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Coal-bed methane
found in coal-bearing deposits, coal-bed methane is formed during the biochemical and physical processes that convert sedimentary matter into coal. It is a cause of explosions in coal mines.
Coal-bed methane is more environmentally friendly than coal and is an efficient fuel. It can be extracted in its own right or obtained as an associated product from gas drainage before the start of coal mining. The production cost of extracting methane is a secondary consideration only when draining gas from mine shafts. The gas drainage methods employed in Russian mines account for 20-30% of the total volume of methane separated. To extract coal-bed methane, boreholes are drilled to a relatively shallow depth of about 100 m. Hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) is used to increase gas yields.
Industrial production of coal-bed methane began in the US in the 1980s. In 2000 the US produced 40 million cu m of coal-bed methane, representing some 7% of the country's total gas output.
Coal mining in China yields some 6-19 million cu m of coal-bed methane annually. China United Coalbed Methane Co Ltd was founded in 1996.
Commercial energy generation
The production and sale (supply) of electricity or heat on a commercial basis by an organisation, regardless of its form or legal status, on the wholesale or retail markets for further conversion, transmission, distribution or sale (supply) to consumers.
