{"id":60146396,"date":"2026-08-13T17:08:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T16:08:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?post_type=news_digest&p=60146396"},"modified":"2026-09-04T09:13:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T08:13:42","slug":"east-china-neighbourhood-pilots-central-cooling-using-deserted-coal-mine-water","status":"publish","type":"news_digest","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/east-china-neighbourhood-pilots-central-cooling-using-deserted-coal-mine-water\/","title":{"rendered":"East China city cools homes using water from abandoned coal mine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Amid a countrywide heatwave, a neighbourhood in Xuzhou has been keeping nearly 100 households cool using an unlikely source: water from one of the city\u2019s many abandoned coal mines.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the Woniushan mine closed, it gradually filled up with groundwater, creating a large underground reservoir of cool water, noted<\/a> Xinhua.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The central cooling system pumps water from this reservoir to a heat exchange station, where water is kept at around 20C. The cooled water is then transported to residents\u2019 underfloor heating pipes. With outside temperatures exceeding 35C, the system has kept houses around 10C cooler, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After circulating in the underfloor pipes, the water is pumped back to the mine in a closed loop, ensuring a continuous supply of cool water and no wastage, noted<\/a> China Environment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compared to air conditioning, the central cooling system halves energy consumption, said<\/a> Zhang Tao, head of research and development at Jiangsu Xukuang Heating, which is conducting the pilot. It also avoids the \u201curban heat island\u201d issue caused by air conditioning units expelling heat back into the environment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key challenge for this cooling method is dehumidification. If the temperature of the underfloor heating pipes is too low, condensation will form, potentially leading to slippery floors and mouldy furniture. To mitigate this, the project team developed a water-cooled dehumidifier, and added fans and supporting pipes to stabilise humidity, Xinhua reported. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can such central cooling be implemented on a large scale in places with abandoned mines? This will depend on factors such as the presence of a large groundwater reservoir, and whether the mine water has impurities that will corrode existing pipelines, Zhang Xiaosong, a professor at Southeast University and head of the project\u2019s research team, told Xinhua. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Dialogue Earth\u2019s previous <\/em>analysis<\/em><\/a> on Shanxi\u2019s coal phase-out.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amid a countrywide heatwave, a neighbourhood in Xuzhou has been keeping nearly 100 households cool using an unlikely source: water from one of the city\u2019s many abandoned coal mines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":60006649,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_has_post_settings":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[761],"tags":[17827,543],"country":[20000110],"digest-collection":[50039911],"class_list":["post-60146396","news_digest","type-news_digest","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","tag-climate-adaptation","tag-extreme-weather","country-china"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEast China city cools homes using water from abandoned coal mine | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Amid a heatwave, a Xuzhou neighbourhood has been keeping 100 households cool using water from one of the city\u2019s many abandoned coal mines\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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