Coal and Coalbed Gas: Fueling the Future

Coal and Coalbed Gas

Fueling the Future

Romeo M. Flores

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

Author’s Biography

Romeo M. Flores

Foreword

Preface

SI/Metric Units

Chapter 1. Introduction and Principles

Abstract

Key Items

Introduction

Philosophical Overview and Scope

Learning Metaphors

Definitions and Terminologies

Basic Principles

Global Coal Endowment

From Past to Future Coal Production

Coal Use in a Carbon-Constrained World

Summary

Chapter 2. Coal as Multiple Sources of Energy

Abstract

Key Items

Overview of Resources

Coal as Resource of Coalbed Gas

Coal Resources vs Gas Production Potential

Coal Mining Development and Gas Outbursts

Gas Outbursts vs Coal Development

Global Exploitation and Utilization of CMM and AMM

Petroleum Derived from Coal

Coal Hydrocarbons as Petroleum Systems

Summary

Chapter 3. Origin of Coal as Gas Source and Reservoir Rocks

Abstract

Key Items

Coal as Source and Reservoir of Coalbed Gas

Genesis of Peat to Coal: Concepts

Peat-Forming Environments

Types of Peatlands

Controls on Development of Peatlands

Evolution of Peatlands

Marsh to Bog Progression

Metaphors for Peatlands

Peat Types: Fibric, Hemic, and Sapric

Processes of Peatification, Gasification, and Diagenesis

Origin of Peat Gas: A Biogenic Generation

Depositional Systems of Peat (Coal)

Transformation of Peat to Coal: Differences in Concept and Time

Analogs of Economic Coal and Coalbed Gas Reservoir

Attributes of Peat Bog Relevant to Coal

Rates of Vertical Peat (Coal) Accumulation

Transformation of Peat Bogs to Coalbed Gas Reservoirs

Scaling Peat Facies to Reservoir Level

Summary

Chapter 4. Coalification, Gasification, and Gas Storage

Abstract

Key Items

Transformation of Peat to Coal

Bituminization, Debituminization, and Graphitization of Organic Matter (Metamorphism)

Influence of Coalification on Gas Reservoir Properties

Coal Rank Classification System

Effects of Maturation on Coal Properties

Role of Vitrinite Reflectance

Types of Gas Generation during and Post Coalification (Maturation)

Gas Sorption, Storage, and Diffusion

Role of Hydrostatic Pressure in Gas Desorption

Summary

Chapter 5. Coal Composition and Reservoir Characterization

Abstract

Key Items

Introduction

Coal Composition

Variations and Values of Microlithotypes in Coalbed Gas Reservoirs

Relationship of Permeability and Porosity in Coal

Reservoir Characterization

Insights of Reservoir Characterization of Gas Plays in the Powder River Basin

Summary

Chapter 6. Resource Evaluation Methodologies

Abstract

Key Points

The Methodology Conundrum

Coal Resources vs Gas Resources

Universal Guidelines to Coal Resources Assessment

Coal Resource Assessment Methodology

Data Collection

Coalbed Gas Resource and Reserve Assessments

Assessment of Coalbed Gas as a Petroleum System

Methodologies: Room for Improvement

Summary

Chapter 7. Coalbed Gas Production

Abstract

Key Items

Introduction

Drilling Technology

Well Completion

Role of Coal Geology in Completion Strategy

Reservoir Stimulation

Coal Reservoir Characterization vs Well Completion and Stimulation

Wireline Logging Tools

Basic Logging Tools

Virtues of Hi-Tech Logging Tools

Toward Coalbed Gas Development

Gas Gathering Systems

Fueling the Future with Coalbed Gas

Summary

Chapter 8. Co-Produced Water Management and Environmental Impacts

Abstract

Key Items

Introduction

Co-Produced Water

Origin of Co-Produced Water

Isotopic Signatures of Co-Produced Water

Volume and Composition of Co-Produced Water

Composition of Water

Environmental Impacts and Concerns on Co-Produced Water Disposal

Beneficial Uses of Co-Produced Water

Managing Australian Co-Produced Water

Summary

Chapter 9. Worldwide Coalbed Gas Development

Abstract

Key Items

Introduction

Global Gas Supply and Demand

Role of World's Coal to Coalbed Gas Exploitation

Global Coalbed Gas Regions: OECD vs NOCED

United States

Canada

Australia

United Kingdom

China

Russia

India

Indonesia

Other Potential Tertiary Coal Basins

Summary

Chapter 10. Coal and Coalbed Gas: Outlook

Abstract

Key Items

Introduction

Historical Perspectives on Natural Gas and Associated Biogenic Gas

Biogenic Natural Gas

Biogenic Coalbed Gas

Future Sustainability of Coalbed Gas

Future Challenges of Coal to Biogenic Gas

Coal Outlook

Coalmine Gas Outlook

Conclusions

Science of Coal and Coalbed Gas

Technology of Coal and Coalbed Gas

References

Index

Copyright

Elsevier

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First edition 2014

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Flores, Romeo M.

 Coal and coalbed gas: fueling the future / Romeo M. Flores. – First edition.

  pages cm

 Summary: Coalbed gas has emerged as an important energy source and understanding this resource requires knowledge of elements of coal geology. The diverse heritage of coal and the maturing field of coalbed gas have given rise to definitions, and terminologies that are used throughout this book. The ability to comprehend basic principles is the key to extrapolate from coal science to engineering-applied coalbed gas. Understanding the global coal endowment, occurrence, and distribution related to the dynamic structural changes in the Earth's outer shell through geologic time is essential to the exploitation of coalbed gas. Vast global coal resources of 9-27 trillion metric tons potentially hold coalbed gas-in-place of 67-252 trillion m³ based on comparisons with producing American fields– Provided by publisher.

 Includes bibliographical references.

 ISBN 978-0-12-396972-9 (hardback)

1. Coalbed methane. 2. Natural gas. 3. Coal Geology. I. Title. II. Title: Coal and coalbed gas.

 TN844.5.F55 2014

 622'.3385–dc23

                 2013025155

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

For information on all Elsevier publications visit our web site at store.elsevier.com

Printed and bound in China

14 15 16 17 18  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN: 9780123969729

Author’s Biography

Romeo M. Flores

Consulting Associate with Cipher Coal Consulting Limited for international companies. Serves in the International Journal of Coal Geology editorial board and author of innumerable publications in coal geology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, hydrostratigraphy, and basin analysis, coal and coalbed gas resource assessments, coal-to-biogenic coalbed gas, and conference organizer and lecturer. Editor of several international special publications. Recipient of awards from the U.S. Department of Interior and U.S. Geological Survey, Geological Society of America, University of the Philippines, and University of Canterbury (New Zealand). Degrees: PhD, Louisiana State University, MS, University of Tulsa, and BS, University of the Philippines.

Foreword

It was a typical Powder River Basin summer day—dry, hotter than a kiln even by 9 am, dust permeating every pore, and a sky so azure that it reminded a thirsty young geologist of exotic tropical drinks and beaches. Despite these distractions, we climbed up the soft steep side of a moderately high hill. The we in this, as you might have guessed, is Romey Flores and I. For the previous 2 weeks, I had been in the field gathering data from coal mines and testing my skills at measuring sections, all in the pursuit of my Masters thesis. Romey had come up the night before from Denver and in the morning we had set off up the Tongue River Road to examine some of the Tertiary age coal-bearing sediments which reside there, in abundance. Romey has never been an overly talkative man, and that morning was no exception; thus it was easy to lose oneself in thought while going up that hill and think about, well, think about nothing much at all really. As we approached two-thirds of the way up, I suddenly had a premonition that perhaps I should be paying attention and, as you may have once again guessed, it was at that moment that Romey turned around, sat down on the lip of a beige sandstone ledge, repositioned his toothpick and said, So, now tell me what you just saw on the way up. I felt like a possum staring into the headlights of a tractor-trailer smack in the middle of the expanse of Interstate-90. Doomed.

Yet, the lesson I learned was to always pay attention, look at the details, and gather data wherever you are; you never know when it will come in handy. In other words, be curious, and of course, think. Who knew 25 years ago that collecting all that data both large and small scale on coal would be so useful for so many things? As it turns out, one of those things has been in the understanding of how gas is formed in coal and how to get it out. By an odd professional convention, anything to do with gas (as with liquid hydrocarbons) usually falls within the domain of petroleum geoscientists and engineers. But coal is not quite like those other rocks. And thus, the exploitation of gas from coal (sometimes called coal seam gas, other times called coalbed methane) really does rely on a true overlap of classical coal geology and conventional petroleum geoscience. But where does a professional go to find a summary, a text, and a concise synopsis of coalbed methane—a field that truly encompasses an incredibly wide set of disciplines? Who has the time, or access, to scour through thousands of articles in hundreds of journals? Ergo, enter Romeo Flores and the publication of this book, Coal and Coalbed Gas: Fueling the Future.

The breadth of the book you are about to read is large, as it must be. You will be asked to visualize geology on the basin scale, as well as envision processes that happen on a subangstrom level. To many geoscientists, neither scale will be totally unfamiliar but in order to understand coalbed methane, sometimes we must have both scales operating in our heads at once. Similarly, the coal geologists among us will be quite comfortable with peat formation, cleats, and depositional environments, although perhaps a few synapses will need stretching when we enter the realm of submicron porosity, saturation, and van der Waals forces. Switch the analogy around and it works equally well for petroleum geoscientists and engineers. And that is what makes this book exciting.

In order to write such a wide-ranging book on such a big topic, the author needs to be equally expansive. Many of us know Romey as King of the Powder River Basin. Certainly he has done a copious amount of data gathering there over many decades and published innumerable reports. In the early years of my career, I would return from some far flung area (think Indonesia, New Zealand, remote Northwest China) and roll into Romey's office sure that I had trumped him in seeing some new and exotic geology. But invariably, after a moment of thought, he'd reach under some pile of papers on his desk and say, As a matter of fact, I was there in 1977… or 1982 or 1994, whatever the case. After a while, I gave up and just consulted Romey before I went somewhere!

Now, what is in the book? I’ll leave that for you to explore. But I think the basic tenets and the germane issues are best summed up by a list given in Chapter 7: (1) Coals are not conventional oil and gas reservoirs; (2) coals are thin, compressible, and chemically reactive; (3) coalbed gas production techniques are coal basin specific; and (4) multiple completions are necessary in some basins in order to maximize recovery from multiple coal beds. I'd encourage all coalbed methane scientists, engineers, and managers to re-read these four points. Now go read the details in the book, before Romey sits down on that sandstone ledge again.

Tim A. Moore

Managing Director, Cipher Consulting Ltd. (www.ciphercoal.com), Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Canterbury Member, Royal Society of New Zealand Member, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Christchurch, New Zealand 2013

Preface

Coal has a long-established tradition as a discipline that utilizes diverse scientific specialties from coal geology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, depositional environments (peat to coal), organic petrology, and inorganic mineralogy to geochemistry. These specialties have been applied to basic research and development, assessment of coal resources and reserves, and processes of hydrocarbon generation and accumulation. The use of coal for heat is over 2000 years old, as documented in East Asia and the Mediterranean. Coal has been an important catalyst to industrialization of countries for the past 50 years. Coal is estimated to be the largest endowment of fossil fuels on Earth and is on a trajectory to replace oil as the primary energy source fueling more proposed efficient power plants worldwide. The high proportion of organic matter in coal has undoubtedly contributed to higher carbon dioxide emissions, which in a carbon-constrained world, has implications for its future as a fuel source. Emissions of greenhouse gases can be alleviated by utilization of virgin coalbed and coalmine gas as a cleaner energy source. However, the global greenhouse gas emission from coal use belies the full extent of the contribution because its peat precursor, which covers 2–3% of the total Earth's surface, continues to release methane that is a more potent gas than carbon dioxide. Methane is both sourced and stored within the coal, and this fundamental property has generated worldwide interest in commercial production over the past 30 years, even though the presence of gas in coal has been known since the earliest coal mine explosions in the early nineteenth century.

The viability and sustainability of coalbed gas as an energy source has emerged in many developing and developed countries. In Indonesia where the petroleum reserves have been depleted, coalbed gas is being extensively explored as a replacement energy source. In China, coalbed gas has ignited countless coal mine explosions with the resultant loss of lives of thousands of miners. China has now started to recover coalbed gas from active mines as well as ahead of mining and from virgin coals and this gas is taken to the market as liquid and compressed natural gas. Great Britain has produced coalbed gas from abandoned coal mines and delivered the gas to electricity utilities for power generation. About 37 coal-producing countries are exploiting and testing the economic potential of coalbed gas from coal mines for recovery and utilization in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The Indian government has awarded coalbed gas blocks in several coalfields for exploration and development. The United States, Australia, and Canada aided by technological advances in drilling, stimulation, and completion are the major producers of coalbed gas. This gas is a significant part of their overall portfolio of unconventional gas assets. Despite the ground-breaking successes in duplicating methanogenic processes in gas- and nongas-producing coals to generate biogenic coalbed gas, it remains to be proved that the technology can sustain gas production. Challenges to future application of coal-to-biogenic coalbed gas technology also come from environmental factors, coal reservoir properties, and hydrogeological factors.

More than 70 countries possess coal deposits and even though much of these coal resources may not be economically mineable, they are exploitable for coalbed gas. The world coal resources have been reported to vary from 9 to 27 trillion metric tons with most reserves found in the United States, China, Russia, India, and Australia. Coal is produced in more than 35 countries with potential for coalbed gas recovery in advance of mining. Although huge coal resources do not directly translate to huge volumes of coalbed gas, it is estimated that the global gas-in-place resource is from 67 to 252 trillion m³. The discrepancy between coal resources and coalbed gas-in-place resources and gas recoverability is mainly a result of geological characteristics of the coal in relationship to engineering properties of the coal reservoir rock as well as a general lack of reliable data. In spite of the large coalbed gas-in-place resources, major commercial production is limited to about six countries because of technical and economic limitations and lack of knowledge of coalbed gas as a potential source of energy. Many of the countries interested in exploiting coalbed gas are experiencing much of the same problems that occurred early in coalbed gas development in the United States where government regulators have to navigate through contentious issues such as who owns coalbed gas: the petroleum or coal mining industry? and the ever-present management of coproduced water.

The emergence of global exploitation and development of coalbed gas in many countries rich in coal resources have given impetus to the writing of this book. The goal has been for the book to serve as a reference, bridging the gap between scientific knowledge of coal and recently acquired technology of coalbed gas. There are many notable books and scientific journal publications, referenced in this book, which have focused on coal and coalbed gas separately as energy sources. This book strives to integrate the wealth of knowledge of these disciplines and is dedicated to multidisciplinary practitioners. These practitioners include petroleum and reservoir engineers, surface and subsurface hydrologists, geologists, microbiologists, molecular engineers, biogeochemists, environmentalists, land managers, policy makers, and others involved in research and development of coalbed gas and management of related coproduced water. In order to inform and affect the learning of the reader, strategically placed subsections of the book focus on facts vs fictions as well as concepts and misconceptions of coal and coalbed gas. Coalbed gas has long been produced in the United States, so most of the scientific, technical, and economic information used in this book is derived from this country.

Many people contributed to this book, beginning with those cited in the reference section without whose foundation papers this book would not have been possible. I wish to thank the authors and publishers for kindly providing copyright permissions to complete this book. To colleagues whose work I have used, but have somehow failed to cite, my deepest apologies. I am indebted to many colleagues who provided extremely valuable comments, constructive criticisms, and detailed analysis, which shaped and greatly improved the book. However, I am responsible for any remaining errors or inaccuracies. This book benefited from incisive reviews and insightful suggestions by colleagues from academia, government, and industry: Mike Brogan, Fred Crockett, Frank Ethridge, Mohinudeen Faiz, Song Jin, Dwain McGarry, Ricky Pena, Tim Moore, Dave Rutledge, and Russell Stands-Over-Bull. In particular, Frank Ethridge who patiently reviewed each chapter, recommending clarity, identifying inconsistency and repetition, and consistently, but gently, preaching readability has acted as a friendly gadfly.

I owe debts of gratitude to other colleagues who provided selfless assistance; these people include Melody Bragg, Mick Brownfield, Randy Caber, Larry Claypool, Joseph Crisostomo, Fred Crockett, Tom Doll, Chris Eisinger, Paul Fallgren, Alejandro Flores, Gustavo Navas Guzman, Trinetta Herdy, Scott Kinney, Tim Moore, Dave Mathew, Dwain McGarry, Tracey Mercier, Pierce Norton, Ian Palmer, Cindy Rice, James Rumbaugh, Ernie Slucher, Brianne Spear, Gary Stricker, James Welch, and Sadiq Zarrouk. My learning experience of China's coalbed gas and CMM was made possible by Dr Tian YongDong, Jincheng Lanyan CBM Group, and Dr Hu QianTing, China Coal Technology Group, ChonQing Division, with skilled guidance by Yuewen Xi. Dr Hadiyanto, formerly Assistant Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, provided my introduction to Indonesian peat, coal, and coalbed gas. Lisa Ramirez Rukstales' advice has been priceless.

The major effort in publishing this book, besides that of the author, comes from the publication staff of Elsevier Science and Technology Books. My appreciation is expressed to Jill Cetel, and Sean Coombs editorial project managers; Sharmila Vadivelan, production manager; Nithya Sambantham, copyrights coordinator; copy editors; and others who all contributed to the book in its final and present form. Finally, thanks to Candice Janco, Acquisitions Editor, and reviewers of the book proposal for believing that the project can be done.

The book is not a research monograph, although I have relied on more than 50 years of research starting from the Allegheny coal mines in eastern Ohio for my PhD thesis to 35 years in the USGS working in the Powder River Basin and other coal basins in the conterminous United States, Alaska, and worldwide. Working in the right place and the right time in the Powder River Basin in a consortium of USGS, BLM, and gas operators from 1999 to 2009 has helped immeasurably in my understanding of coal and coalbed gas. I wish to express deep appreciation to many colleagues who extended kindness and assistance throughout a long career in coal and coalbed gas, especially John Ferm and Ron Stanton, both of them mentors and colleagues, who unfortunately passed away before their time and to Frank, Tim, and Gary, friends and colleagues, for wholehearted support of this grand endeavor.

Most importantly, my appreciation to Lejo, Emily, and Ellie Amihan and the rest of my family and friends; hopefully this book will not only act as a good summary of my career but also provide insight to a father's and grandfather's continuing love of geology.

SI/Metric Units

Approximate Conversions from SI/Metric Units to Standard/Imperial Units

∗

Units: one metric tonne = 2204.6 lb; I kilocalorie (kcal) = 4.18 kJ = 3.96 Btu; 1 kJ (kJ) = 0.24 kcal = 0.95 Btu; 1 British thermal init (Btu) = 0.25 kcal = 1.05 kJ; 1 kilowat hour (kWh) = 860 kcal = 3600 kJ = 3412 Btu. Calorific Equivalents: 1 ton of oil equivalent = 10 million kilocalories = 42 gigajoules = 40 million Btu of heat; 1.5 tonnes of hard coal = 3 tonnes of lignite; 12 megawatt hours; One million tones of oil produces 4400 gigawatt hours. Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows: F = (1.8 ×°C) + 32. Concentrations of chemical constituents in water are given either in milligrams per liter (mg/l) or micrograms per liter (μg/l). Use of hectare (ha) is for the measurement of small land or water areas. Use of liter (l) is for measurement of liquids and gases. The prefix pf milli is used with liter. Metric ton (Mt) is commercial usage with prefixes used.

∗Modified from U.S. Geological Survey publications.

Chapter 1

Introduction and Principles

Abstract

The introduction includes definitions, metaphors, and principles in coal geology as adopted by coalbed gas. Understanding coalbed gas requires knowledge of global coal endowment, geologic occurrence, geographic distribution, and role of evolution of the dynamic Earth's outer shell on coal accumulations. Coal endowment classified as coal resources and reserves is relevant to coalbed gas-in-place estimates. Reporting coal assets is as diverse as there are countries that practice the classification system. Interaction of global coal supply, demand, and consumption results in vibrant debates on coal use in a carbon-constrained world concerned with greenhouse gas emissions. Peak coal production modeled from Hubert peak oil and predictions when peak years will be reached control coal and coalbed gas fueling the future, which is projected to add 5% coal and 80% gas to new electricity capacity by 2035. A remedy is more efficient electricity-generating technologies with CO2 capture and sequestration deployed in and outside power plants.

Keywords

Carbon-constrained world; Carbon dioxide capture and sequestration; Carbon dioxide emission factors; Coal classification system and reporting codes; Coal endowment; Coal peak production; Coal reserves; Coal resources; Coalbed gas-in-place; Geologic and geographic coal distribution and accumulation

Outline

Introduction

Philosophical Overview and Scope

Learning Metaphors

Coal Metaphors

Coalbed Gas Metaphors

Definitions and Terminologies

Dirty Coal vs Clean Coal

Basic Principles

Coal Occurrence in the Geologic Past

Geologic Coal Distribution

Geographic Coal Distribution

Role of the Dynamic Earth Outer Shell

Global Coal Endowment

Concepts of Coal Resources and Reserves

International Codes of Reporting Coal Assets

As Practiced by United States

Coal Resource Calculation

As Practiced by Other Countries

As Reported by World Information Agencies

From Past to Future Coal Production

Historical Coal Production

Future Peak Coal Production

Coal Use in a Carbon-Constrained World

Global Impact

Impacts of Coal Use in the United States

Summary

Key Items

• Coalbed gas has emerged as an important energy source and understanding this resource requires the knowledge of elements of coal geology.

• The diverse heritage of coal and the maturing field of coalbed gas have given rise to definitions, and terminologies that are used throughout this book.

• Ability to comprehend basic principles is the key to extrapolate from coal science to engineering-applied coalbed gas.

• Understanding the global coal endowment, occurrence, and distribution related to the dynamic structural changes in the Earth's outer shell through geologic time is essential to the exploitation of coalbed gas.

• Vast global coal resources of 9–27 trillion metric tons (mt) potentially hold coalbed gas-in-place of 67–252 trillion m³ (Tcm) based on comparisons with producing American fields.

• About 2100 known coal deposits from Late Devonian (380 million years ago or mya) to Pliocene (3 mya) in age are identified resources/reserves in 74 countries and are inferred resources in 27 other countries.

• Peak coal production following M. King Hubbert peak oil theory has led to forecasts of exhaustion of global coal reserves to 90% in 2070, global peak coal production in 2050, and in the United States as early as 2060 and as late as 2105.

• Despite projection of global peak coal production and reserve exhaustion occurring within this century, coal will continue to fuel our foreseeable future with 2.5–3.5% of the global total coal resource having been consumed.

• Potential reduction of coal consumption and CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants using more efficient technology (e.g. supercritical, ultra-supercritical power plants) and CO2 capture and sequestration is believed to be the key to future of coal. Availability of natural gas and environmental challenges for coal use have limited construction of power plants in the United States with 5% of new capacity of electricity for proposed plants to be fueled by coal. However, developing countries will accelerate the construction of new coal plants to generate electricity and are unconstrained by CO2 emissions.

• Emergence of unconventional gases (e.g. coalbed gas, shale gas) for power generation is a positive alternative in a carbon-constrained world. According to U.S. Energy Information Administration, 80% of the new capacity of electricity for proposed power plants will be fueled by natural gas.

Introduction

This introductory chapter discusses the philosophy and scope of the book but more importantly, it introduces the reader to the terminology, definition, and fundamentals of coal and coalbed gas. The mixing of the long-established principles of coal geology and maturing precepts of coalbed gas, as an emerging unconventional energy, has introduced entirely rich subjects that blend old and new concepts in this book for a target multidisciplinary audience. A result of the mixture of old and new concepts is the proliferation in the literature of metaphors and misconceptions, which are stumbling blocks to familiarizing, learning, and understanding the subject matter, and this is explained in this chapter. The success in blending coal and coalbed gas as a discipline lies in the understanding of the basic principles of coal discussed in the context of its worldwide geologic and geographic distributions as overprinted by the dynamism of the earth's outer shell and constrained by geologic time. Essential to the discussion of basic principles is the foundation of global coal endowment, which is critical to the assessment of coalbed gas because it addresses how coal is measured, calculated, and classified (e.g. resources and reserves) as practiced by different countries and reported by worldwide agencies. The methods of classification and reporting of coal resources and reserves vary from country to country and knowing this difference is critical to the evaluation and application to coalbed gas. Also important is the consideration of how much coal remains in the ground from the standpoint of historical and production perspectives. The past and future coal production is relevant to the deliberation of potential development of coalbed gas resource. Finally, the ramifications of greenhouse gas emission (e.g. carbon dioxide or CO2) from coal use to generate electricity directly impact the continued switch of natural gas (e.g. coalbed gas) for generation of power plants in the future.

Philosophical Overview and Scope

The purpose of this overview is to introduce the reader to the scale and complexity of the subject and scope of the book, with particular emphasis on the trans-disciplinary nature of the state-of-the-art in coal and coalbed gas research and development. More than 30 years ago, coalbed gas emerged globally as a valuable and potential energy resource with a growing role in the exploitation and development of unconventional gas. Unlike other natural gas from conventional reservoirs, coalbed gas is self-sourced with atypical generation, storage, migration, and entrapment of methane within the coal. Another unconventional gas that is self-sourced is shale gas. These reservoir properties and the abundance of coal worldwide at shallow depths make the finding, processing, and development costs of coalbed gas relatively low compared to conventional gas. Increasing global gas supplies for cleaner energy source for electrical generation puts coalbed gas as an important environment-friendly component of the total energy mix (Chapter 2).

The scope of this book is focused toward the study of coalbed gas, which includes: (1) understanding the origin, composition, and physical properties of coal (Chapter 3) and their relationships to coalification, gasification, and gas storage (Chapter 4); (2) the knowledge of coal reservoir characterization in terms of macrolithotype (maceral) composition in relations to coal bed fracture systems, permeability, and porosity as functions of gas flow (Chapter 5); (3) the familiarization of the methodologies of resource assessments of both commodities (Chapter 6); (4) the acquaintance of production advances in relations to drilling and completion technology (Chapter 7); (5) the awareness of implementing environmentally and economically viable disposal of coproduced water to meet regulations (Chapter 8), (6) the knowledge of global development of coalbed gas and potential of coalmine gas recovery and utilization (Chapter 9); and the consideration of the short and long term outlook of coal and coalbed gas, and the future role of sustainability of coalbed gas through microbial generation and the coal-to-biogenic coalbed gas technology (Chapter 10). Thus, the key to the success of improving sustainability of coal and coalbed gas to fuel the foreseeable future and beyond is a better understanding of their economic and environmental impacts in relations to the carbon-constrained world and technological advances.

Philosophically, because of the inherent litho-genetic relationship of coal and coalbed gas, one cannot be separated from the other in order to elevate the level of comprehension of both energies to meet new challenges in their exploration and development. Coal is a physically unique reservoir almost totally composed of organic matter, which is different in characteristics compared to other natural gas reservoir rocks composed of epiclastics such as sandstones, siltstones, shales, and precipitates (Figure 1.1). Early exploitation of coalbed gas relied on fairly well-defined resources from surface and subsurface mapping of coal beds. However, the lateral and vertical behaviors of coal beds are sensitive to depositional environments, which vary greatly from coastal to alluvial settings. The coal environments found in various paleoclimatic settings, in turn, dictate the nature of vegetation and type of peat bog/swamp, which control the organic/inorganic matter composition and ultimately potential hydrocarbon byproducts. The process of metamorphism controlled by heat and pressure during burial of the peat precursors, in turn, affects maturation of organic matter and control gasification. Thus, understanding the generation, storage, and entrapment of the gas in the coal plays a major role in predicting economic recoverability and production.

FIGURE 1.1 Flow chart showing the hierarchy of sedimentary rocks divided into detrital and chemical rocks, which in turn, is subdivided into the clastic, organic, and precipitate types.

The technical aspect and success of drilling and completion of coalbed gas wells depend on the characterization of the coal reservoir. Often the ease or difficulty of drilling through the reservoir rock depends on the types of maceral composition, bedding planes, and presence or absence of fractures or cleats in coal. Tight coal described during slow drilling and slow gas flow is often times caused by the physical and maceral composition of the coal reservoir. Owing to these coal properties, the reservoir is responsive to well completion techniques and stimulation treatments (fluids), which in turn, affects reservoir performance. Another technical aspect is the volume of water coproduced during development, which often is related to the origin of the gas. That is, coalbed gas generated by biogenic activity, which involved introduction of meteoric water into the coal from surface recharge yield more water than normal during production.

Like conventional natural gas plays when coalbed gas prospect areas are exhausted and exploitation expands into potential areas, the most important requirements for data collection and evaluation are: (1) areal distribution of coal, which involve understanding of the process sedimentology and stratigraphy of the coal beds; (2) areal subsurface and surface mapping to determine thickness and extent of coal beds leading to estimation of coal resources and certification of reserves; (3) gas content and desorption rate of the coal to evaluate the gas-in-place, which in turn, assist in forecasting gas recoverability and production; (4) modeling regional hydrology and hydrostratigraphy to establish that gas is stored in the coal by hydrostatic pressure and the volume of water can flow gas to the well and how many wells are needed to optimize gas desorption (well spacing); (5) recognizing factors that control coal permeability and porosity, which affects reservoir stimulation, completion, and production; and (6) awareness that reservoir performance on the whole is a reflection of the physical, compositional, and hydrological conditions of the coal reservoir.

Thus, analyses of coalbed gas plays and developmental challenges such as optimizing gas desorption within a water drawdown area require comprehensive examination of both coal and coalbed gas from their formation to production. In order to execute this unique combination of disciplines, the integration of knowledge of coal beds must utilize interdisciplinary concepts in coal geology, hydrology, geophysics, and engineering. Finally, meeting future advances require amalgamating insights of multiple disciplines from environmental specialists, microbiologists, biochemists, power plant combustion engineers to reservoir modelers (Figure 1.2) on the following: (1) managing coproduced water in an environmentally and technically cost-effective manner; (2) sustaining generation and production of methane from biotechnology by introducing microbes, nutrients or amendments coal hydrology; and (3) sequestering carbon dioxide in coal to enhance the recovery of methane.

FIGURE 1.2 Flow chart showing relationships of coal and coalbed gas to multidisciplines and applications to research and development in academia and industry, which also may apply to governmental activities.

Learning Metaphors

A major distraction to learning basic principles, in any discipline, is widely used metaphors and dialects inherent to the rich heritage of coal as applied to the maturing field of coalbed gas. Thus, before further discussions, it is important to explain and clarify metaphors to provide effective understanding and to improve comprehension of terms. Coal-related metaphors such as coal bed vs coal seam, coalbed gas vs coalbed methane (popularly known as CBM), coal seam gas vs. coalbed natural gas, and coalbed gas are commonly used interchangeably. Other metaphors such as coalmine methane (CMM) vs abandoned mine methane (AMM), and unconventional coalbed gas vs conventional natural gas are attempts to relate the coal hydrocarbons to coal-mine conditions and the petroleum systems, respectively.

Coal Metaphors

The term coal seam originated during the Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain during the eighteenth century and subsequently spread to Europe and North America. At this time in Great Britain, where parts of the country lacked or experienced shortage of wood for building fires, natives found and dug or burrowed into outcrops where coal layers or seams emerged on the surface and extended along hillsides. When the coal seam was exhausted from being mined attempts were made to find other outcrops during which the coal seams were discovered to occur as several layers. Thus, coal was found to occur as seams separated by other layers of rocks such as sandstones, shales, fireclays, which as a whole was called coal measures (Singh, 1997).

In contrast, the term coal bed originated in the United States when anthracite was mined in the Pennsylvanian coal measures in the central Appalachian Basin. Anthracite, originally described by early miners as coal veins, was mined during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to fuel the Industrial Revolution. Rhone (2011) reported from old coal mine records that miners described the anthracites coal measures as comprising alternate layers of rock and coal piled upon each like the layers of a jelly cake, in which the thick layers of cake represent rockstrata and the thin layers of jelly the coal beds. The term bed in this sense is defined and identified from other rock layers or strata according to thickness", which was eventually recognized as the smallest rock-stratigraphic unit. On the other hand, the term coal bed has been formally recognized by the North American Stratigraphic Code as the smallest lithostratigraphic unit of sedimentary rocks, which may be formally named if economically of importance (North American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature, 2005).

Thus, the terms coal bed and coal seam have similar definition and their descriptions were both established from mining coal measures in different parts of the world. However, the use of the term coal seam remained a tradition in Great Britain, Australia, India, Europe and other countries. It was originally coined to refer to the coal-bearing succession of the coal-bearing rocks of the Carboniferous System in Great Britain (Conybeare & Phillips, 1822).

Coalbed Gas Metaphors

Coalbed gas, CBM, and coalbed natural gas are terms referring to the nature of the gas adsorbed in the coal. The term coalbed gas, used in this book, represents an all-encompassing definition reflecting that more than one gas is adsorbed in the coal. The coalbed gases are composed of molecular and isotopic components with methane as a major component and carbon dioxide and nitrogen as minor components (Stricker et al., 2006). Other hydrocarbon gases such as ethane, propane, butane, and pentane are present in trace amounts as well as isotopic composition of carbon dioxide, ethane, and methane measured in parts per million (Flores, Stricker, Rice, Warden, & Ellis, 2008; Rice, 1993).

In contrast, the term CBM reflects that only methane is the gas adsorbed in the coal. The term, however, correctly emphasized that methane is the major component of the adsorbed gas in the coal. More importantly, it focuses on the clean and pure component of the coalbed gases. Thus, the relative abundance of methane and as a principal component of the coalbed gas makes it an attractive fuel.

The term coalbed natural gas reflects a definition more in line to that used by the petroleum industry. It is recognized industry-wide that gas from the coal is natural gas, which is composed mainly of methane and minor carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen, nitrogen, helium, and argon. However, natural gas is typically higher in heavy hydrocarbons primarily in ethane as well as propane, butane, and pentane than the coalbed gas. More importantly, natural gas is commonly associated with crude oil either dissolved in oil at high pressures or separated as gas cap above the oil in the reservoir. This natural gas is called associated gas compared to nonassociated gas with no oil as exemplified by coalbed gas.

Natural gas may be classified either as conventional or unconventional gas based on: (1) the characteristics of the reservoir rock, (2) the geologic nature of accumulation, and (3) the industry-standard level of technological and investment requirements that take to develop these resources (Kuuskraa et al., 1992; Rogner, 1997; Scott, 2004; Charpentier & Ahlbrandt, 2003; Holditch, Perry, & Lee, 2007; Schmoker & Klett, 2005). Conventional natural gas accumulations are localized in structural or stratigraphic traps where the reservoir and fluid properties permit gas to flow to well bore. These accumulations can be drilled and produced with traditional technologies (Figure 1.3). The unconventional gas resources, which commonly include coal bed, shale, and tight-sand gases in low-permeability reservoirs, may require drilling a horizontal well and hydraulic fracture treatment to stimulate and optimize gas production. Thus, unconventional gas may be relatively more difficult and expensive to develop.

FIGURE 1.3 Schematic geological cross section showing stratigraphical and structural positions of conventional and unconventional oil and gas accumulations. Source: Modified from Charpentier and Ahlbrandt (2003).

Definitions and Terminologies

The basic principles and definition of concepts that are fundamental to the understanding of coal and coalbed gas are reviewed in this section. Explanation of coal and coal bed principles will facilitate application and use of the terms and concepts throughout the book. Also, it is intended to familiarize a broad spectrum of readers including specialists and experts in coal and coalbed gas researchers and practitioners as well as teachers, students, managers, consultants, and environmentalists. The proliferation of coal principles and terminologies, which are explained and defined in various contexts in both the scientific and nonscientific literature, has led to many viewpoints and confusion.

The complex nature of coal science requires multidisciplinary approach to understand this highly organic substance (Lyons & Alpern, 1989a, 1989b). Thus, the study of coal created multifaceted subdisciplines with each specialist propagating their own terminologies and definitions. The advent of coalbed gas in the past few decades has added more complexity and new principles and terminologies with introduction of hydrocarbons from coal (Law & Rice, 1993). In order to assist in clarification of commonly used concepts and terminologies in this book, text boxes of facts or fictions and concepts and misconceptions are strategically placed. Hopefully this pedagogy will shed some light on the misunderstandings instilled in the literature.

The most commonly accepted scientific and technical definition of coal by practitioners in the field is a readily combustible rock containing more than 50% by weight and more than 70% by volume of carbonaceous material formed from compaction of variously altered plant remains similar to peaty deposits (Schopf, 1956).

Thus, inherent to the Schopf (1956) definition of coal is a mixture of organic and inorganic matters including original moisture similar to modern peaty swamps/bogs (Bates & Jackson, 1987). The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM, 1991) and many coal specialists have recognized and accepted this definition; however, the definition of coal varies according to different subdiscipline viewpoints. For example, to a biologist/botanist, coal is a successor of peat, which is predominantly composed of organic material derived from plants that accumulated in certain types of ecosystems (Moore, 1989). To a coal petrologist, coal is a rock derived mainly of plant remains that have undergone peatification and coalification or maturation (Teichmuller, 1989). To a coal sedimentologist and stratigrapher, coal is a product of paleodepositional environments and tectonic settings not too different from modern day analogs (Ferm & Horne, 1979; Ferm & Weisenfluch, 1989).

BOX 1.1

NOT ALL COAL IS COMBUSTIBLE—FACT OR FICTION

Coal in any dictionary is generally defined as a combustible, natural fuel and a solid, brownish-black rock occurring in coal beds or seams formed by degradation of vegetal matter without free access to air, under the influence of moisture, increased pressure and temperature. The fact is not all coal is combustible as a natural fuel for coal-fired power plants to generate electricity. The generation of heat by combusting coal is the result the reactions between the burnable organic matter of coal and oxygen (Stach et al., 1982; Taylor et al., 1998; Thomas, 2002; Schweinfurth, 2002). The burnable material, which discharges heat when oxidized, includes carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulfur; however, coal is also composed of inorganic material (e.g. mineral matter), which along with oxygen consumes heat during combustion. Thus, the combustibility and calorific value (e.g. heat of combustion) are controlled by the rank and organic composition (e.g. macerals, see Chapter 5 for definition) and inorganic matter (e.g. quartz, pyrite, calcite, clay) content of the coal. For example, certain macerals (e.g. exinite) in low-rank coal (e.g. subbituminous) owing to high hydrogen content has higher calorific value than associated vitrinite maceral. In contrast, both macerals (e.g. exinite and vitrinite) in high-rank coal (e.g. low-volatile bituminous) have about the same calorific values. In addition, coal loses moisture depending on rank, which range from 1% to 2% in higher rank coal (e.g. anthracite–bituminous) to more than 22% in lower rank coal (e.g. subbituminous–lignite). As a result of environmental concerns of coal utilization regulations are imposed to achieve significant reductions in pollutants (e.g. carbon dioxide or CO2, nitrogen oxides or NOx, sulfur oxides or SOx, particulates) and hazardous trace elemental components (e.g. arsenic, boron, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, zinc) associated with the burning of coal (Schweinfurth, 2002).

Simply put, to a geochemist, coal is a peat that has undergone chemical and physical transformation during diagenesis, catagenesis, and metagenesis (Mukhopadhyay & Hatcher, 1993; Tissot & Welte, 1984). Finally, to a petroleum geologist coal is a source of hydrocarbons capable of generating and expelling economic quantities of gas (e.g. methane and carbon dioxide) and oil (Boreham & Powell, 1993; Clayton, 1993). Generation of methane and carbon dioxide and other minor volatiles during coalification is mainly related to the organic composition of the coal (Hunt, 1979). The various concepts embodied in these definitions by subdisciplines are a result of the historical evolution of approaching the investigation of coal. This approach has changed and enhanced the fundamental principles in integration and interpretation of data, which should lead to a better understanding of exploitation of coalbed gas.

Dirty Coal vs Clean Coal

To many people clean coal is an oxymoron. For them there is only dirty coal that produces pollution when it is burned in power plants. More accurately, the dirty aspect of coal is both compositional and technical in nature. Compositionally, the major component of coal is organic material with minor constituent of inorganic material. More precisely, the boundary of pure and impure coal is 30% of inorganic mineral matter constituent, which is classified as carbonaceous shale (between shale and coal; Alpern, 1981). The organic matter includes barks, wood, stems, roots, leaves, spores, pollens, cuticles, and grasses, and algae as well as minor fungal, bacterial, and other animal remains. The inorganic matter includes mineral grains (e.g. quartz, clays, volcanic fragments from ash fall), minerals associated with the organic macerals (e.g. pyrite that formed in cavities in the organic matter), minerals formed during or after coalification (e.g. calcite from mineralization along cleats), and trace elements from within the mineral and organic matter (e.g. Brownfield, 2002). A complete clean coal is one that contains no inorganic matter.

Technically, the dirty aspect of burning coal by power plants comes from the generation of heat during combustion, which is a function of the reaction of the organic matter and oxygen. Organic material, with its carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulfur, releases heat during combustion, whereas the incombustible inorganic matter or minerals with oxygen consume heat during the combustion as well release trace elements, particulates (e.g. fly ash) and deposit slag in the boiler. The heat of combustion or calorific value of the coal depends on the organic matter composition and rank on one hand and the inorganic material on the other. Thus, the dirty components of coal during combustion are mainly from the particulates or ash from inorganic matter and compounds generated with reaction with oxygen such as oxides of sulfur and nitrogen for the organic matter. Coal-fired power plants are equipped at various stages of combustion to control these pollutants, the concentrations of which are regulated to meet health standards. Thus, clean and dirty coals are defined at the basic compositional level of the coal to its utilization for electric generation by power plants.

The concept of clean coal has expanded into clean coal technology. Clean coal technology is defined as a collection of applied engineering and science knowledge employed to improve and increase productivity and efficiency of machines such as power plant equipment in order to reduce environmental impacts of coal utilization (USDOE, 2010). For example, the primary focus to capture and sequester carbon dioxide in deep formations toward reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and sulfur dioxide and particulates to prevent acid rain effects is addressed in clean coal technology. This technology, in development stage, is exemplified by FutureGen in which oxy-combustion burns coal with a mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide (CO2) instead of air to produce a concentrated CO2 stream for safe and permanent storage as well as near-zero emissions of mercury, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, and particulates (USDOE, 2010). Under this technology coal-fired power plants will combine carbon capture and sequestration technology with CO2 capture (e.g. 90%) and separation from other gases, CO2 transport to sites of sequestration, and CO2 injection into subsurface formations for permanent storages (Folger, 2013). Equally importantly to reduction of CO2 emission is a coal combustion system at high temperatures and pressures attained by using more efficient supercritical and ultra-supercritical power plants, which are emerging technology of utilization in developed and developing countries (IEA, 2006). Additionally, clean coal technology has evolved over time to include CO2 sequestration outside the power stations particularly in coal beds or seams and other geological sinks because of the focus on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

Basic Principles

Coal Occurrence in the Geologic Past

To understand coal and petroleum geology we must first have an understanding of the Earth's dynamic changes in the geologic record. Coal is the most abundant mineral energy resource and is widespread around the world but is unevenly distributed in all the continents

BOX 1.2

COAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION—CONCEPTS AND MISCONCEPTIONS

Coal combustion contributes twice as much CO2 per unit of heat energy, which is mainly from carbon, as natural gas and lesser for crude oil in the United States (Hong & Slatick, 1994). However, the ratio of carbon to heat energy vary with coal rank in which carbon on a dry basis ranges from >60% for lignite and >80% for anthracite (Hong & Slatik, 1994). Carbon dioxide and methane contribute 26% and 6%, respectively, to the greenhouse effect of clear sky radiative forcing (Kiehl & Trenberth, 1997). Carbon dioxide dominates the total forcing with methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and halocarbon compounds (mainly aerosols particles or chlorofluorocarbons) becoming smaller contributors to the total forcing over time (Butler, 2011). Of these greenhouse gases and particles that contribute 96% to radiative climate forcing, Butler (2011) reported that only CO2 and N2O continue to increase at a regular rate and that radiative climate forcing from methane or CH4 increased during 2007–2010 after remaining nearly constant 1999–2006. Carbon dioxide has accounted for nearly 80% of the increased long-lived greenhouse gases from 1990 to 2010. Thus, CO2 is the most abundant and has a much longer life span; however, methane short life span is more potent at trapping heat (Blasting, 2013). The global warming potential (GWP) is a measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps compared to CO2 in the atmosphere and is measured over a time period. For example, the 100-year GWP of CH4 is 25; that is, CH4 will trap 25 times more heat than CO2 over the next 100 years (Blasting, 2013). Thus, CH4 has a greater effect for a shorter period of lifetime in the atmosphere than CO2 over 100 years.

including Antarctica. The worldwide distribution is linked to the geological factors that control the origin of coal and coalbed gas, which are transformed through the geologic time. The mineral energy resource base of the world, which includes oil, gas, tar, oil shale, coal, and uranium, is dominated by coal (40–49%) and uranium (40–56%) with the hydrocarbons making up the remainder 5–10% according to Moody (1978) and the World Energy Conference (1978). The occurrence of coal and coalbed gas is best described in terms of their geologic age and geographic distribution in the context of their plate tectonic and paleogeologic settings.

Geologic Coal Distribution

Coal distribution through the geologic time, summarized in Figure 1.4, ranges from Late Devonian (about 380 mya) to Pliocene (about 3 mya) for a duration of about 375 mya. The coal occurrence through the geologic time is not continuous but rather episodic and culminated by significant mass extinctions of plant and animal life, which created from marked to very minor coal hiatus at the Permian–Triassic and Cretaceous–Tertiary boundaries (Figure 1.4). Coal accumulations were influenced by the appearance, evolution, dispersion, and ecological adaption of terrestrial plants in ancestral wetlands. Terrestrial plants first colonized the landscape especially wetlands in the Late Paleozoic Era during the Devonian Period as small vascular (e.g. water-transport tubes), tree-like plants, which became increasingly diversified, evolved, and exploded into tall woody, vascular plants (e.g. angiosperms) in the Carboniferous peaty wetlands (Cross & Phillips, 1990; DiMichele & Phillips, 1996; Greb, DiMichele, & Gastaldo, 2006; Phillips, Peppers, Avcin, & Loughman, 1974; Stewart & Rothwell, 1993). The vascular system led to the extraction of water and minerals from paleosols through root-like systems to grow tall in peaty wetlands along shoreline-coastal areas, river-delta plains, and lakes. The Carboniferous plants passed on into the peaty wetlands of the Permian and Triassic Periods but most became extinct probably due to hotter and drier climate for peat accumulation (Worsely, Moore, Fraticelli, & Scotese, 1994), landmasses were too high to form peaty wetlands (Faure, de Wit, & Willis, 1995), peaty wetlands were overwhelmed by sulfuric acid from massive eruptions of the Siberian Traps (McCartney, Hoffman, & Tredoux, 1990) or by nitric acid from impact of an extraterrestrial bolide at the Permian–Triassic boundary (Zahnle, 1990), and acidic and nutrient-poor peaty wetlands (Retallack, Veevers, & Morante, 1996). This geologic time of marked demise of peat accumulation is called the global coal hiatus or coal gap (Faure et al., 1995; Retallack et al., 1996).

FIGURE 1.4 Geologic time showing breakdown into Eon, Era, Period, Epoch, and millions of years ago (mya) as well as the geologic distribution of coal by paleolatitude. Average global paleotemperature chart shows warming and cooling trends through the geologic record. Dash lines indicate marked paleolatitudinal change in coal accumulation. (Source: Modified after McCabe (1984), Retallack et al. (1996), Schweinfurth (2002), Greb et al. (2006), and Scotese (2013)). Arrows designate approximate geologic age for Figures 1.7–1.10.

During the succeeding Mesozoic Era particularly in the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods, forest vegetation (e.g. conifers) became reestablished, flourished, and became totally different from those of the Permian and Carboniferous landscapes. More importantly, the Cretaceous Period was characterized by the sudden appearance and proliferation of flowering plants and leafy trees, which along with conifers and ferns dominated the vegetation of peaty wetlands in coastal and low-lying continental areas (Bremer, 2000; Cross & Phillips, 1990). The end of the Cretaceous Period like the Permian–Triassic boundary event was marked by the mass extinction of plants and animal life. Also, like the Permian–Triassic extinction event, one of the explanations (e.g. volcanic eruptions) of the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary extinction is the collision and impact of an asteroid or comet on the Earth's surface (Alvarez, Alvarez, Asaro, & Michel, 1980). The asteroid impact created dust clouds that enveloped the earth, which blocked sunlight and triggered cooling and disappearance of the majority of Cretaceous life forms. However, it is also argued that the Cretaceous extinction was caused by massive volcanic eruptions that created gases (e.g. sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide) and lava flows from the Deccan Traps in India (Royer, Berner, Montañez, Tabor, & Beerling, 2004). However, unlike the marked Permian–Triassic boundary coal hiatus or gap recorded from 250 to 230 mya (Retallack et al., 1996), the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary indicates continuous deposition of peat/coal except for microlithostratigraphic disruptions of spores and pollens in many U.S. coal basins (Fassett & Rigby, 1987; Pillmore & Flores, 1987). For instance, in the Raton Basin in New Mexico, the proportion of fern spores to angiosperm pollen in coal and carbonaceous shale is 15–30% fern spores, which shifts to as much as 99% (e.g. recognized as fern spike by Nichols, Jarzen, Orth, and Oliver (1986)) at the top of the iridium-rich boundary clay and then returns to 10–30%, 10–15 cm above the Cretaceous–Tertiary (K/T) boundary (Pillmore & Flores, 1987). This microlaminated parting containing the K/T boundary clay in carbonaceous shale vary in thickness from 0.64 to 2.5 cm and indicates very minor interruption of coal accumulation across the boundary. In the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, 30% of mostly angiosperm pollen suddenly disappeared within the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary (Nichols, Brown, Attrep, & Orth, 1992). These observations suggest that only small proportion of plant species disappeared during the Cretaceous–Tertiary impact event and those that disappeared en masse were able to recover immediately and reestablish as coal-forming vegetation in peaty wetlands of the Paleocene Epoch particularly in coal basins in the U.S. western interior (Flores, 2003).

The Cretaceous flowering plants, which resemble many plants of today, flourished and were dispersed farther into more diversified ecosystems during Cenozoic Era, in general and in the Tertiary Period, in particular (Cross & Phillips, 1990; Stewart & Rothwell, 1993). Dispersal of flowering plants was aided by the presence of and coevolution with insects, which nourished on and pollinated them leading to growth of modern plant species. For example, modern bees and other insects as well as birds, which have as many as six ultraviolet light receptors, focused on flowers from leaves due to ultraviolet patterns (Williams, 2011). In addition, a wide range of grasses evolved during the early Tertiary or Paleogene (e.g. Paleocene and Eocene Epochs) and thrived, spread, and dominated grassland ecosystems in the Neogene (e.g. Miocene, Pliocene). However, although they covered about a third of the earth's surface, grasslands played a minor role in coal formation. Tertiary peaty wetland forests, which formed in low-lying coastal and intermontane areas, were more widespread than in previous coal-forming geologic periods probably controlled by warmer paleoclimate.

Although terrestrial plants dominated the Late Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic Eras, the remains of which produced organic matter for coal formation, only the Carboniferous System (e.g. Pennsylvanian Period), and Permian Period of the Paleozoic Era, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods in the Mesozoic Era, and Tertiary Period of the Cenozoic Era contained significant coal deposits in the world (Figure 1.4). The global coal reserves estimated by Bestougeff (1980) and Bouska (1981) 30 years ago put majority of the anthracite–bituminous or hard coal in the Carboniferous (24.5%), Permian (31.5%), Triassic (1%), Jurassic (16.5%), and Cretaceous (13%), which are buried deeper and undergone longer coalification (see Chapter 4) than the minor subbituminous–lignite coal in the Tertiary (13.5%) (Figure 1.5). The global proven coal reserves reported by BP (2011) at the end of 2010 shows that the Tertiary subbituminous–lignite coals increased about 53% and the anthracite–bituminous coals decreased about 47%.

FIGURE 1.5 A comparison of frequency distributions of the world coal reserves from 1980 to 2010 relative to the geologic periods. Source: Data from Bestogeff (1980), Bouska (1981), and BP (2011).

Geographic Coal Distribution

The present-day worldwide geographic distribution of coal related to the Paleozoic–Mesozoic age (Carboniferous, Permian, Jurassic, and Cretaceous) and Tertiary age is shown in Figure 1.6. The geographic locations of the Paleozoic- and Mesozoic-age coals are mostly in larger basins (e.g. Euro-Asia and North America) than the Tertiary coal basins (e.g. Southeast Asia and eastern Europe). Furthermore, these coal basins are unevenly distributed across major continents, microcontinents, and islands. The current geographic coal distribution is a result of constant motion of drifting landmasses from the Carboniferous to Tertiary time when coal mainly accumulated.