The suitability of polish ortho-lignite deposits for clean coal technologies

The article presents the suitability of polish lignite deposits for clean coal technologies, mainly fluidized bed gasification and underground gasification. One of the key elements in this study, is a detailed diagnosis of the resource base, its analysis on the basis of the established verification criteria and -as a result - the achievement of a reliable assessment of suitability for highly efficient production of fuels and electric energy through lignite gasification in both surface and underground installations, taking into account both sozological conditions and protected geological sites. The analysis has shown that only 10 out of from 166 lignite deposit meet the criteria for the potential development of process underground gasification. In Poland, there is a core group of 30 lignite deposits with the ash content ranging from 20 to 25%, which fully meet the criteria for surface gasification. The lignite reserves in this group are over 11 billion tons, but only around one billion tons can be efficiently used for fluidized bed gasification process. Taking the geological structure into account, there is sufficient lignite resource base for both gas production and energy purposes. None of the attempts to use lignite for purposes other than combustion have ever been brought to the production stage. The gasification of lignite in Poland is a completely new opportunity for processing lignite, yet completely unused. This direction meets the criteria of clean coal technologies.