POTENCJAŁ ZASOBOWY WĘGLA BRUNATNEGO W POLSCE I MOŻLIWOŚCI JEGO WYKORZYSTANIA

Abstract

RESOURCE LIGNITE POTENTIAL IN POLAND AND ITS USABILITY

Abstract. Very rich lignite resources of Poland actually exceed 37 Pt (measured, indicated, inferred and reconnaissance ones together). In fact, only a little part of them is really accessible. It is caused by conflict with elements of natural environment and also, increasingly. with constantly developing infrastructure. Therefore, preservation of the most valuable deposits against building over their surface is a substantial
trouble: the deposits designed to preservation should be predicted after a complex valorization. Beside commonly used opencast mining of lignite, some unconventional technologies of lignite utilization are considered. Among them, underground lignite processing inside a deposit for gaining of gas – an equivalent of natural gas – underground coal gasification (UCG) and bacterial unerground coal conversion (BUCC) looks like most attractive. The question of physical lignite transportation to the surface and its burning in power plants looks to be avoided in both the cases. However, an impact of underground coal processind on the surface should not be disregarded. In many cases, it may be not lower than in the case of mining excavation, and it is usually much less predictable. Therefore, opencast lignite excavation is a safest method of lignite exploitation.