College of Mining, National University of Science and Technology – MISIS, Moscow, Russia:

S. V. Slastunov, Professor, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, slastunovsv@mail.ru

SUEK-Kuzbass, Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Russia:
E. P. Yutyaev, Chief Executive Office, Candidate of Engineering Sciences
E. V. Mazanik, Director of Environmental Safety of Mining, Candidate of Engineering Sciences

Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision, Moscow, Russia:

G. P. Ermak, Head of Coal Industry Supervision

The article addresses the issues of development of new efficient technologies for underground degassing of coal beds. The ways of improving coal bed permeability by hydrodynamic treatment by hydraulic fracturing contributing to intensified coalbed methane recovery are discussed. Improved and in-situ trialed, the new coal bed degassing technology, as against the basic pre-mine drainage approach, allows more efficient methane recovery at the relatively low cost and using the available mine equipment. The trials have shown valued results connected with the application of the new improved technology of hydraulic fracturing and intensified pre-degassing of an extraction panel and with the method of direct determination of reservoir pressure of methane in coal bed not relieved of the load of rock pressure. Efficiency of the new coal bed degassing technology is based on reaching three basic effects, namely, reduction in natural gas content of coal bed, increase in residual gas content of coal by shutting methane in finest pores and flaws by fluid and, as a consequence, decrease in methane release in production headings, and, finally, intensive degassing of extraction panel in delineating temporary roadways.
The authors express their deepest gratitude to A. P. Sadov, A. V. Ponizov, V. I. Gavrilov, V. S. Smetanin, Yu. A. Semykin, A. M.-B. Khautiev, S. L. Demin, I. A. Komissarov, I. A. Kurmanov, A. V. Malafeev and other fellow members of SUEK-Kuzbass company for their active participation in the test preparation and performance.

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