CMM solutions firm Biothermica said its VAMOX abatement system was now fully operational at the longwall complex in Brookwood, south of Birmingham, and was at work destroying ventilation air methane at the mine.

The system, which has received federal approvals from the US Mine Safety and Health Administration, first oxidised methane on January 26. The medium-sized unit at JWR4 processes vent air at a rate of 30,000 cubic feet per minute to garner emission reductions of greenhouse gas of about 40,000 tons of CO2 equivalent annually.

"We are extremely satisfied with the performance and reliability of our system after only a few weeks of operation," VAMOX development director Nicolas Duplessis said.

Biothermica president Guy Drouin noted that ventilation air from a mine accounted for approximately 50-70% of all CMM emissions.

“VAMOX can certainly play a significant role in helping the coal mining industry minimise its environmental impact. Building on the success of our venture in Alabama, we plan to develop similar projects in close partnership with other US mines," Drouin said.

Jim Walter’s mining engineering general manager, Thomas McNider, said that the VAMOX technology was simple to utilise because none of a mine’s existing equipment needed to be modified; in fact, the system ran independently from a ventilation system.

"Once again, Jim Walter Resources leads the industry by implementing a new technology that captures and utilises methane to achieve a cleaner coal production," McNider said.

Biothermica fully validated the Jim Walters project within the outlines of the voluntary carbon standard, or VCS, and it is one of the first to be listed on the recently launched APX VCS Registry.

JWR4 and sister mine No. 7 both extract from the Blue Creek Coal seam and ship to customers on five continents.