- Title: POLAND: Scientists prepare for coal gasification tests
- Date: 7th November 2013
- Summary: SHOWS : KATOWICE, POLAND (FILE) (REUTERS) VIEW OF THE WIECZOREK COAL MINE MINE SHAFT COAL ON CONVEYOR BELT SCIENTISTS WALKING IN UNDERGROUND CORRIDOR VARIOUS OF MINERS AND SCIENTISTS BUILDING GEOREACTOR (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) ENGINEER, RYSZARD GOWARZEWSKI, SAYING: "We are in the experimental corridor which was built especially for coal gasification. The preparations for the process of coal gasification are in place, so you can see that special supports are being built for a pipeline to extract products of the gasification. Behind us there are works to drill outlets for the georeactor, where coal will be burnt." CORRIDOR VARIOUS GAS PURIFYING INSTALLATION (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) PROFESSOR AT THE GLOBAL COAL MINING INSTITUTE IN KATOWICE, KRZYSZTOF STANCZYK, SAYING : "The gas which is made underground is extracted using the main pipeline running in the mine shaft. Here, through a system of appliances it is turned into a state that allows it to be used in the final facilities, which are a torch and an engine connected with a power generator to create electricity." VARIOUS OF MACHINERY FOR CLEANING GAS DIRECTOR AT THE WIECZOREK COAL MINE, MAREK PIESZCZEK, WITH JOURNALISTS SHOWING LOCATION FOR GAS EXPERIMENT (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) WIECZOREK COAL MINE DIRECTOR, MAREK PIESZCZEK, SAYING : "The dangers connected with the experiment are, that we are deliberately starting an underground fire inside a normally functioning coal mine. I want to emphasize that besides this experiment the mine will not cease any activities. The planned excavations and future excavations will be in normal production. The experiment is located in such a way not pose a threat to the general safety, the safety of movement within the mine and most of all for the safety of the coal mine staff." WIECZOREK COAL MINE
- Embargoed: 22nd November 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Poland
- Country: Poland
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA7Z4CGM163TOJJLV9T41JV1KKM
- Story Text: Polish scientists are preparing for an experiment which may change the way coal, one of the highest polluting fossil fuels, will be used in the future to provide energy.
They are working on a method of burning coal underground, a process called gasification, which would result in the extraction of the much cleaner methane gas to the surface.
The first experiments with the method were conducted in 2010 on a much smaller scale and determined that the process can be accomplished underground.
Today, it is being implemented on a much broader scale, to be used in the mass production of methane.
The process of coal gasification will take place in the normally functioning mine where 400 meters below the earth's surface a special reactor is being built.
A mixture of gases, air, oxygen and steam will be pumped into the reactor to burn 1,2 thousand tonnes of coal into gas, into a 5 metre-thick wall, at a temperature of 1200 degrees Celsius.
"We are in the experimental corridor which was built especially for coal gasification. The preparations for the process of coal gasification are in place, so you can see that special supports are being built for a pipeline to extract products of the gasification. Behind us there are works to drill outlets for the georeactor, where coal will be burnt," said engineer Ryszard Gowarzewski who is overlooking the underground section of the works.
Poland, one of the heaviest polluters in Europe, is steering towards cheap domestic coal to secure its energy supply after its shale gas ambitions have faded.
The country already relies on coal to produce more than 90 percent of its electricity and is home to installations that emit the most carbon dioxide in Europe.
Professor Krzysztof Stanczyk explained the experiment, which is being conducted in Poland for the first time on such a scale.
"The gas which comes out underground with the help of the main pipeline drawn in the pit is excreted outside. Here by means of the whole set of devices that we can see is being purified and conducted to such a state which can be later used in the final devices. By the final devices we mean the torch and the engine to produce electricity," he said.
The extracted gas will be analyzed for its economical and ecological efficiency and if the scientists calculations prove correct and the system passes safety standards, it will be prepared for wide-scale implementation.
In the Wieczorek mine, everything is conducted without interrupting coal excavation, creating an additional concern for safety of staff working in other parts of the mine.
"The dangers connected with the experiment are, that we are deliberately starting an underground fire inside a normally functioning coal mine. I want to emphasize that besides this experiment the mine will not cease any activities. The planned excavations and future excavations will be in normal production. The experiment is located in such a way not pose a threat to the general safety, the safety of movement within the mine and most of all for the safety of the coal mine staff," said mine director Marek Pieszczek.
The experiment will last for three months beginning at the end of 2013.
In areas where coal reserves are beginning to decrease, like the Wieczorek coal mine, gasification provides a more effective way of utilizing the fossil fuel, allowing for longer exploitation than traditional methods. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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