UT Tae Ta Ta RAO ICE af Rodney H. De Bruin, Robert M. Lyman, Richard W. Jones, and Lance W. Cook WYOMING STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PCA ee LOM CCN Chis Term Ont pars CRUE ad &, a (Cenasc) & neeSEU UCC COC au UCU ea One en ee CCU cucictl during the conversion of plant material to coal (the process known as coalification). Gas produced from aes er ae eee eC aoa methane, with a minor amount (1.5 to 2%) of carbon dioxide (CO,). Coalbed methane produced in other COR URC Ce ae SoM ee Led EDC Sune eeu higher hydrocarbons (ethane, propane, butane, et.), Se ee On) Ceres De eT ee Rec ane well has a heating value of about 1000425 British Thermal Units (Btus) per standard cubic foot. One Ce eee Rd eee ge ee ag ‘consumed by @ person in the U.S, in about 1.2 days. POT eee Ree oe nel Cees eu eae it OO eee en eee lated and was preserved in ancient swamps and bogs eee Ne cee ck) Pee en Sd ere Et ae material is expelled. Through time and as the tem- perature increases with further burial, ever-increas- eee ee) by subbituminous coal and bituminous coal. If the heat (and pressure) is great enough, anthracite (the Deca s At these different stages of coalification, vari ‘ous hydrocarbons (called volatile matter, including een coe error) Po ee ee eT OMe Rn eae ee ee ed ec eck When the temperature exceeds that in which bacte- ria can live, thermogenic methane (that attributed to Des The coalification process can stop at any time, depending on geologic conditions, leaving what we see today as varying ranks of coal, Much of the meth- ane generated by the coalification process escapes to the surface or migrates into adjacent reservoir or other rocks, but a portion is trapped within the Cee ee ee micropores of the coal. PLS RUCeCU CeCe rice Cun cud methane is generated as a by-product of bacterial ere eee eee eee ea Rem eum Cunt ee ee In fresh water environments, methane production Pee ECs ues and Claypool, 1981). Species of anaerobic bacteria CR Ss) UCU ee ILE dioxide and produce methane through anaerobic respiration (Rice and Claypool, 1981). IME ce eater carne about 122°F (Figure 1), and after a sufficient amount SRR ees erated, about two-thirds of the original moisture has Dee eR eC eu Pee AO Ee RUC PR ee Pere ae) Se Le Re ee RR ee rT) by thermogenesis from coal during coalification. De ea odPm ed Pee eee er Ce Roe ca dioxide, and nitrogen are generated as coalification proceeds to approximately the rank of high volatile De ee ee) of carbon dioxide, with little methane generation ‘occurs at about 210°F. Generation of thermogenic methane begins in the higher ranks of the high vola Coe Eee a cal Ce a ue a ce De ee a ue cy Pe ea ced higher rank coals, methane is still generated, but at Se Cm er Ce ee Re ed rocks and the reservoir rocks, gas storage in coal Pee en) reservoirs (e.g., carbonate and sandstone). Although coalbed methane can (and does) migrate to non-coal reservoir rocks, once the gas leaves the coal beds it ee meee) methane reservoirs contain unique properties for eee ene et cae ee ae According to Yee and others (1993), coalbed Dee ee eee) within the micropores (pores with a diameter of less PURO Tee eae cons in the coal); 2) as dissolved gas in water within the CeO Eee Pee Decoy pi en ee Cen eee tea ‘comprise the coal mass), micropores, and cleats in CE EE ee st a ee structure of the coal molecules. Sen Se Leen ticular volume of coal can be very large. Coals at ‘shallower depths with good cleat development con- Pe een ce eum oC ares while the percentage of adsorbed methane gener- ally increases with increasing pressure (depth) and eC ec Re ec Ra Cee Re ec kas feet of gas per short ton of coal (SCFiton) contain as UTES Ulu eee ETL Lue ey found in Wyoming that produce coalbed methane eae er ee ea Bituminous and subbituminous coal beds occur in all 10 coal fields of the state (Figure 2); these coal Pee un cue a RUC case UU eter ec and Tertiary in age and occur ina variety of structural and stratigraphic settings (Jonos, 1990, 1994). [Much of the following discussion on Wyoming coal fields is extracted from Glass (1997). That report contains an ae ne aa reserves, and coal bed descriptions.] Cee ee OR SON ea cece lower in rank and have not attained enough thermal FORO Cn nen Perec ead coalbed methane, Deeply buried Cretaceous coals in the Bighorn, Wind River, and Green River coal fields have probably reached ranks that correspond to sig- nificant thermogenic methane generation. ee Ree cg Cee eeu eas TC a cd been deeply buried and have reached sufficient De eR ad eee a Can ED River, Bighorn, Hanna, and Green River coal fields. Pee ec Cee Pee UDR River Coal Field contain biogenic coalbed methane. Several individual Tertiary coal beds are 100 feet (or more) thick and contain large amounts of coalbed COC Ce aE Methane associated with coal beds has been observed in nearly all the coal-bearing areas in Wyoming (Figure 3). Evidence for its occurrence Te SM Cu Le cores, surface venting of gas, gas-related explosions Peer Cee cues PU eee RU CUE eer tao)