Methane Reduction through the Modeling of an Open Pit Coal Mine as a Packed Bed Reactor

Maynard, Daniel H.

Student Work

Methane Reduction through the Modeling of an Open Pit Coal Mine as a Packed Bed Reactor

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Transitioning to a low-carbon economy under the recent U.S. climate change mandate presents an enormous challenge but is necessary to meet climate change goals of a 50-52% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. One step towards building such an economy is the remediation of abandoned coal mines. According to the EPA abandoned coal mine database, there are currently 514 coal mines leaking methane into the atmosphere. These abandoned mines present an opportunity to create jobs as well as assist in the transition towards a low-carbon economy. One option for remediation is utilizing waste alkaline material as a physical barrier for CH4 to reduce emissions. This paper proposes modeling abandoned open-pit coal mines as packed bed reactors using waste alkaline materials such as coal fly ash as the packing material in order to reduce or prevent methane leakage into the atmosphere. This paper found that substantial emission reductions are possible with back filling of an open pit mine with waste alkaline material.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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