Underground CMM Capture and Emission Reduction - a case study Dr Hua Guo, GMI Coal Mines Subcommittee Best Practices Workshop 30 March 2016 COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIA
Introduction A major research project under the auspices of the Australian Government Coal Mining Abatement Technology Support Package (CMATSP) Objective To develop a holistic and optimal approach of planning, design and operational control of coal mine methane drainage and ventilation systems to maximise methane capture and minimise fugitive emissions in gassy and multiple seam conditions Collaborative parties Bulga Underground Coal Operations, Glencore (formally Xstrata) Coal Mining Research Program, CSIRO 2
Project Scope Extensive site characterisation of in-situ strata, hydrogeological and gas conditions Systematic field measurements and monitoring of mining induced strata, ground water and gas changes at and around longwall panels Continuous monitoring of goaf gas pressure and composition changes Comprehensive 3D numerical modelling studies to develop a fundamental understanding of mining induced strata, groundwater and gas behaviour Assessment of key parameters in gas drainage design and operation Development of design methodology for optimal and practical gas drainage systems Implementation and demonstration of new drainage systems 3
Site Characterisation Site geological and mining conditions characterised Geology and hydrogeology Gas reservoirs and gas bearing parameters Mining and gas drainage technical data Gas drainage operational data Mine ventilation 4
Extensive Monitoring and Measurement E P Surface extensometers Surface piezometers Underground extensometers LW3 Underground stressmeters Underground piezometers c/t 16 LW4 Post-mining coring holes E1 Tracer test holes Gas pressure monitoring holes P1 E2 P3 P3A c/t 22 c/t 20 P4 Strata deformation and stress changes Gas reservoir pore pressure changes Goaf gas flow dynamics Goaf gas pressure and composition changes Longwall ventilation gas levels Gas drainage performance Pre and post mining gas content measurement Borehole stability and integrity inspections 5
Total seam gas captured, million m3 Relative strata movement, mm Reservoir pressure chagne, Mpa Monitoring Results Dist behind Longwall face, m 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 0 0.2 Reservoir pressure changes relative to initial reading 200 400 600 10 m from surface 50 m from surface -1E-15-100 -50 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 Redbank Creek Wambo 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 126 m, 6m above Whybrow 140 m, 8m below Whybrow 156 m,redbank roof 162 m, Redbank floor 170 m, Wambo roof 175 m, Wambo floor 184 m, 27 m above BLS 196 m, 15m above BLS -0.2-0.4 Blakefield Glen Munro Woodland Hills 1800 2000 Overburden movement 200 m, 11m above BLS -0.6 Distance behind longwall face, m Seam pore pressure changes 7.0 32-40 m to goaf edge 6.6 40-56 m to goaf edge 56-82m to goaf edge 153-249m to goaf edge 6.0 5.0 5.2 Coal seam pore pressure changes 4.0 3.0 2.0 2.5 2.3 3.9 2.1 3.3 2.0 2.6 3.5 3.2 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.6 0.8 1.1 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.0 Boreholes Vertical well stability Effect of well location on drainage preformation 6
Key Observations Mining induced fractures and delamination extended up to all overlying coal seams in 36 m above the longwall Coal seam pore pressure decreased quickly between 50 m outbye and 100 m inbye of the longwall face Gas drainage boreholes were often blocked 30 m above the mining seam Sources of gas emissions are Redbank Creek and Wambo seams in the roof, and Glen Munro in the floor Gases stored in overlying Whyrow goaves did not flow down into the active goaf Vertical wells located in tailgate side of goaf within 30 80 m performed much better than those located in mid panel and main gate side 7
Coupled Numerical Modelling Ground surface Whybrow panels Blakefield panels Using CSIRO s COSFLOW code Calibrated by field studies Coupled modelling of strata, water and gas 3D COSFLOW model of Blakefield South Mine 8
Coupled Numerical Modelling continued Vertical stress reduction Gas release pattern from Wambo seam 3D distribution of strata stress, fractures and permeability Gas emission patterns Annular zone of relatively high de-stressing and high permeability observed Critical input for subsequent CFD simulations 9
CFD Simulations CFD model Model calibration Study goaf gas flow patterns and dynamics Based on site characterisation and measurements Calibrated by site ventilation and drainage data 10
Optimisation of Drainage Design Examples of modelled lateral borehole arrangements Gas flow and capture dynamics Optimisation of borehole quantity, diameter, location, patterns Different combinations of 5 horizontal holes located within 30-110 m from tail gate with a diameter of 150 mm simulated 11
Horizontal Post Drainage Through Goaf Gas Pressure Control Goaf gas pressure distribution Goaf gas flow directions Create low pressure sinks that protect workings from gas flowing into ventilation by changing goaf gas flow directions Produce consistent gas flow rate and concentration Efficiently reduce methane levels in workings 12
Optimal Goaf Gas Drainage Design Plan view of roof lateral holes Plan view of Glen Munro seam lateral holes Cross-section of roof lateral holes Laterally located at tailgate side into annular high permeability and methane rich zone Vertically located in lower fractured zone above caved zone Floor lateral holes into Glen Munro to reduce gas from flowing up to goaf 150 mm holes to reduce friction loss and maintain flow rate 13
Trial at LW4 in 2014 5 roof lateral holes 5 floor lateral holes along Glen Munro seam Roof lateral holes placed at 15-22m above mining seam Trialled at initial mining stage (400 m retreat) at LW4 5 roof lateral holes and 5 floor lateral holes, 400 m long lateral section 15-22 m above mining seam Roof lateral holes reamed to 145 mm in diameter 14
Drainage gas flow, l/s CH4% in ventilation return, % Trial Results - Improved Gas Capture Performance Vertical and Horizontal gas drainage 5000 10 4500 4000 Horizontal gas drainage only Horizontal + vertical draiange Vertical gas drainage only 9 8 3500 Total gas captured-goaf plant measurement Return CH4% 7 3000 6 2500 5 2000 4 1500 3 1000 2 500 1 0 0 10/6/14 15/6/14 20/6/14 25/6/14 30/6/14 5/7/14 10/7/14 15/7/14 20/7/14 25/7/14 30/7/14 Date Drainage performed much better than conventional method Stable gas drainage flow rate Lower ventilation methane levels Reduced fugitive gas emissions 15
Trial Results Increased Drainage Efficiency Longwall 3 Specific Gas Emissions from real time monitoring Week Ending Longwall Retreat Longwall Tonnes Total seam gas m3 SGE l/s aver. Capture Efficiency 23/06/2013 6 11,140 226,785.1 20.4 375.0 0.0% 30/06/2013 30 60,388 723,379.8 12.0 1196.1 13.9% 7/07/2013 48 93,603 2,111,893.1 22.6 3491.9 17.0% 14/07/2013 66 130,715 2,600,429.6 19.9 4299.7 39.5% 21/07/2013 40 93,642 2,968,358.3 31.7 4908.0 36.9% 28/07/2013 35 70,126 2,005,781.9 28.6 3316.4 7.2% 4/08/2013 71 143,010 2,723,121.4 19.0 4502.5 37.0% 11/08/2013 50 107,718 3,343,867.9 31.0 5528.9 47.7% 18/08/2013 68 139,851 3,547,650.6 25.4 5865.8 50.0% 25/08/2013 105 217,981 3,966,521.7 18.2 6558.4 57.4% 1/09/2013 90 199,170 4,229,919.6 21.2 6993.9 59.4% 8/09/2013 93 185,241 4,068,782.5 22.0 6727.5 62.5% 15/09/2013 95 184,833 3,905,168.2 21.1 6457.0 61.6% 22/09/2013 99 224,859 3,902,172.7 17.4 6452.0 67.6% 29/09/2013 81 151,041 3,436,049.7 22.7 5681.3 71.8% 6/10/2013 80 184,193 3,231,376.1 17.5 5342.9 64.5% 13/10/2013 97 214,695 3,645,109.0 17.0 6027.0 62.2% 20/10/2013 99 211,289 3,384,164.7 16.0 5595.5 68.8% 27/10/2013 99 201,731 3,854,714.9 19.1 6373.5 68.0% 3/11/2013 96 203,860 3,816,564.4 18.7 6310.5 64.8% 10/11/2013 93 190,647 3,799,572.7 19.9 6282.4 64.0% 17/11/2013 77 171,318 3,802,011.7 22.2 6286.4 62.9% 24/11/2013 90 204,253 3,450,259.0 16.9 5704.8 68.1% Longwall 4 Specific Gas Emissions from real time monitoring Longwall Longwall Total seam Av. Capture Week Ending Retreat Tonnes gas m3 SGE l/s aver. Efficiency 22/06/2014 72 121,555 982,559 8.1 1625 51.4% 29/06/2014 92 166,440 1,531,120.7 9.2 2531.6 80.0% 6/07/2014 87 180,437 1,618,237.6 9.0 2675.7 79.0% 13/07/2014 106 209,436 1,800,573.2 8.6 2977.1 70.0% 20/07/2014 95 193,000 2,051,527.4 10.6 3392.1 70.2% 27/07/2014 96 201,000 2,328,688.9 10.6 3850.3 61.8% 3/08/2014 118 224,522 2,356,483.8 10.5 3896.3 68.6% 10/08/2014 101 214,586 2,240,978.7 10.4 3705.3 62.0% 17/08/2014 103 206,782 2,315,413.6 10.4 3828.4 62.1% 24/08/2014 88 187,272 1,803,763.8 11.2 2982.4 59.6% 31/08/2014 140 283,156 2,278,634.7 8.0 3767.6 65.4% 7/09/2014 138 282,806 2,179,147.7 7.7 3603.1 64.9% Trial period Gas capture efficiency was increased to 80% Annual fugitive emission reduction estimated at 0.42 Mt CO 2 -e (compared to LW3) 16
Longwall delys, minutes Coal production, tonnes Trial Results Improved Mining Safety and Coal Productivity 1400 1200 LW production delays caused by gas 1,800,000 1,600,000 Totalised coal production in the fist 2 months of longwalls 1,678,801 1000 1,400,000 800 LW2 LW3 LW4 1,200,000 1,000,000 935,625 600 400 800,000 600,000 577,873 200 400,000 200,000 0 0 LW2 LW3 LW4 Date longwalls Significant reduction of gas related coal production delays Significant increase of coal production in initial mining stage (an increase of 79% from LW3) 17
Trial Results Methane Utilisation and Emission Reduction Methane captured by the floor lateral holes was utilised by a 9MW power generation unit (capacity: 850 l/s) Methane captured by the roof lateral holes from goaf was incinerated by three (3) goaf flares (total capacity: 4,500 l/s) 9 MW power generation unit Goaf gas flaring facility 18 Presentation title Presenter name
Application at LW5 4-5 laterals intersecting the goaf Blakefield South LW5 LW5 goaf gas drainage roof lateral holes Following the successful trial at LW4, the mine has replaced the surface vertical goaf drainage system with underground lateral holes at the entire panel of LW5 The floor lateral holes were not implemented due to site constraints 19
CH4 flowrate, l/s Return CH4% Result of LW5 Gas Drainage in 2015 Drainage CH4 flow rate at LW5 3000 6 2500 Drainage CH4 flow rate Return CH4% 5 2000 4 1500 3 1000 2 500 1 0 0 5/02/15 10/02/15 15/02/15 20/02/15 25/02/15 2/03/15 7/03/15 12/03/15 17/03/15 Date LW5 drainage CH4 flow rate to 15/03/2015 (retreat of 398 m) Roof lateral holes performed well at LW5 Roof lateral hole gas flow rate and daily coal production were 1252 l/s and 22,411 t on average, close to that in the trial at LW4 (1279 l/s and 23,121t) 20
Conclusions The largest integrated study of field investigation, numerical modelling, and CFD simulation Important insights into the coupled strata, gas and groundwater behaviour in complex multi-seam longwall mining that are critical to optimal goaf gas drainage design and emission reduction The new gas drainage system, consisting of underground horizontal holes into roof and floor seams, was designed, trialled and applied successfully at the mine in 2014 and 2015: Gas drainage efficiency improved Gas related down time reduced substantially (by 2 months each year) Annual net fugitive emissions reduction estimated by up to 0.42 Mt CO 2 -e 21
Conclusions continued The success of the optimal gas drainage system demonstrated that the scientific gas drainage design methodology used in this study is reliable and effective: Comprehensive site characterisation including geology, hydrogeology, strata and gas reservoir conditions Field studies to determine key information such as gas emission sources and drainage targets Coupled numerical modelling to determine 3D gas flow environment Goaf and surrounding strata conditions of destressing and fracturing Annular zone of high permeability and rich methane Gas emission patterns CFD simulation to test and optimise gas drainage design 22
Acknowledgements The project team would like to thank the Australian Department of Industry and Science for funding this research. We would also like to express our gratitude to the management and staff of Glencore Bulga Underground Operations for their great support, and CSIRO colleagues for their contributions. 23
Thank you Dr Hua Guo Research Director - Coal Mining t +61 7 3327 4608 E hua.guo@csiro.au w www.csiro.au CSIRO ENERGY FLAGSHIP