The Direct Method Of Determining Methane Content Of Coalbeds For Ventilation Design

In 1972, the Bureau of Mines developed a direct-method test for measuring the gas content of virgin coal core samples for coal mine health and safety considerations. Since that time, approximately 1,500 coal samples from more than 250 coalbeds in 17 States have been collected for gas content determination. The gas content data, when combined with geologic and engineering studies, can be used as a basis for a preliminary estimate of mine ventilation requirements, and to determine if methane drainage in advance of mining should be considered. The data are also critical in delineating coalbed methane resources and in utilization feasibility studies. This report makes the Bureau's extensive data base of gas content data more readily available to the coal and gas industries. The data are presented in tabular form, alphabetically by coalbed name and by State. The components of the total gas content (lost, desorbed, and residual gas) are given, Location (State and county), sample depth, coalbed or formation name, and coal rank are included for geographic and geologic identification.

Underground Ventilation contains the proceedings of the 19th North American Mine Ventilation Symposium held at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (South Dakota Mines) in Rapid City, South Dakota, June 17-22, 2023. South Dakota Mines organized this symposium in collaboration with the Underground Ventilation Committee (UVC) of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME). The Mine Ventilation Symposium series has always been a premier forum for ventilation experts, practitioners, educators, students, regulators, and suppliers from around the world to exchange knowledge, ideas, and opinions. Underground Ventilation features sixty-seven selected technical papers in a wide range of ventilation topics including: auxiliary and primary systems, mine fans, case studies, computational fluid dynamics applications, diesel particulate control, electric machinery, mine cooling and refrigeration, mine dust monitoring and control, mine fires and explosion prevention, mine gases, mine heat, mine ventilation and automation, occupational health and safety, renewable/alternative energy, monitoring and measurement, network analysis and optimization, and planning and design.