How to capitalize Low Methane Coal Mine Gas

Methane (CH4) is the second most important manmade greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide (CO2)​. CH4 emitted from underground coal mines may be collected to improve mine safety and to minimize greenhouse emissions while improving mine productivity​.

The large ventilation systems in mines result in a low methane concentration gas which under normal conditions is released to the atmosphere, contributing to global warming​. A cost-effective application is burning the low methane gas directly in an engine which is capable to handle it directly at the coal mine.

Guascor Energy has developed an engine which is able to capitalize this low methane gas producing up to 1.2 MWe of decentralized power with as low CH4 content as 13% with one machine, the G-56HM LCMM, that will keep running even if CH4 content goes down to 9%

One of our G-56HM LCMM, located in a deep coal mine in Hancheng (China) has already completed more than 9.000 hours of commercial operation. This gas engine genset has achieved 1240 kWb running on 13% CH4 with a mechanical efficiency of 41.7%, responding satisfactorily to methane concentration fluctuations in the gas composition.

It has saved more than 600,000 USD/year to the mine operation (at an estimated price of electricity of 0.634 Yuan/kWh for industrial clients in this region of China).