Report and modeling of the MOVECBM field tests in Poland and Slovenia

The MOVECBM field pilot project, which is the successor of the RECOPOL project, has been completed. Here, we summarize the main results from the field tests in Poland and Slovenia. In the RECOPOL project, the CO(2) has been injected continuously over a period of two months into the coal seam. In MOVECBM, the focus is on the verification of containment of the CO(2) herein. The injector has been back-produced and the gas composition has been analyzed. The CII(4)/CO(2) ratio of this gas was higher than expected. Flow rates were very low indicating coal swelling. Next to the field pilot in Poland, several lab studies were conducted at several universities (Mons, RWTH-Aachen, U-Utrecht and SKLCC-CAS) determining the key coal parameters for modeling the field tests. Also, a CO(2) injection experiment was conducted in the Velenje mine in Slovenia (1 injector + 3 producers). Coal swelling was observed during CO(2) injection, which totally impaired the flow into the coal seam. However, weeks after the experiment improved pressure communication between the injector and producers was observed indicating that CO(2) injection had created new fractures in the coal. (C) 2009 SIEP Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.