Main challenges of closed/abandoned coal mine resource utilization in China

ABSTRACT

China launches large-scale coal mines closure plan. This paper discusses the utilization of underground space and the redevelopment of energy resources after mine closure and points out main challenges. Suggestions are made: Chinese government needs to make the top-level planning, design, and guidance to balance economic, social, and environmental interest. Researchers and engineers need to investigate the underground available space characteristics and guarantee the underground space safety; deal with mechanism, basic theories, and key technologies for domestic unconventional natural gas development and utilization; develop a mature underground gasification development and utilization technology system; reveal the groundwater contamination mechanism and improve the water resource quality; and pay attention to microbial community shifts in response to pollution during the process of closed/abandoned coal mines restoration.

KEYWORDS:

• Closed/abandoned coal mine
• space resource
• energy resource
• groundwater
• pollution

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank “the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities” (2017QNA35).

Competing interests

Authors declare no competing interests.

Data and materials availability

All data are available in the main text.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [2017QNA35];