Patent ID: 9428978
Filing Date: 2016-08-30
CPC Classification: E21B

Claim Text:
1. A method for shortening an injection well liner during underground coal gasification, the method comprising: providing an apparatus for performing underground coal gasification in a gasification cavity, the apparatus having an injection well with a casing and an injection well liner with an annulus in between through which an oxidizing gas is injected, the injection well liner having one or more liner portions and one or more linkage portions in between the one or more liner portion and each of the one or more linkage portions has one of a different mechanical property and a different physical property than each of the one or more liner portions so that the one or more linkage portions disintegrate before the one or more liner portions during the underground coal gasification process; injecting the oxidizing gas through a proximal end of the injection well; outputting the oxidizing gas only through a distal end of the injection well into a gasification cavity; repositioning a point of injection of the oxidizing gas into the gasification cavity by disintegrating at least one of the one or more linkage portions of the injection well liner due to one of the different mechanical property and the different physical property of the at least one of the one or more linkage portions being exceeded by a property of the underground coal gasification process to shorten the injection well liner; and outputting the oxidizing gas into the gasification cavity only at a new distal end of the injection well created when the at least one linkage portion disintegrates due to temperature during the underground coal gasification process and the at least one linkage portion and a liner portion connected to the at least one linkage portion falls off the distal end of the injection well.