Developing a Procedure for Estimating Fugitive Emissions from Underground Coal Mines

With the introduction of the National Greenhouse and Energy Act 2007 (NGER Act), registered corporations are required to report their annual greenhouse emissions if they exceed specified thresholds. Fugitive emissions from coal mining are reportable but the methodology currently proposed in the Act for measuring these emissions from underground mines has been found to be difficult to apply at some mines. Furthermore, it has been shown that the current practice of estimating fugitive emissions from mine ventilation data may be subject to high uncertainty (Mutmansky, and Wang, 2000; Day and McPhee, 2008). Consequently, alternative methods for measuring fugitive emissions from underground coal mines are required. The aim of this project therefore, was to develop appropriate methods for estimating fugitive emissions in mine ventilation air that can provide the level of accuracy required for greenhouse gas accounting, yet are suitable for routine use at all Australian underground coal mines.

Air flow was measured by various methods: a reference method according to USEPA Method 2F which uses a three-dimensional pitot probe; handheld anemometers both in underground roadways and at the outlet of the ventilation fans; and continuous monitoring systems. The composition of the ventilation air was measured with a calibrated micro gas chromatograph and the non-dispersive infrared analysers installed at each mine.