  HYPERLINK
"http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/08/020812070617.htm" 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/08/020812070617.htm 

Science News

New System Uses Mine Waste To Generate Clean Power

ScienceDaily (Aug. 12, 2002) — August 8, 2002 -- New technology for
generating power from coal mining waste was launched by the Federal
Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, the Hon. Ian Macfarlane,
at CSIRO in Brisbane today. 

The revolutionary technology has the potential to significantly reduce
greenhouse gases and bring big savings to mining companies operating
coal mines. 

The CSIRO-Liquatech hybrid coal and gas turbine system unveiled at the
Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies will generate electricity
from waste coal and gas that would otherwise have polluted the
atmosphere. 

The method harnesses existing technologies in a 1.2 megawatt hybrid coal
and gas turbine system that burns waste coal and methane to generate
electricity which can either be used to power the mine's operations or
be returned to the grid for general consumption. 

CSIRO and its partners have developed the system over three years as
part of a CSIRO research project targeting a 75 per cent reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions from coal mines over the next 20 years. 

Funded by CSIRO, the Australian Coal Association Research Program
(ACARP), the NSW Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) and the
Brisbane-based Liquatech Turbine Company, the turbine-furnace technology
will be commercially demonstrated in NSW next year. 

CSIRO project leader Patrick Glynn says the technology works by burning
methane and coal in a kiln to produce hot air which is then passed
through a specially adapted heat exchange unit to drive a gas turbine
which generates the electricity. 

"Using a kiln coupled with an externally-fired gas turbine allows for a
simple but highly efficient system," Mr. Glynn says.  "It is
significantly cheaper and more efficient than steam-powered systems
because it does not require water treatment systems, condensers, cooling
towers or high-pressure fluid handling systems." 

It is estimated that emissions from underground coal mines contribute
around 5.7 per cent of the total 6.7 per cent of Australia's total
annual greenhouse emissions attributed to coal mining operations. 

"The scale of the problem can be gauged by the fact that each of
Australia's underground coal mines produces around 800,000 tonnes of
waste coal every year," Mr. Glynn says.  "As waste coal is a significant
cost for coal mines - accounting for up to eight per cent of their
budgets - by recycling the waste and returning it to the generating
system as power the new technology will potentially save the Australian
industry alone millions of dollars annually.  "The new turbine has the
potential not only to reduce fugitive emissions from coal mines but also
to significantly reduce existing greenhouse effects by displacing
hundreds of megawatts of electricity already in the power grid with
electricity fuelled by burnt methane which has seven times less
greenhouse potential," he says. 

