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4 Coal Mining and Processing
Pages 57-79

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From page 57...
... The particular characteristics of the coal mining industry create unique challenges as it endeavors to provide coal to the market at a competitive price, continually improve miner safety and health, and meet environmental and community requirements. This chapter provides a brief description of the characteristics of the coal industry in the United States, presents an overview of coal extraction and processing methods, and discusses the major issues associated with coal mining and processing.
From page 58...
... The 100 largest mines in the country produced 805 million tons of coal in 2004 (72.5 percent of total U.S. production)
From page 59...
... COAL MININg AND PROCESSINg METHODS A modern coal mine is a highly mechanized industrial plant that has to meet strict standards of engineering design and operation. The size, power, strength, monitoring and control features, and automation of mining equipment dwarf TABLE 4.1 U.S.
From page 60...
... The two essential requirements that must be fulfilled before a prospective coal mine can enter the development stage are confirmation that there are sufficient minable reserves of adequate quality with no unacceptable environmental or permitting risks, and confirmation of an assured or contracted market for a substantial fraction of the coal that will be mined. Coal Mining Coal seams can be mined by surface or underground methods (figure 4.3)
From page 61...
... Some of the largest underground coal mines, each producing around 10 million tons annually, are located in pennsylvania and West Virginia. The largest underground mining complex in the United States produces about 20 million tons per year.
From page 62...
... The distinction between tonnage and energy content is particularly important when considering possible shifts in coal supply and demand by producing and consuming regions. Subbituminous coals are produced almost exclusively in the pRB of Wyoming and Montana.
From page 63...
... 8 3 Underground Mines 6 Surface 2 Mines 4 1 2 0 0 70 80 90 00 60 19 19 19 20 19 FIguRE 4.4 productivity trends for surface and underground coal mines, illustrating the dramatic productivity increases over the past three decades.
From page 64...
... to replace a ton of bituminous coal in electricity generation,1 this has significant implications for transportation infrastructure and power plant design and capacity. When used for electricity generation, coal from the pRB generally produces more CO2 per kilowatt-hour than the bituminous coal mined in the east.
From page 65...
... The decision whether or not to process a particular raw coal depends on the coal and its intended market. The subbituminous coal of the powder River Basin is almost always shipped to market raw because it has inherently low ash content and poor "washability,"5 and the region has low water availability -- a critical requirement for conventional coal beneficiation.
From page 66...
... These more difficult mining situations will have an effect on economic decisions related to mine profitability, on the health and safety of mine workers as they encounter more challenging or different mining requirements, on the technical ability to mine, and on the management of waste materials generated by mining. Small mines (i.e., with annual production less than 2 million tons)
From page 67...
... Continued health and safety research is needed to identify new hazards and hazard sources as well as to improve the engineering controls for existing hazards, particularly through the development of reliable monitoring and intelligent control systems. The likelihood of deeper mines in the future means that there has to be increased attention to methane control (including methane capture before, during, or after mining)
From page 68...
... Other areas in which the development of advanced technologies offers considerable potential for increased productivity are the continuous monitoring of produced coal and the development of improved remote control, automatic control, and autonomous systems. Selective mining and blending are two practices that have been advocated to decrease the handling of unnecessary waste during mining and processing, and to increase the utilization of all coals for a range of purposes.
From page 69...
... • Improved coal processing also offers the potential to minimize existing environmental problems and potential future issues. There is approximately 2 billion tons of waste fine coal in "gob" piles resulting from past processing techniques in eastern bituminous coal fields -- pennsylvania alone reports more than 250 million tons of waste coal (McGinty, 2004)
From page 70...
... . There is a need for enhanced understanding of the physical and chemical behavior of spoil stored in valleys or waste -- from coal combustion or coal preparation plants -- that is disposed in surface or underground mines.
From page 71...
... Industry participants in mining research include individual companies and mining company associations. Research Programs in Federal Agencies While the federal government continues to have extensive involvement in the regulation of the coal mining industry, its support for mining research has decreased substantially over the past 10 years.
From page 72...
... Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, supported engineering and technology development with a focus on improving the energy efficiency, resource utilization, and competitiveness of the mining industry. Although not exclusively focused on extraction or on coal mining, many of the program outputs were applicable to the extraction phase of the coal fuel cycle.
From page 73...
... The Mine Safety and Health Administration, in the Department of Labor, provides technical support and training services to its personnel and to personnel from the mining industry through its pittsburgh Safety and Health Technology Center and the National Mine Health and Safety Academy. The direct involvement of MSHA in funding mining research is limited because of its primary regulatory role.
From page 74...
... for example, one leading mining equipment manufacturer indicated that its global engineering budget was approximately $40 million, with about 25 percent spent on engineering development activities that are related mostly to evolutionary advances and software development. Some equipment manufacturers have worked in partnership with government agencies and mining companies to develop and demonstrate new concepts (e.g., three major equipment manufacturers are members of the Australian CRCMining program; see Box 4.3)
From page 75...
... Three specific roadmaps (mining Industry Roadmap for Crosscutting technologies, 1999; mineral Processing technology Roadmap, 2000; and Exploration and mining technology Roadmap, 2002) resulted in projects funded by DOE.
From page 76...
... • federal support for health and safety research significantly decreased about a decade ago, and has essentially remained constant since that time. Recommendation: Health and safety research and development should be expanded to anticipate increased hazards in future coal mines.
From page 77...
... • Research offers considerable potential to mitigate the effects of past mining practices, particularly acid mine drainage on abandoned mine lands. • The regulatory environment (framed by such statutes as the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts)
From page 78...
... The sustained production and productivity increases that followed these changes resulted from incremental improvements in equipment and mining practices by mining companies and equipment manufacturers, and there has been little research and development on truly advanced mining technologies. • The development of advanced technologies, such as thin-seam underground mining technology or dry processing methods for western surface-mined coals, will present opportunities to recover a significant portion of potentially recoverable coal that currently is not extracted and may be permanently lost.
From page 79...
... Although there is currently little federal funding for advanced mining technology to improve resource recovery, in the past the Department of Energy successfully partnered with the National Mining Association as part of the Mining Industry of the future program. In addition, there are government-industryacademic cooperative models in other countries that are successful in directing and funding mining research (e.g., see Box 4.3)


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