Coal seam methane gas is a hydrocarbon composed of four hydrogen ions around a central carbon atom to form a methane molecule (CH4).

The gas is generated within the coal as a result of the metamorphic process that occurs during the transition of peat to anthracite coal. Coal seam methane is natural gas.  Methane = CH4 = H-H-C-H-H, which is the same as: conventional gas, landfill gas, peat gas.  Coal seam methane or CSM is produced during the creation of coal from peat. The methane in CSM is adsorbed onto the surface of micropores in the coal.  The amount of methane adsorbed increases with pressure.  CSM is expelled fro the seam over geologic time because coal has the capacity to hold only about a tenth of the methane it produces.  Coal seam methane refers to the source of the methane, but the gas is indistinguishable from conventional natural gas.  Methane is the primary constituent of conventional natural gas and of CSM. How is CSM extracted Coal seams are usually saturated with water and the water’s hydrostatic pressure keeps the methane adsorbed on the coal.  To obtain methane from coal, water is pumped from a well, reducing pressure and causing methane to desorb and begin to flow from the coal.  The coal must be very permeable to allow the gas to flow in large quantity through the coal to the producing well.  The gas flow increases as water pressure decreases.  Within months, gas flow can be sufficiently high that pumping of water ceases and gas continues to flow. “Natural gas” is a mixture of predominantly methane and other hydrocarbon gases compounds.  Methane is the main constituent of natural gas;  other components include heavier hydrocarbons such as ethane, propane and butane, and carbon dioxide and nitrogen.

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