Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Science & Technology: Geothermal Resource at 46 Degrees Celsius from Abandoned Coal Mines

Mine water heat under the PhD spotlight (Coal Authority)

Better understanding of a potential new energy resource for coalfield areas is being researched by a PhD student in conjunction with the Coal Authority.

University of Edinburgh student Mylène Receveur is being partly-sponsored by the Coal Authority to expand our understanding of the geothermal warming of mine waters.

Mylène’s thesis - Investigating geothermal heat resources of legacy mine workings, why are some mine waters hotter than others? - will explore the key controls that create differences between different sites.

When mines are abandoned and the pumps which kept them dry are switched off, the roadways, galleries and fractures fill with groundwater, which is heated by geothermal energy from the earth’s core to temperatures of 11 to 20°C close to the surface and up to 46°C in deeper coal seams.

Read More.........