Evaluation of present findings of power potential usage of gas from closed underground

Abstract

Recently a sharp increase in price of crude oil and natural gas has been recorded. The response of the society to this fact is rather embarrassed. We, at the Institute of Mining Engineering, track this mentioned reality and look for ways of moderating the impact of this circumstance. After the intense reduction of extraction at underground mines which occurred after the year 1989 coal reserves at the abandoned mines were lost. However, after closing the mines a gas exit from the underground occurs at a certain development of barometric pressure. In the gas mixture methane is present sometimes in not negligible concentrations. In a series of cases the escaping gas endangered also the local settlement. In order to mitigate the mentioned dangerous situation in the Ostrava-Karvina Coalfield a number of degassing boreholes has been performed. The measurement results at the boreholes led to an idea of possible utilization of the gas as energy resources. However, the new situation in prices of basic energy resources requires this problem to be revaluated and possibilities of utilization of alternative resources from the abandoned underground to be found.