Oxygenated coalbed methane (also known as firedamp) is the coalbed gas extracted from underground mines during coal mining operations to prevent gas explosions and outbursts and to ensure safe production. During the extraction process, some of the air in the coal seam is entrained, resulting in the extracted gas containing a substantial amount of air. Consequently, oxygenated coalbed methane differs from coalbed methane extracted at the surface, which has a composition essentially identical to that of conventional natural gas.

Currently in China, the oxygen-containing coalbed methane extracted and vented during coal mining amounts to hundreds of billions to over a trillion standard cubic meters of pure methane annually—equivalent to the output of conventional natural gas. However, due to various constraints, with the exception of a few mines that pipe the gas for local residential use or on-site power generation, the vast majority is directly vented into the atmosphere, resulting in enormous resource waste and severe air pollution.

Coalbed methane is a high-calorific-value, pollution-free new energy source whose calorific value is comparable to that of natural gas. When burned, it produces very clean emissions and virtually no exhaust gases, making it an extremely valuable clean energy source and chemical feedstock. However, the coal mine gas extracted during coal mining typically has a relatively low methane content, with its composition containing 10% to 16%. (Oxygen levels as high as, or even higher than) this severely constrain the comprehensive utilization of oxygen-bearing coalbed methane.

After several years of dedicated effort, our company’s “Industrial Pilot Study on Oxygen Removal and Methane Enrichment from Oxygen-Containing Coalbed Methane via Pressure Swing Adsorption” has finally achieved success. become It effectively addresses the safety concerns associated with oxygen presence during methane recovery and enables highly efficient methane recovery. The recovered methane can be processed into compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG) tailored to the specific conditions of each location. ). This not only saves energy and protects the environment, but also generates certain economic benefits, truly benefiting both the nation and the people.

Our company’s new technological achievement is employed for methane recovery from coal-bed methane, achieving a methane recovery rate of no less than 95%. The applicable feed gas must have a methane content greater than 5%. It demonstrates significant economic benefits, and this technology has the following characteristics:

I. Specialized adsorbent materials are used for adsorption-based separation to remove oxygen and recover methane.

II. The dedicated adsorbent is specially processed to deliver exceptionally strong explosion-proof and explosion-suppression performance, and explosion-suppression materials are employed to ensure safe operation of the equipment.

III. Deoxygenation is carried out via ambient-temperature adsorption, thereby avoiding the safety risks associated with high temperatures; moreover, since deoxygenation is achieved through adsorption rather than consumption of methane, methane recovery is high and plant yield is excellent.

IV. Specialized novel adsorbents exhibit high separation factors for methane and nitrogen, resulting in low energy consumption for methane recovery.

To ensure the safety of the equipment, all dedicated adsorbents and explosion-suppression materials used in the unit have been certified by the relevant national authorities.

Main technical parameters of the unit:

       Unit processing capacity: Various flow rates

       Methane content in feed gas: ≥5% (the higher the methane content, the better the plant’s economic performance).

       Raw gas pressure: Atmospheric pressure

       Product: CNG or LNG

       Overall methane yield: 95%