 |
Dhanbad, Jan. 21: Frequent fires in the mines of Jharia and Raniganj and the alarming rate of emission of greenhouse gases have left the coal ministry concerned.
At a time when the world is seriously scouting for ways to battle global warming, these gases are only helping the temperature soar. To contain the ill effects, the ministry has decided to conduct an extensive survey on the impact of greenhouse gas emission.
The Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR) in Dhanbad has been assigned the task of developing an effective method of estimating the impact.
Director of the institute Amlendu Sinha said that the study would be conducted in the coal fields of Jharia and Raniganj. The project would take three years for completion and involve an expenditure of Rs 3.54 crore.
Siddharth Singh, a scientist of the geo-environment department of the institute, who is associated with the project, added combustion of coal reserves emits gases, particulates and aerosol that have a deleterious impact, in different forms and magnitudes, on the environment.
The combustion gases and particulates of concern for this research study are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. These gases contribute to the greenhouse effect that eventually causes global warming. On the other hand, particulates of interest for research are sulphates, nitrates and black carbon.
Singh said that besides greenhouse gas emission, “real-time presence” or load of combustion particles in the air would also be studied.
Regarding estimation of the quantity of combustion particles, Singh pointed out that it would be a unique study since no data had been available till now. No such study has ever been conducted in Jharia and Raniganj before.
The third component of the research will be quantification or estimation of greenhouse gas sink, which means greenhouse vegetation around mine fire areas, with the help of satellite data.
It will be done in two parts — the first part is concerned with quantification while the second part is related to the estimation of carbon sequestration (absorption) potential of green vegetation.
Information generated during the research project will be used to mitigate carbon dioxide concentration through terrestrial sequestration — a tool used in this study to regulate carbon dioxide, the most potent greenhouse gas emitted during mine fires.
