please contact:
Ms. Carlotta Segre
Secretary, Ad Hoc Group of Expert on Coal Mine Methane
UNECE Sustainable Energy Division
Tel. +41 (0)22 917 2444
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.unece.org/energy
or
Ms. Pamela Franklin, PhD
Co-Chair, Coal Subcommittee Methane to Markets Partnership
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Tel: +1 202-343-9476
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.methanetomarkets.org
Note to editors
Major Coal Mine Explosion Incidents since 2000
Country |
Date |
Coal Mine |
Number of Fatalities |
China |
14 February 2005 |
Sunjiawan, Haizhou shaft, Fuxin |
214 |
Kazakhstan |
20 September 2006 |
Lenina, Karaganda |
43 |
Russia |
19 March 2007 |
Ulyanovskaya, Kemerovo |
108 |
Ukraine |
19 November 2007 |
Zasyadko, Donetzk |
80 |
USA |
2 June 2006 |
Sago, West Virginia |
12 |
The Methane to Markets Partnership (M2M) is an international public‐private partnership established in 2004, which counts some 30 Partner countries, plus the European Commission. It focuses on promoting cost‐effective methane emission reductions through recovery and use from four key methane sectors: coal mining, landfills, oil and gas systems, and agriculture. The Coal Subcommittee has brought together key experts in coal mine methane recovery and utilisation to share information about state‐of‐the‐art technologies and practices through a number of workshops, trainings, study tours, and capacity‐building initiatives.
www.methanetomarkets.org
UNECE’s Committee on Sustainable Energy at its 14th session in 2005 established the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on Coal Mine Methane. The Ad Hoc Group of Experts carries out, under the Committee’s guidance, activities related to development and profitable recovery and use of CMM and abandoned mine methane (AMM), with a specific focus on the three pillars of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. The meetings of the Group are open to representatives of governments, intergovernmental and international organizations, non-governmental organizations, mining operations and the private sector, and individuals. At its third and fourth sessions, the UNECE Ad Hoc Group of Experts (AHGE) on CMM agreed that the global coal mining industry lacked a set of recommended (accepted) principles and standards to guide mine operators, regulators, government officials and technical professionals in more effectively managing their methane problems, especially in emerging economies. In this respect the Cooperative Project on Methane Capture and Use to Improve Mine Safety was launched at the 4th session of the AHGE on CMM (October 2008).
www.unece.org/energy/se/cmm.html
Coalbed methane (CBM) – a generic term for the methane‐rich gas naturally occurring in coal seams typically comprising 80% to 95% methane with lower proportions of ethane, propane, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. In common international use, this term refers to methane recovered from un‐mined coal seams using surface boreholes.
Coal mine methane (CMM) – gas captured at a working coal mine by underground methane drainage techniques. The gas consists of a mixture of methane and other hydrocarbons and water vapor.
Ref: ECE/SED/10/P06