Underground Coal Gasification

With underground coal gasification (UCG), the actual process takes place underground, generally below 1,200 feet. The underground setting provides both the feedstock source as well as pressures comparable to that in an above-ground gasifier.  With most UCG facilities, two wells are drilled on either side of an underground coal seam. One well is used to inject air or oxygen (and sometimes steam) into the coal seam to initiate the gasification reactions.  The second well is used to collect the synthesis gas (syngas) that is formed from the gasification reactions and to pipe it to the surface for additional processing and use. A pair of wells can last 8-10 years.

The UCG reactions are managed by controlling the rate of oxygen or air that is injected into the coal seam through the injection well. The process can be halted by stopping the injection of the oxygen or air. After the coal is converted to syngas in a particular location, the remaining cavity (which will contain the left over ash or slag from the coal) may be flooded with saline water and the wells are capped. However, there is also growing interest in using these cavities to store carbon dioxide that could be captured from the above-ground syngas processing (i.e., water shift reaction to produce high hydrogen concentration syngas). Once a particular section of a coal seam is exhausted, new wells are drilled to initiate the gasification reaction in a different section of the coal seam.

The syngas that is produced from UCG is the same as that produced by above-ground gasification processes. It can be combusted in a gas turbine to produce electricity or further processed to produce chemicals, transportation fuels, or fertilizers.

There are a number of significant economic benefits associated with UCG that include:

There are also a number of environmental benefits with UCG: