The concept is being promoted by Professor Bohdan Zakiewicz for the Polish Laboratory for Radical Technologies. Prof. Zakiewicz has a track record in improving efficiency and making mining activities cleaner and holds a range of patents for associated technologies.

The CEEC was presented at a conference entitled “Polish Science for the 7th Framework Programme: Sustainable Energy and Efficient Use of Energy Resources,” held at the Polish Embassy in Brussels on March 25th.

CEEC is based on underground coal gasification (UCG), a well-known industrial process that enables coal to be converted into synthetic gas (syngas). The process is the same as for IGCC above the surface.

The novel technology proposed by CEEC involves a large diameter shaft (a Super Daisy Shaft (SDS)) containing a series of processing pipes (known as Jet Stingers) which would be distributed underground. The pipes are multipurpose and will be used to inject propellants in order to fracture the coal seems (seismically induced fracturing), to transport steam and hot gases for the pyrolitic coal processing and to extract syngas. Syngas consists primarily of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, in addition to some carbon dioxide.

Each project would be expected to have a duration of approximately 25 years. The underground chamber which is left behind after the gasification process is planned to be back-filled with e.g. biomass in order to avoid subsidence and contamination of water entering the empty space where pollutants such as mercury are left in the ash.

The level of CO₂ emissions can be reduced by 50 percent compared to state-of-the-art above-the-ground coal-fired power plants because the heat loss will be lower and the efficiency level attain 66 percent. Underground mining could reduce ecosystem damages and uncontrollable methane emissions. CO₂ capture and storage can be performed as for any above-the-ground IGCC coal-fired power plant. In the shaft used for drilling, pipes can be included for closed-loop geothermal energy extraction.

“There are many environmental advantages to this method, as well as being economically viable. We believes that it could be an excellent alternative to over-ground coal gasification used in CO₂ capture and storage given its potential to reduce the negative effects of coal exploitation on the environment,” said Professor Zakiewicz.

“The use of syngas has a potential of being more efficient than the direct combustion of coal and could provide environmental advantages given close monitoring and control – especially with regard to underground fracturing, waste products (acid/disposal water, ash, mercury etc), subsidence and carbon monoxide/carbon dioxide emissions” said Jan Havlik from Bellona.

The Polish Laboratory for Radical Technology explained that there is a pilot plant in the pipeline with the proposed location of Paruszowiec (Upper Silesia, Poland). The project will cost €55-70 million  with the predicted cost of power generation of €0.020 euro/ kWh. The expected date of completion is within two years.