Mine Site Greenhouse Mitigation Priorities
Fugitive gases are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from coal mining
operations and as such are the primary focus of ACARP priorities in this area. The
mitigation and accurate measurement of fugitive mine site gas emissions have been
identified as the areas of greatest potential impact.
UTILISATION OR DESTRUCTION OF MINE GAS
Dilute sources of seam gas such as mine ventilation air are a significant challenge.
Projects aimed at combusting or utilising dilute gas, or increasing the methane
concentration to usable levels, in a cost neutral manner without the need for a
supplementary fuel are encouraged.
MEASUREMENT OF FUGITIVE EMISSIONS
It is critical for coal producers to be able to accurately determine their emissions
and to know where improvements need to be made. The industry needs to understand
the extent by source of mine site emissions and the uncertainty associated with
these measurements. Proposals are sought to:
- Improve the reliability, accuracy and cost effectiveness of measuring, monitoring
and reporting greenhouse gas emissions.
- Reduce the uncertainty of fugitive emissions measurement.
CAPTURE OF MINE GAS
ACARP is interested in projects addressing open cut or underground operations with
the potential to:
- Reduce gas drainage costs.
- Maximise pre and post-mining gas recovery.
- Improve the quality and consistency of mine gas production.
- Assess and manage the impacts of gas capture.
Commercial power generation technologies for high purity methane such as drainage
gas are being increasingly adopted and are not seen as a high priority for further
ACARP research.
GENERAL NOTE
The committee will only consider proposals addressing greenhouse gas emissions resulting
from the production of coal, not due to the utilisation of coal.
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