At a coal mine in Australia, the very dilute methane in 150000 scfm of ventilation air (a side stream of 20% of the total volume) is to be converted into 6 MW of electricity. One single typical ventilation shaft annually emits about 50 000 tons of pure methane. Besides being an environmental greenhouse problem, this represents a major waste of energy. Project WestVAMP in Australia is likely to be the first large-scale project in the world to utilize ventilation air methane as primary fuel. The world's first VAM Power Plant is scheduled for commissioning during 2006. A full-scale plant, taking the entire flow of ventilation air, would generate a net of around 20 MW of electricity.
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