STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF HEAT DISTRIBUTION ON SURROUNDING ROCKS DURING THE UNDERGROUND COAL GASIFICATION (UCG) PROCESS USING COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS

• Main Author: Faishal Aly P.A., Azhar
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/85517
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) is a technology that enables coal gasification to occur directly below the earth's surface. UCG is a process that converts coal into gaseous fuel or syngas. This research uses the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method to simulate heat distribution and its impact on the surrounding rocks during the UCG process. The simulation results show that the pillar width variation influences the heat distribution. In the case of a 40 m pillar width variation, the temperature distributed in the pillar shows high values, exceeding 200?. Meanwhile, with a 70 m pillar width variation, the temperature distributed in the pillar ranges around 150?. The simulation results also indicate that heat is distributed not only horizontally towards the panel but also vertically, affecting the surrounding rocks. The simulation results show that the temperature distribution in sandstone is more extensive compared to mudstone. The simulation results also reveal that significant temperature variations occur only around the gasification zone, which leads to changes in the mechanical properties of the rocks, particularly uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and elastic modulus. This study demonstrates that pillar stability is influenced by thermal properties and overburden pressure. The factors affecting the heat distribution include pillar width, the physical and mechanical properties of the rocks, and the thermal conductivity of the rocks, which determines how easily the rocks conduct heat.