Analysis of the Characteristics of CH4 Emissions in China's Coal Mining Industry and Research on Emission Reduction Measures

Anyu Zhu; Qifei Wang; Dongqiao Liu; Yihan Zhao

doi:10.3390/ijerph19127408

Analysis of the Characteristics of CH₄ Emissions in China's Coal Mining Industry and Research on Emission Reduction Measures

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 16;19(12):7408. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127408.

Authors

Anyu Zhu¹, Qifei Wang², Dongqiao Liu³, Yihan Zhao²

Affiliations

¹ School of Emergency Management and Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing 100083, China.
² School of Mechanical-Electronic and Vehicle Engineering, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 102616, China.
³ State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing 100083, China.

Abstract

CH₄ is the second-largest greenhouse gas and has a significant impact on global warming. China has the largest amount of anthropogenic coal mine methane (CMM) emissions in the world, with coal mining emissions (or gas emissions) accounting for 90% of total energy industry emissions. The results of CH₄ emission inventories from previous studies vary widely, with differences in the spatial and temporal dimensions of gas emission factors of belowground mining being the main points of disagreement. Affected by the policies of "eliminating backward production capacity" and "transferring energy base to the northwest", China's coal production layout has changed greatly in the past ten years, but the closely related CH₄ emission factors have not been dynamically adjusted. This paper investigated 23 major coal producing provinces in China, obtained CH₄ emission data from coal mining, calculated CH₄ emission factors in line with current production conditions, and studied the reduction measures of coal mine gas emission. According to the CH₄ emission data of China's coal mines in 2018, 15.8 Tg of methane is released per year in the coal mining industry in China, and 11.8 Tg after deducting recycling. Shanxi Province's CH₄ emissions are much higher than those of other provinces, accounting for 35.5% of the country's total emissions. The weighted CH₄ emission factor of coal mining in China is 6.77 m³/t, of which Chongqing is the highest at approximately 60.9 m³/t. Compared with the predicted value of the IPCC, the growth trend of CCM has slowed significantly, and the CH₄ utilization rate has gradually increased. This change may be aided by China's coal industry's policy to resolve excess capacity by closing many high-gas and gas outburst coal mines. In addition, the improvement of coal mine gas extraction and utilization technology has also produced a relatively significant effect. This paper determines the distribution of methane emissions and emission sources in China's coal mining industry, which is useful in formulating CCM emission reduction targets and adopting more efficient measures.

Keywords: CH4 emission factor; China; coal mining; methane emissions.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Coal / analysis
Coal Industry
Coal Mining*
Greenhouse Gases* / analysis
Methane / analysis

Substances

Coal
Greenhouse Gases
Methane

Grants and funding

This research is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51404277) and the Open fund of State Key Laboratory of Deep Geomechanics and Underground Engineering (SKLGDUEK1918). This support is greatly acknowledged and appreciated.