Emission reduction technology and application research of surface borehole methane drainage in coal mining-influenced region

Windblown methane is an important gas resulting in atmospheric greenhouse effect. Therefore, reduction in windblown methane is one of the important measures to mitigate atmospheric greenhouse effect. In China, weak coal seam of low permeability is common in coal mines, so it is beset with difficulties to decrease the methane emission rate by means of gas drainage from the virgin coal seam, further to decrease the windblown mine gas. Utilizing the pressure relief and permeability and fluidity improvement effect in coal mining an approach to release methane emission through surface borehole was established, for example establishing a comprehensive deformation fracture model of surface borehole in extraction area based on quantitative rule of overlying rock movement in pit and forming a technology to select the surface borehole arrangement site in extraction area on the basis of deformation of bore frame structure and distribution characteristics of extraction flow field. And optimization technology of shape and structure of surface borehole in extraction area on the basis of ultimate stress analysis of surface borehole casing was given. The technology overcomes effectively the problem that surface borehole casing is vulnerable to premature fracture due to impact of strata movement on the surface borehole, and further increases the drainage result of the surface borehole. The technology has been test in China Shanxi Jincheng Sihe Coal Mine, achieving good results, including 12,000 Nm³/d pure methane drainage rate from single borehole, 85% methane concentration and 1.1 million Nm³ accumulative methane drainage, which demonstrate practicability and advanced performance of the technology.