Coal mine greenhouse gas mitigation through utilisation of waste coal

The sustainability of the coal mining industry is under threat from both the public and government because of the poor perception of the industry as a major greenhouse producer. To help overcome this problem, a program is underway to develop a hybrid waste coal and waste gas power generation system that has the potential not only to significantly reduce greenhouse emissions from coal mines but also to generate electrical energy at an efficiency greater than conventional coal systems. The use of waste coal as a supplementary fuel provides complete mitigation of mine methane because it allows combustion of the low concentration methane from mine ventilation systems and evens out the variation in the flowrate. Future developments of the new power generation system include conversion of other solid waste materials, such as municipal waste, bagasse and other biomass to energy.