Projects
Felton Clean Coal Project
Felton, Queensland, Australia
Ambre Energy Limited is proposing to build and operate a world-class clean coal gasification plant and open-cut coal mine at Felton, 30km south west of Toowoomba in Queensland.
The Felton North coal deposit will provide the coal feedstock for Ambre Energy's Felton Clean Coal Project. The initial demonstration stage of this project will be commercially viable, and involves the construction and operation of a coal gasification plant to produce a hydrogen-rich syngas for the following purposes:
- Production of 227 million litres per year of dimethyl ether (DME)
- Generation of 51 MW of electricity, 10MW of which will be needed to power the plant.
Ambre Energy has applied for mining leases in respect of the demonstration stage. MLA 50245 and MLA 50246 cover an area of about 355 hectares on the western edge of what is commonly referred to as the Felton Valley. This area will include both mining and infrastructure. The company has also acquired the freehold title to a 96 ha property within this area. It is proposed that a site office for the project be established on this property.
The Felton North deposit extends south and west of the demonstration site. Further mining lease applications will be made so that the coal mine will ultimately progress west, away from the Felton Valley and into a series of hills dominated by Mount Rolleston. Mined land will be rehabilitated on a continuous basis, so that no more than 300 hectares of land will be disturbed in the course of mining at any one time.
After successful commissioning of the demonstration stage, it is proposed to expand the plant to process 3.8 million tonnes (Mt) of coal per year, for annual production of about 800,000 tonnes of DME and 200 MW of power.
Of great significance is the fact that the plant will also capture the bulk of the CO2 (1,339 tonnes per day) produced by the process, for potential use as an enhancement for oil recovery at depleted fields, or for geosequestration. This will be one of the first projects in Australia where CO2 will be captured in a sufficiently pure form to facilitate participation in one of the proposed geosequestration trials being considered by a number of government and corporate interests.