Abstract

The technical and economic feasibility of utilizing in-situ gasification to recover energy from deep basin Texas lignite has been under investigation during the past three years at UT. Austin. The low-Btu gas produced can be utilized for production of electric power or as a chemical feedstock. The economic and technical factors which make the in-situ process attractive have been indentified. Potential problem areas have also been evaluated. A discussion of previous operating experience in the U. S. and Russia will be given. Since Texas lignite is a shrinking coal, a three-step conversion process is envisioned: 1 drying; 2 backward burning; 3 forward burning. Steps 1 and 2 are permeability enhancement (seam preparation) processes, while the final step is the major gas production step. Laboratory work is presently under way to determine which geological, physical, and chemical conditions in Texas are condusive to economic application of in-situ gasification, and to develop a design and operating basis for eventual field testing.