石炭層メタンの採掘技術・利用目的の現状と将来展望

Abstract

The residual reserves of oil and natural gas in the world are able to be mined for only about 40 and 60 years. On the other hand, it is estimated in the long-term future that the thermal nuclear fusion will be utilized to the main energy, and that the atomic power generation and another natural energies will be utilized to the supplementary and local energies.Coal is reserved over about 11 trillion tons in all the world and about 15 billion tons in Japan. In Hokkaido iland, coal is reserved about 8 billion tons and coal seam methane is reserved about 300 billion m3. But the amount over 90 % of these coal and coal seam methane can not be mined by the now technologies.The auther evaluates the now mining technologies and utilizing purposes of coal seam methane, and proposes the following items.(1) From the viewpoints of the available utilization of fosile resources and the groval environments, the coal seam methane have to be utilized to the energy resources of fuel cell etc. and the raw material of chemical products.(2) In order to mine and utilize the native coal seam methane that are reserved in japanese interior, the inovatie mining and utilizing technologies have to be researched and developed in Japan.(3) These researches and developments have to be enforced at once by Japanese Gavernment.