Preface

Details

• Personal Author:
  Aminian K ; Schatzel S ; Thakur P
• Description:
  Coal is the most abundant and economical fossil fuel in the world today. Over the past 250 years, it has played a vital role in the growth and stability of the world economy. Total minable reserves of coal are estimated at 1 trillion tons (to a depth of 3000 ft) while the estimated reserve to a depth of 10,000 ft ranges from 17 to 30 trillion tons. Coal bed methane (CBM) and coal are syngenetic in origin. The coal seams (minable and nonminable) are a reserve for vast quantities of methane (10,000 to 30,000 TCF). Seventy countries around the world mine almost 8000 million tons of coal and produce 3 TCF of CBM per year. At this rate, coal and CBM are likely to remain a dominant source of energy in this and the next century. CBM was a bane for mining from the very beginning. As coal is mined, methane is released in mine air. Methane becomes explosive when mixed with air in the range 4.5-15% by volume. The history of coal mining around the world is replete with mine disasters when the methane-air mixture exploded. It is estimated that about 8000 people died in the US alone. Number of fatalities is much higher for many other countries. Efforts to mitigate this disaster started in Europe via gob gas drainage with cross-measure boreholes but serious efforts to degas the coal seam prior to mining and postmining began in the US only in the 1970s. The coal industry and the erstwhile US Bureau of Mines often pooled their resources to make the mines a safer place to work and boost the productivity as well. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Chemistry Coal Coal Mining Explosions Fuel Oils Methane Mining Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety

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• Keywords:
  Airborne-particles Chemical-extraction Coal-gas Coal-mining Coal-processing Disaster-prevention Explosive-gases Fuel-production Fuels Gases Injury-prevention Methane-control Methane-drainage Methanes Mine-disasters Mine-gases Mining-industry

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• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISBN:
  9780128010891
• Publisher:
  Elsevier, Inc.
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Book
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OMSHR - Office of Mine Safety and Health Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046923
• Citation:
  Coal bed methane: from prospect to pipeline. Thakur P, Schatzel S, Aminian K, eds. Oxford, UK: Elsevier, Inc., 2014 Aug; :xiii-xiv
• CAS Registry Number:
  Methane (CAS RN 74-82-8)
• Editor(s):
  Thakur P; Schatzel S; Aminian K
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Coal bed methane: from prospect to pipeline
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9d7ca9a68820bccb43522d687df92b2a4fb7afc698d17d61d0129a8375ab28ce7931ffec766669e1338b36746fbe613980415e16eab8cd84124be63f1f3f08d0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228180/cdc_228180_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 352.92 KB ]