Residual Gas Content of Coal in the Light of Observations from the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Poland

Through centuries coalbed methane (CBM) was only treated as a hazard for coal mining operations. Fortunately, this point of view has changed and now the methane is also perceived as a valuable source of energy, if captured and utilized, or as an impedence for the Earth’s climate, if released to the atmosphere. These three faces of CBM force mining engineers, geologists and environmental officers to assess the amounts of methane captured in coal, available for recovery and capable for venting to the air. But anybody who wants to make any reliable assessment of CBM resources or describe rules the amount of gas release from coal depends on needs to take into account a lot of gassy characteristics of coal.