UCG, GTL and the Environment

01 Environment Series
This information sheet provides an overview of the potential environmental impacts and benefits of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) and Gas to Liquids (GTL) technologies. Most of the impacts and benefits summarised below are described further in other information sheets.
CORPORATE SERIES UCG SERIES GTL SERIES ENVIRONMENT SERIES

Linc Energys environmental philosophy

Linc Energy is committed to developing its organisation in an environmentally responsible manner and recognises the importance of environmental issues in UCG technology. The Linc Energy environmental policy is available on the website.

that often arise with traditional coal mining. Compared with conventional coal to liquids or surface gasification for power, UCG eliminates the need for a surface gasification plant. Such plants are capital and energy intensive. Compared with conventional gas or coal seam gas production, UCG creates significantly more energy for the same land area, meaning UCG takes up a smaller space. When used for power generation, UCG syngas results in a 25 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with coal-fired power stations. There are excellent prospects to implement carbon capture and sequestration for UCG technology, because carbon capture is integral to the process of cleaning the gas prior to later use.

>0.001%: Sulphur in GTL produced FT diesel, meaning onboard vehicle catalytic converters operate to maximum efficiency, reducing air emissions. 25%: Reduction in greenhouse 35%: Reduction in particulate
gas emissions when UCG syngas is used for power generation. PM-10 emissions when FT diesel is used in diesel engines.

What is Underground Coal Gasification?

UCG is the in-situ conversion of coal to a gas (called synthesis gas or syngas) through a series of reactions involving heat, pressure, coal and water. Apart from the drilling of wells into the coal seam and the requirement for some aboveground gas gathering infrastructure, the process does not require large scale disturbance of the soil profile or overlying rock to access the coal resource.

43%: Reduction in hydrocarbon

emissions when FT diesel is used in diesel engines.

CC: Part of the CCS (Carbon

Capture and Sequestration) equation that is already in place for GTL plants.

Benefits of UCG
Compared to coal mining, UCG eliminates the need for large scale soil and overburden removal and coal wash plants. This eliminates issues such as acid mine drainage, spoil dumps, coal fines storage dams, mining rehabilitation, fly ash disposal and methane emissions, when compared with coal seams that are traditionally mined. Once a UCG operation is finished, the soil profile remains intact and the land can be used again afterwards. This reduces the land use conflicts

Potential impacts of UCG

All industrial processes have some form of environmental impact that can be unacceptable if not managed properly. Linc Energy believes the impacts of UCG can be minimised through effective design and operation. Understanding potential impacts is important to ensure effective management and control of risks. The key environmental impacts to be considered are: Subsidence of the land surface In the same way that underground

mining can result in subsidence, there is a similar risk for UCG. The extent of the risk depends on coal seam thickness, depth to coal seam, strength of overlying rock and the width of coal extracted by gasification. Once these factors are understood, UCG operations can be designed to minimise the likelihood of subsidence. Lowering the water table Some groundwater is drawn into the UCG process and used in the gasification reactions. The extent of drawdown can be managed by selecting appropriate sites for UCG, through appropriate monitoring and control and effective water management and recycling.

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UCG, GTL and the Environment

01 Environment Series
Changes to groundwater quality and chemistry Years of experience by Linc Energy at its Chinchilla operations have proven that through effective operational control, it is possible to prevent migration of contaminants away from the area of the cavity and into the wider groundwater environment. Linc Energys experience is that where levels of contaminants have been detected, they have typically been well below standards for groundwater quality. Greenhouse gas emissions Like most processes that rely on combustion of fossil fuels to generate energy, UCG generates CO. Importantly, UCG provides the opportunity for removal and sequestration of this CO, and provides other benefits relative to conventional coal-fired power generation. This includes improved thermal efficiency that can provide benefits in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

Benefits of GTL
Diesel engines afford fuel consumption advantages over gasoline fuelled vehicles. Linc Energys UCG to GTL vision will increase the availability and application of diesel as a transport fuel in countries where its technologies are applied. FT diesel contains virtually no aromatics and sulphur. FT diesel can be used in existing vehicles and infrastructure. This means that there would be no need for complete replacement of vehicles, refineries and distribution systems if FT diesel was in widespread use. Burning of any hydrocarbons releases air emissions that can cause photo-chemical smog and contribute to health problems. The main health risk for Australians arises from particulate matter (PM-10) and hydrocarbon emissions. FT diesel is significantly cleaner burning than conventional diesel, resulting in substantially lower emissions of PM-10 and hydrocarbons. The widespread use of FT diesel would lead to significantly lower emissions of air toxins than conventional diesel. By producing fuel locally, there would be a reduction in shipping of crude oil into the country. This makes the overall supply chain more efficient and reduces the risk of ocean oil spills.

Potential impacts of GTL

Impacts associated with a GTL plant and its products are very similar to conventional oil refining. They include: Generation of wastes such as coal tar and other oils, which can be further refined into useful products. Generation of air and noise emissions, typical of an oil refinery. The emission of greenhouse gases from the GTL plant.

1. BHP Billiton, 2002. Case Study B20: Electricity Production Using Underground Coal Gasification (UCG). Newcastle, Australia. 2. Beer et al, 2000. Life-cycle Emissions Analysis of Alternative Fuels for Heavy Vehicles Stage 1. CSIRO Atmospheric Research Report C/0411/1.1/F2 to the Australian Greenhouse Office. CSIRO, Aspendale, Victoria. 3. Beer et al, undated. Comparison of Transport Fuels. CSIRO Final Report to the Australian Greenhouse Office on the Stage 2 Study of Life Cycle Analysis of Alternative Fuels for Heavy Vehicles.

Around 60 UCG trials have been conducted around the world. Two resulted in groundwater contamination. These trials were operated significantly outside the boundaries of what we know today to be safe limits. These sites were successfully remediated.

What is Gas to Liquids?

GTL is a catalytic process that converts synthesis gas into ultraclean synthetic liquid hydrocarbons by the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process. The products, after refining, include high quality FT diesel.

About Linc Energy

Linc Energy is an Australian energy company which listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in May 2006 and the OTCQX in December 2007. Through the unique combination of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) and conventional Fischer-Tropsch technology to produce Gas to Liquids (GTL), Linc Energy is developing a significant energy business based on the production of cleaner energy solutions for the future.

Related information information sheets Related sheets

Overview of Underground Overview of Underground Coal Coal Gasification Gasification Overview of Gas to Liquids Overview of Gas to Liquids UCG and Greenhouse UCG Greenhouse Gas Emissions Gas and Emissions UCG and Groundwater UCG and Groundwater

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Important disclaimer: Information contained in this information sheet is provided for information only and Linc Energy makes no warranties as to its accuracy and completeness. Use of information contained in this information sheet is at the sole risk of the user. Linc Energy has made reasonable efforts to ensure that information in this information sheet is accurate at the time of its compilation, however there may be inadvertent errors or omissions for which Linc Energy apologises. To the extent permitted by law, Linc Energy accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage, cost or expense whatsoever incurred by any person as a result of any use of or error or omission in or relating to, the information contained in this information sheet.