Enhanced coalbed methane recovery

The recovery of coalbed methane can be enhanced by injecting CO2 in the coal seam at supercritical conditions. Through an in situ adsorption/desorption process the displaced methane is produced and the adsorbed CO2 is permanently stored. This is called enhanced coalbed methane recovery (ECBM) and it is a technique under investigation as a possible approach to the geological storage of CO2 in a carbon dioxide capture and storage system. This work reviews the state of the art on fundamental and practical aspects of the technology and summarizes the results of ECBM field tests. These prove the feasibility of ECBM recovery and highlight substantial opportunities for interdisciplinary research at the interface between earth sciences and chemical engineering.