The following publications and links have been published by various industry bodies. Extracts from articles and links have been provided for research purposes.
DECC and The Coal Authority - Underground Coal Gasification in the UK
The United Kingdom is well placed within Europe in having large reserves of indigenous coal both onshore and offshore in the southern North Sea. These reserves have the potential to provide security of future energy supplies long after oil and natural gas are exhausted.
Traditional mining methods however are not suited to working offshore reserves, and development and infrastructure costs of new mines can render the exploitation of landward reserves uneconomical. The concept of gasifying coal underground and bringing the energy to the surface as a gas for subsequent use in heating or power generation has considerable attraction. Underground coal gasification (UCG) has the potential to provide a clean and convenient source of energy from coal seams where traditional mining methods are either impossible or uneconomical.
DTI - Creating the Coalmine of the 21st Century
Previous scoping studies suggested that the coal basins of the River Forth could provide a suitable site for the first UCG project in the UK.
UCG Association
Website of the representative body for the global Underground Coal Gasification industry, providing impartial, unbiased information and training on all aspects of UCG technology.
Underground Coal Gasification: Another Clean Coal
Underground coal gasification (UCG) is the gasification of coal in-situ, which involves drilling boreholes into the coal and injecting water/air or water/oxygen mixtures. It combines an extraction process and a conversion process into one step, producing a high-quality, affordable synthetic gas, which can be used for power generation. Still in the early stage of commercialization, UCG is poised to become a future major contributor to the energy mix in countries around the world.
