World’s First-ever Power Plant That Uses Coal Mine Ventilation Air as Fuel Now in Operation

“What we’ve done is provide a proven solution to reduce harmful emissions released into the air. This is a major milestone for the industry as a whole,” said Richard Mattus, Business Manager, Energy & Process Systems for MEGTEC.

Each hour, the installation is treating 0.9% of methane content in 150,000 scfm (250,000 m3) of ventilation air. The energy produced from the methane is utilized to generate steam suitable for running a conventional 6 Megawatt turbine, resulting in this first power plant of its kind. The volume of ventilation air treated amounts to only 20% of the total volume of ventilation air available from the ventilation shaft.