Harnessing energy for a cleaner tomorrow

A world first in the Dalby region could make a real difference to the future of power generation, liquid fuels, chemicals and fertilisers.

In the race to harness the potential of the Surat Basin, an exciting new company has emerged.  Carbon Energy Pty Ltd is embarking on large scale energy projects based on the cleaner use of coal.

In November, Carbon Energy commenced a world-first, with its 100-day, $20 million trial to demonstrate the sustainability of its underground gasification method at Bloodwood Creek (about 45 km west of Dalby) – converting the energy from coal into syngas on a commercial scale.

According to General Manager Operations John Wedgwood, syngas (a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide) is extremely versatile and can be used as a low emission fuel gas for power generation, and as feedstock for the production of liquid fuels, chemicals and fertilisers.  It can be further transformed into a zero-emission hydrogen with potential uses in fuel cells, turbines and as a transport fuel.

“Put all the science aside and we’re talking about a product that has the potential to make a real difference to the transport, energy and farming industries,” John said.
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The trial hasn’t just come out of the blue.  It’s based on many years of research conducted by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and in fact, Carbon Energy was initially a 50-50 joint venture between CSIRO and Metex Resources Pty Ltd, now a 100% publicly owned company.
In another exciting step forward for its UCG trial, in May 2008 Carbon Energy announced plans to undertake a joint venture with Incitec Pivot Limited relating to the production of ammonia (and related products). 
Results from the Bloodwood Creek trial will be used as part of feasibility studies to be undertaken with Incitec to confirm the suitability of Carbon Energy’s UCG syngas for ammonia production which is in turn used in fertiliser and chemical production.

The trial will be also used to study the syngas’ suitability for methanol production in conjunction with chemical and synthetic resin company LyondellBasell.
John said UCG is proving to be a promising way to make best use of coal resources as its environmentalfootprint is small compared with coal seam gas (CSG) extraction and conventional mining.
“UCG is the lowest cost, lowest emission option for using deep thermal coal andoffers some very exciting, environmentally sustainable development opportunities,” he said.