Carbon Energy’s market advantage lies in its proprietary technology, keyseam, which transforms solid coal into gas underground and optimises the amount of energy extracted from otherwise stranded coal resources.
Site selection is critical to the success of every project and this is an area where Carbon Energy leads the world. The Company has developed skills and capabilities in advanced geological modelling and an unrivalled understanding of ground behaviour following 10 years of research and development by Australia’s premier research agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
To extract the energy from the coal, a small amount of natural gas is pumped down the Initiation Well to heat the coal and initialise the gasification process. Air, or a combination of oxygen and steam, is pumped down the Injection Well into the coal seam.
Following air injection, a reaction takes place converting the solid coal into gas. This carefully controlled process results in a steady flow of consistent quality gas. Maintaining a consistent quality of gas throughout the extraction process is critically important and had been one of the key barriers to being able to successfully tap into this potential energy source - until now. In conjunction with Carbon Energy’s unique design tools, the Company has perfected a technique that achieves a consistent flow of high quality gas which is a significant breakthrough for the energy industry.
Once syngas extraction has taken place, pillars of coal are left between each panel which are specifically designed, taking into consideration the local geology, to ensure surface subsidence is minimised.
The product gas is known as syngas. It’s primarily made up of methane, ethane and hydrogen which are used for low-emission power generation and for the production of fertilisers, explosives, transport fuels and synthetic natural gas. Additionally, syngas is produced with substantially lower capital costs than surface gasification plants.
Click here to find out the environmental advantages of keyseam.
