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Climate change induced partly by emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) is an urgent issue worldwide, calling for advanced methods of carbon sequestration. Since CO2-emitting industries often generate alkaline waste, sequestrating CO2 by mineral carbonation of alkaline waste is promising both for carbon capture and utilization, and for preventing waste disposal. Here we review the principles of mineral carbonation and we discuss mineral carbonation of alkaline waste and byproducts in Taiwan. We focus on wastes such as iron and steel slag, cement and concrete waste, incineration ash, coal combustion ash, and paper waste. We evaluate the CO2 reduction potential to reveal promising materials and industries. We found that 4.2 Mt CO2 can be directly sequestered annually. Moreover, the use of alternative materials in the cement and concrete industries can indirectly facilitate CO2 sequestration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of great significance for coal mining and utilization to study the adsorption process of mixed gas in coal. In this paper, the Monte Carlo method (MC) is employed to study the competitive saturation adsorption of oxygen and water vapor inside coal particles, and then the convection, diffusion and adsorption inside and between particles are studied by lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). In addition, this study examines the impacts of porosity, average particle size, and gas concentration on the process of adsorption in coal porous media. The research results show that oxygen and water vapor present in the mixed gas experience increased permeability, diffusion rate, and saturated adsorption capacity as the porosity and average particle size of the coal porous medium increase. However, the time required to achieve saturated adsorption decreases. Under the condition of maintaining the proportion of gas components and altering the initial gas concentrations from 4.087 to 53.131 mol/m3, saturated adsorption capacity of both gases remains nearly unchanged. Yet, the effective diffusivity of gases declines with increasing initial concentration. Additionally, it is also found that water vapor diffuses more quickly than oxygen in the mixed gas and achieves adsorption saturation faster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the accuracy of early warning on coal spontaneous combustion (CSC), this paper, on the basis of the principle of preferential selection of index gases in CSC process, carries out fitting analysis of the variation curve of index gas data with coal temperature by combining logistic fitting model, then establishes a CSC graded warning system based on positive pressure beam tube monitoring, and determines CO, O2, φ(CO)/φ(O2), C2H4, C2H6, φ(C2H4)/φ(C2H6) as the index gases for predicting and forecasting CSC, and accurately divides the CSC process into seven levels of early warning: safe, gray, blue, yellow, orange, red, and black. Applying the CSC positive pressure beam tube monitoring system to Dongtan coal mine and analyzing the error by manual sampling and sampling by positive pressure beam tube system, we find that the error is less than 0.1%. Monitoring of several working faces, we get that the CO and CH4 concentrations of 14,320 working face are higher than the normal level at the beginning of mining, and the 100 × CO/ΔO2 value is higher than the gray warning threshold of 0.1, and the warning level is gray warning. After taking timely preventive measures against coal oxidation and warming, the CO and CH4 concentrations return to the normal level and the warning level drops to the safe level. This paper improves the monitoring, identifying and early warning capabilities of underground CSC in its early stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the pore structure and methane adsorption properties of the primary structural and tectonic coals of the Handan Jiulong Mine were analyzed using low-temperature nitrogen adsorption experiments and isothermal adsorption tests. The relationship between pore structure and adsorption properties was discussed. The study results show that the total pore volume and specific surface area of the tectonic coal in the Jiulong Mine are larger than those of the primary structural coal. Small pores comprise most of the pore volume in the primary structural coal, followed by micropores and medium pores. The pore volume of the tectonic coal primarily consists of small pores, followed by micropores and medium pores. Micropores and medium pores consist of approximately the same volume. The specific surface area of both the tectonic coal and the primary structural coal is primarily micropores, followed by small, and medium pores. The microporous and small pore structures of the tectonic coal have open pore morphology. The pore shapes are primarily in the shape of ink bottles. The coal sample of primary structural coal contains both open pore morphology and numerous closed pore morphology. The pore shape is mainly columnar. The pressure-boosting adsorption process of coal samples conforms to the Langmuir isothermal adsorption equation. The maximum adsorption capacity of tectonic coals is greater than that of primary structural coals. The adsorption capacity and Langmuir volume (VL) of coal samples decrease with increasing temperature, while the Langmuir pressure (PL) increases with temperature. The larger the pore volume of coal samples, especially the micropore volume, the greater the adsorption capacity, and the richer the specific surface area of micro-pores, creating a more substantial adsorption capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the molecular structure characteristics of coal at the molecular level is of great significance to realize the rational utilization and efficient conversion of coal. This paper gives insights into the acquisition of characterization parameters of coal molecular microstructure by testing and analyzing the long flame coal from Qinggangping (QGP) Coal Mine through proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, vitrinite reflectance determination, fourier transform infrared Spectroscopy test (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron epectroscopy test (XPS), carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that benzene rings in the QGP coal are mainly connected in a disubstituted way, accounting for 36.48%. Oxygen atoms mainly exist in the oxygen-containing functional groups such as the ether C–O, C=O and –COO. Aliphatic hydrocarbons in the aliphatic group are mainly of symmetrical -CHx stretching vibration. Hydroxyl groups are mainly composed of OH–OH and OH–O hydrogen bonds, accounting for 29.21% and 21.53%, respectively. Nitrogen atoms exist in the form of C4H5N. The coal molecular is mainly of aromatic carbon structure, where the ratio of bridge aromatic carbon to peripheral carbon is 0.198. There are benzene, naphthalene and anthracene in the coal molecular structure, and the former two chemicals play a dominating role. According to the analysis results, the molecular formula of the QGP coal is finally determined as C205H181O29N3S. On this basis, the two-dimensional and three-dimensional macromolecular models are constructed with the assistance of simulation software. In addition, the 13C-NMR spectra and densities of the constructed molecular models are calculated, which verifies the rationality of the models. The macromolecular structure model of bituminous coal constructed in this study provides a theoretical model basis for the optimal surfactant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper determines the optimal surfactant concentration for enhancing coal's wettability and explores the wetting mechanism at surfactant concentrations above the critical micelle concentration (CMC) during coal seam water injection. In this study, laboratory experiments and field tests were used to investigate the influence of monomeric surfactants and compound surfactants at various concentrations on coal's wettability. The results showed that when the surfactant solution concentration was greater than the CMC, the coal's wettability was significantly enhanced as the surfactant concentration increased. However, the coal's wettability did not monotonically increase with the concentration, and the maximum value was reached in the range of 0.5–3 wt.%. Increasing the surfactant adsorption density and changing the adsorption state on the coal surface were the essential reasons surfactants continued improving the coal's wettability at concentrations above the CMC. The Marangoni flow effect and changes in the viscosity of the surfactant solution with concentration were also important factors that affected the coal's wettability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wallpapers as the main decoration materials employed in the high-rise and civil buildings will cause fire when exposed to high temperature or high excessive current, which result in the loss of property and injuries. In order to reduce the fire risk caused by wallpapers, it is necessary to develop the study of wallpaper combustion behavior under different fluxes from 20 to 50 kWm−2 with 10 increments by fire propagation apparatus. In this study, three types of wallpapers (flame-retardant, water-proof and common) are investigated to deepen our understanding of vertical combustion behavior to reduce the fire risk of building caused by wallpaper fire. The visual observation, heat release rate, mass loss, ignition time, CO and CO2 yields, and TOC during the whole combustion process were analyzed to deepen the knowledge of combustion behaviors for different kinds of wallpapers. Flame-retardant and water-proof wallpapers will crack or bubble during the burning process. Under lower external heat flux, wallpapers will form charring layers during the burning process, while at high external heat fluxes, the formed charring layers will reduce to make combustion intensity fiercer. The formed charring layer will appear after burning for 10 to 20 s to inhibit the heat from the radiation and convection of the environment into sample to decrease combustion intensity. The transformed ignition time is linear with external heat flux, and the transformed index is equal to 1, which is consistent with thermal thin material. The CO2 yield of flame-retardant and common wallpapers is similar to CO yield except water-proof wallpaper, and with the fluxes increase, the gas yield of water-proof wallpaper increases first, then decreases and finally increases. The results and experimental data in this study can provide guidance for the fire protection department to assess the fire risk of wallpapers and ensure the safety of people in the buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical composition, surface morphology characteristics, and mineralogical characteristics of feed coals from six power plants were studied in this paper, as well as alteration behavior of mineral phase, functional groups, and trace elements during combustion. The apparent morphology of feed coals is different in compactness and order, while sharing a similar lamellar shape. Quartz, kaolinite, calcite, and illite are the main minerals in feed coals. There are obvious differences in the calorific value and temperature range in volatiles stages or coke combustion stages for feed coals. Peak positions for the main functional groups in feed coals are similar. After burning at 800 ℃, most organic functional groups in feed coals were lost in products, but the group of -CH2 on the side chain skeleton of n-alkane and the aromatic hydrocarbon bond (Ar–H) still existed in the ash, and the vibration of Si–O-Si bond and Al–OH bond in inorganic functional groups was strengthened. During combustion, Pb and Cr in feed coals will be accumulated in the mineral residues, unburned carbon, and residual ferromanganese minerals, along with the loss of organic matter and sulfide or the decomposition of carbonate. Pb and Cr are more easily adsorbed by the fine-graded coal combustion products. Occasionally, the abnormal phenomenon occurred in a medium-graded ash but with the maximum adsorption of Pb and Cr, which is mainly caused by the collision and agglomeration of the combustion products, or the adsorption capacity of different mineral components. The effects of diameter, coal species and feed coal on the forms of Pb and Cr in combustion products were also analyzed in this study. The study has some guiding significance for understanding the behavior track and alteration mechanism of Pb and Cr during coal combustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve the problem of unclear targeted inhibition of key free radicals by antioxidants, this paper took the hydroxyl radical with the highest oxidation activity of coal as the inhibition target and selected five antioxidants such as ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid, tea polyphenol, citric acid, vitamin C, and proanthocyanidins. Based on the theory of quantum chemistry, the characteristics and oxidation pathway of antioxidants inhibiting coal oxidation of hydroxyl radical were analyzed. Analyze the influence characteristics of antioxidants on the evolution of free radicals in coal through an electron paramagnetic resonance experiment (ESR). The results showed that the electron density of antioxidants was mainly distributed in the functional groups of carboxyl and hydroxyl, which played a key inhibitory role, and the vicinity of carboxyl and hydroxyl and other functional groups was positive potential, which was the active site of inhibiting hydroxyl radical. The order of inhibitory capacity of the five antioxidants was determined as GTP > PC > EDTA > CA > VC. It is concluded that the energy barrier of hydroxyl radical inhibition by citric acid is much lower than that of EDTA. For the hydrogen extraction reaction, VC inhibited the hydroxyl radical pathway with a higher energy barrier than the other three antioxidants. The mechanism of five antioxidants inhibiting •OH reaction was comprehensively analyzed. It was found that tea polyphenols have more active sites that can react with •OH to quench it, so the inhibition of tea polyphenols should be the most significant. When antioxidants inhibit coal spontaneous combustion, the type, complexity, concentration, and linewidth of free radicals in coal molecules are lower than those in raw coal, with GTP antioxidants having the best inhibitory effect. The research results have important theoretical and practical significance for revealing the mechanism of coal spontaneous combustion inhibition and developing directional coal spontaneous combustion inhibition technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spontaneous combustion of coal gangue (CG) hills has caused varieties of secondary disasters that seriously endanger the ecological environment of the world. The emission law of index gases and their oxidation kinetics during the secondary oxidation process of CG with different ranks of oxidation were studied by using the temperature programmed device and online mass spectrometer (MS). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to reveal the changes of the CG internal active functional groups. The results showed that the energy required for the combustion of CG with low rank of pre-oxidation was significantly lower than that of the raw sample. However, as the oxidation rank increased, due to amounts of volatile components were released in the process of oxidation reaction, the CG in the combustion process of the emission of index gases and its oxygen consumption rate gradually reduced; the rapid oxidation stage shifted to the direction of the high temperature. In this study, the risk of spontaneous combustion of CG after oxidation at 80 ℃ under 3% oxygen concentration was the strongest. The results of this paper are of great guiding significance for exploring the spontaneous combustion characteristics of CG hills and their prevention by traditional covering method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-temperature coal oxidation generates a substantial amount of CO and CO2, especially CO, rapidly, which is a primary factor leading to casualties. The oxygen concentration is the predominant factor affecting the high-temperature oxidation of coal, particularly in the generation of CO and CO2. Understanding the generation patterns and relationship characteristics of CO and CO2 under various oxygen concentrations is important for predicting high-temperature coal oxidation and ensuring personnel safety. The paper used TG–MS and FTIR to study the formation characteristics of isothermal oxidation of CO and CO2 in long-flame coal under different oxygen concentrations. The results indicate that there exists an optimal threshold for CO production when the oxygen concentration is about 9% during the isothermal temperature oxidation process at 200.00–350.00 °C. When the oxygen concentration is less than 13%, the influence of oxygen on CO2 production is weakened. As the temperature increases, the pattern of CO + CO2 production and CO/CO2 is reversed, with CO + CO2 increasing and CO/CO2 decreasing. The relationship between the total production of CO and CO2 and the loss of coal mass follows the function y = a + bx at the isothermal temperatures of 300.00 °C and 350.00 °C. An increase in oxygen concentration does not alter the linear relationship. In the isothermal oxidation process of coal, carbonyl and carboxyl groups are the key groups for CO and CO2 production. At 200.00 °C and 250.00 °C, carbonyl and carboxyl groups increase, and other groups are being converted to carbonyl and carboxyl groups while decomposing into CO and CO2. At 300.00 °C and 350.00 °C, the relative content of carboxyl groups decreases. The research findings play a fundamental role in coal mine disaster prevention and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the multi-field coupling mechanism of gas and coal spontaneous combustion, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption and SEM were applied to carry out microstructure testing experiments on oxidation of gas-bearing coal in this paper. And a pore fractal calculation model incorporating pore size distribution was established. The effects of low-temperature oxidation and gas ad/de-sorption on the change of coal pore structure were investigated. The results showed that the pore volume and specific surface area of JJK and YJL with different pretreatment conditions were similar in trend, adsorption–desorption process further attenuates the ability of the coal pore to resist the thermal damage, V1 and V2 of JJK-3 and YJL-3 decreased by 0.199, 0.212 and 1.88, 4.214 × 10–3 cm3·g−1, respectively. The pore fractal model based on pore size distribution characteristics was found, and the Dfb of JJK-3 and YJL-3 was 2.23 and 2.33, respectively, which were higher than that of JJK-2 (2.20) and YJL-2 (2.05). The coupling effect of desorption of gas and oxidation was stronger than the effect of oxidation on pore modification. The gas storage state of gas-bearing coal and the distribution of desorbed gas in goaf were affected by change of pore structure, so that the oxidation of gas-bearing coal can be weakened and the risk of spontaneous combustion of gas-bearing coal can be declined, which can provide a theoretical basis for the judgment of the risk of spontaneous combustion of gas-bearing coal in goaf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal spontaneous combustion is a common problem faced by many coal mines. Spontaneous combustion in goaf releases a large amount of harmful gases, polluting the environment while causing a large amount of wasted resources, and even endangering the lives of workers. Due to the collapse of the interior of the mining area, it is impossible to measure the internal gas composition directly. In order to more accurately predict the spontaneous combustion state inside the mining airspace, this paper obtains the CO generation law and the main source of the working face through the combination of laboratory experiments and on-site monitoring. The CO concentration prediction model of the return corner is established with CO as the index gas. Finally, the safe concentration and warning concentration of the working face are calculated according to the example, which provides theoretical basis for the prediction of spontaneous combustion of coal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the large-scale mining of coal resources, the huge economic losses and environmental problems caused by underground coal fires have become increasingly prominent, and the research on the status quo and response strategies of underground coal fires is of great significance to accelerate the green prevention and control of coal fires, energy conservation and emission reduction. In this paper, we summarized and sorted out the research status of underground coal fires, focused on the theoretical and technical issues such as underground coal fire combustion mechanism, multiphysics coupling effect of coal fire combustion, fire prevention and extinguishing technology for underground coal fires, and beneficial utilization technology, and described the latest research progress of the prevention and control for underground coal fire hazards. Finally, the key research problems in the field of underground coal fire hazards prevention and control were proposed in the direction of the basic theory, technology research, comprehensive management and utilization, with a view to providing ideas and solutions for the management of underground coal fires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addressed the effect of copper acetate on the combustion characteristics of anthracite depending on the fractional composition of fuel and additive introduction method. Anthracite was impregnated with 5 wt% of Cu(CH3COO)2 by mechanical mixing and incipient wetness impregnation. Four anthracite samples of different fraction with d < 0.1 mm, d = 0.1–0.5 mm, d = 0.5–1.0 mm, and d = 1.0–2.0 mm were compared. According to EDX mapping, incipient wetness impregnation provides a higher dispersion of the additive and its uniform distribution in the sample. The ignition and combustion characteristics of the modified anthracite samples were studied by thermal analysis and high-speed video recording of the processes in a combustion chamber (at heating medium temperature of 800 °C). It was found that copper acetate increases anthracite reactivity, which was evidenced by decreased onset temperature of combustion (ΔTi) by 35–190 °C and reduced ignition delay time (Δτi) by 2.1–5.4 s. Copper acetate reduces fuel underburning (on average by 70%) in the ash residue of anthracite and decreases the amount of CO and NOx in gas-phase products (on average by 18.5% and 20.8%, respectively). The mechanism for activation of anthracite combustion by copper acetate is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the fractional and spatial distribution characteristics of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in smoke particles and residual ashes from mine-park-biomass combustion. It then evaluates the consequential potential environment risk by using a Geo-accumulation index and Nemerow pollution index methods. Biomass combustibles are comprised of Camphor leaves (CL), Camphor dead-branch (CB), Ramie (RA), Miscanthus sinensis (MS), and Dryopteris (DR). The results show that the products of combustion contain PTEs, As, Cr, Cu, and Zn, etc. Among them, the content of As, Cr, Cu, Pb elements in smoke particles of CB was higher than other combustibles. Moreover, Cr, Mn, Ni, and Pb in residual ashes of CL were higher than others. The proportion of acid-soluble and reducible fraction of As in residual ash was higher, while Cr existed mainly in the oxidizable and residual fraction. Besides, the available state of As gradually decreased from 74% (400 °C) to 41% (800 °C), indicating that the increase of temperature significantly reduced the bioavailability of As. Meanwhile, with the increase of temperature, the concentration of PTEs in smoke particles decreased and PTEs in residual ashes increased in different degrees. The risk evaluation results indicate that PTEs may cause moderate or higher levels of contamination. The overall contamination level of PTEs in the residual ashes of CB was higher than that of other plant. The results show in this study would contribute to understanding the environmental risks of wildfire and prescribed burning in PTEs-contaminated areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a mathematical model of combustion of a coal dust gas–particle suspension in a methane–air mixture, which takes into account the inhomogeneity of temperature distribution in the particles. The gas–particle suspension state parameters are determined by the model of the dynamics of a two-phase two-velocity reacting gas-dispersed medium. The combustion of coal dust particles is simulated using a local mathematical model of a heterogeneous reaction on the particle surface and particle heating. A solution to local problems of coal dust particle combustion is used determine the heat release rate of the entire set of particles in the heterogeneous reaction of coal dust with oxygen and the heat exchange with gas. Dependences between the combustion front propagation velocity and the mass concentration of coal dust and the volumetric concentration of methane are determined. The estimated combustion front velocity in a methane–air mixture with no coal dust is in good agreement with experimental data. The comparison of calculating the flame velocity in a coal–methane–air mixture using two models (with and with no account for the inhomogeneity of the temperature distribution in the particles) is given. This comparison shows a significant difference in the values of the estimated combustion front velocity of rapidly burning gas–particle suspensions. For slowly burning gas–particle suspensions, this difference decreases. The developed model explains the shift of the maximum flame propagation velocity in the coal–methane–air mixture toward the excess of fuel in air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residual coal in mine goafs will be oxidized in the presence of air leakage, which can be well tracked through the radical reaction. This study aimed to explore the changes in radical parameters and the reactivity and persistence of newly produced radicals of coal at different temperature stages. To this end, an in situ electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometer was adopted to measure changes in radical parameters at the heating, maintaining and cooling stages in real time. The following conclusions were drawn. At the heating stage, the radical concentration first rises slowly and then surges; the g factor remains small initially and increases rapidly later; the linewidth falls continuously. At the maintaining stage (230 °C), the radical concentration keeps increasing, while the g factor and the linewidth remain stable. At the cooling stage, the radical concentration first decreases and then stabilizes at a relatively high level, and both the g factor and the linewidth nearly return to the initial values. Based on the changes in radical parameters at different oxidation stages, the radicals in coal are divided into transient radicals and persistent radicals according to their survival times. Transient radicals, which are strongly reactive, are quickly consumed, while persistent radicals, which is of weak reactivity, can exist in the system for a long time. That is, the active radicals in coal are transient, while the stable ones are persistent. In addition, this paper gives insight into the changes in contents of active radicals and stable radicals at these stages. Finally, the changes in indicator gas and oxygen concentrations at these stages were analyzed. The research finding further explains the mechanism of radical reactions during coal spontaneous combustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CBM (Coalbed methane) belongs to unconventional natural gas mineral resources. The development and utilization of CBM can greatly reduce the occurrence of mine gas accidents, and how to improve the desorption capacity of CBM has always been a hot issue for researchers. Liquid nitrogen has obvious effect on coal seam cracking and permeability improvement. The purpose of this paper is to study the cracking mechanism of liquid nitrogen on coal, and provide a theoretical basis for using liquid nitrogen freezing and thawing to treat coal so as to improve the production of coalbed methane. Coal samples from Yangquan County, Shanxi Province were pretreated. The pore structure test, microscopic observation test and methane isothermal adsorption test were carried out after the coal samples with different particle sizes were treated with different liquid nitrogen freeze-thaw cycles. According to the experimental data, the evolution law of pores of coal before and after freezing and thawing with liquid nitrogen, the cracking mechanism of coal treated with freezing and thawing with liquid nitrogen, and the optimal number of freezing and thawing cycles with liquid nitrogen are analyzed. The results show that: 1) the evolution characteristics of pore structure of lower coal after liquid nitrogen freezing and thawing are that micropores in coal are promoted to develop into transition pores and mesopores, and mesopores and transition pores develop into macropores and fractures. 2) Through the observation of a metallographic microscope, the expansion degree of coal surface crack is positively correlated with the times of liquid nitrogen freeze-thaw. 3) Liquid nitrogen freeze-thaw treatment has an optimal number of cycles for the cracking degree of coal. With the increase of freeze-thaw cycles, the final adsorption capacity of coal pillar increases first and then decreases; The adsorption capacity of granular coal first increases and then decreases. After reaching freeze-thaw saturation, continued freeze-thaw is not conducive to the increase of adsorption capacity. These research results provide theoretical support for the implementation of liquid nitrogen fracturing and permeability enhancement technology in coal reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes and compares the deformation, failure characteristics, and energy characteristics of coal and rock under uniaxial compression. It is considered that the change laws of the total stress–strain relationship curves of raw coal and sandstone samples are similar, and they all exhibit the primary fracture compaction and closure stage, elastic deformation stage, fracture expansion stage and stress drop stage. The failure mode of coal and rock is a predominantly columnar splitting, and the fractured coal and rock bite each other. The ultimate bearing capacity, elastic modulus and peak strain of coal samples are small for sandstone. Under uniaxial compression, the ultimate bearing capacity, elastic modulus, and peak strain of coal samples were 46.17%, 63.32%, and 69.54% of sandstone, respectively. In the compaction stage, the proportion of releasable elastic energy of the coal sample was higher than that of dissipated energy, while that of the sandstone sample is the opposite. The proportion of releasable elastic energy of coal samples in other stages was higher than that of dissipated energy, and more than 80% of the total energy absorbed by coal and rock specimens in the loading process was stored in the form of releasable elastic energy. Other total energy was dissipated by the internal defects of the samples during compaction, sliding and new micro-cracks in the yield stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spontaneous coal combustion is a serious hazard that affects mining safety. Since the coal seams are thin and their resistivity dramatically changes during spontaneous combustion, locating the burned cavities or caving zones using electromagnetic (EM) methods is challenging. The conventional transient electromagnetic (TEM) method with a loop transmitter is ineffective, as the main targets are mostly horizontal and resistive. We propose in this paper to apply TEM with an electrical source to detect the resistive targets of spontaneous coal combustion. Considering that its areas generally have very complex geometry, we adopt the unstructured finite-element method for accurate EM forward modeling. For the time discretization, we choose the unconditionally stable backward Euler scheme. Numerical experiments for typical spontaneous combustion models show the high sensitivity of TEM for an electrical source to the burned cavities, and based on this we further use the limited-memory BFGS method to do 3D inversions. To obtain high-resolution imaging results, we bound the resistivity based on the measurements to the coal mine. The inversion results show that the 3D TEM inversions can effectively recover the locations and resistivities of the burned cavities, implying TEM is a valid tool for detecting spontaneous coal combustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal spontaneous combustion (CSC) is a major disaster threatening coal mine safety; therefore, the investigation of coal spontaneous combustion and oxidation characteristics has been a hot topic in the long term. In this paper, the experimental temperature programmed system is used to carry out the simulation experiment of coal spontaneous combustion and oxidation of three kinds of coal with different metamorphic degrees under three oxygen concentrations (9%, 15%, 21%). The effects of metamorphic degree and oxygen concentration on coal oxidation characteristics were analyzed, and the variation laws of crossing point temperature, three characteristic point temperature, and apparent activation energy were qualitatively discussed. Finally, coal oxidation reaction stages were evaluated and divided. The results show that the concentrations of CO and C2H4 are negatively correlated with the degree of deterioration but increase with the increase of oxygen concentration. High metamorphic coal corresponds to high crossing point temperature (CPT). The average error between the CPT value calculated from the BM empirical correlation and the experimental data is very small, which is 6.42%. The higher the metamorphic degree of coal, the higher the three characteristic temperature points (critical temperature, xerochasy temperature, and activity temperature). The oxidation process of the three coal samples is divided into four stages: surface oxidation, oxidation self-heating, accelerated oxidation, and deep oxidation. The apparent activation energy of each stage exhibits significant variability, with varying patterns displayed with the degree of metamorphism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal combustion for energy has not only wasted the hydrogen-rich volatile matters but also results in CO2 emission causing serious environmental issues. An integrated coal pyrolysis and solvent extraction process under elevated temperatures in an inert atmosphere is implemented to convert as-mined coal from Wyoming Powder River Basin to functional carbon elements such as pyrolysis char (PC). This paper presents the development and fabrication of new carbon-based structural unit (CSU) using pulverized PC and two coal-derived pitches (mesophase pitch and tar pitch) to attain high compressive strength greater than 30 MPa, low thermal conductivity less than 0.30 W/m K, and low density less than 1.25 g/cm3. CSUs have the potential to overcome the current challenges with cement and concrete through pressurized fabrication followed by carbonization. This study aims to develop CSU with nearly 100% coal-derived carbon material for structural application in buildings. The effects of pressing pressures, carbonization temperatures, and binder contents on the density and mechanical and thermal properties of CSU samples are investigated. The study concludes that mesophase pitch produces a better performance of CSU samples, a combination of 100 MPa pressing pressure and carbonization temperature of 900 °C yields the highest compressive strength, and a 25% MP content is recommended for low-cost CSU fabrication. CSU has a much lower density, lower thermal conductivity, higher compressive strength, and higher strength-to-density ratio than normal concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accurate division of three zones of coal spontaneous combustion in the goaf plays a vital role for coal fire prevention. Based on the O2 and CO volume fraction acquired from in situ test, this paper first fits the linear equation (characteristic equation) of O2 volume fraction with the length of the goaf. Then a cloud map of the kernel density distribution of O2 and CO volume fraction and the length of the goaf was drawn. According to the cloud map of CO, the distribution interval of CO volume fraction can be obtained, in which 0–100 ppm is the acceptable range, and greater than 100 ppm is the dangerous range, which can be used as a critical indicator for early warning of coal spontaneous combustion. According to the kernel density distribution cloud map of O2 volume fraction, there are 3 peaks of the kernel density of O2 volume fraction. According to the difference test, the 3 goaf lengths (characteristic lengths) corresponding to the 3 kernel density peaks are determined to be 12 m, 34 m, and 59 m, respectively. The characteristic O2 volume fractions are obtained by substituting characteristic lengths into the characteristic equation, which are 17.9%, 13.6%, and 8.9%. Different from the traditional dividing method, the characteristic O2 volume fractions and characteristic lengths divide the goaf into four areas: the heat dissipation zone, the first oxidation zone, the second oxidation zone, and the asphyxiation zone. The results of this study could refine the division of coal spontaneous combustion dangerous areas, reflect the dynamic change process of coal spontaneous combustion dangerous areas, and improve the efficiency of coal spontaneous combustion prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to comprehensively and systematically analyze the reasons why antioxidant inhibitors can scavenge free radicals in coal and inhibit coal spontaneous combustion, this paper studies the effects of VC, TBHQ, EGCG and BHT on coal spontaneous combustion by means of coal spontaneous combustion characteristics experiments and quantum chemical simulation methods. The low-temperature oxidation characteristics of coal were studied through temperature-programmed experiments. The results showed that the CO emission of coal samples with antioxidants was significantly lower than that of raw coal. At 170 °C, the maximum decrease was 37.74%. Fourier infrared test showed that compared with the coal samples without antioxidant treatment, the adsorption strength of hydroxyl structure and oxygen-containing functional groups of the treated coal samples was significantly reduced. The area percentages of hydroxyl and methylene changed significantly, decreased by 7.14% and 6.46%, respectively. Subsequently, molecular models of four antioxidants were constructed using quantum chemical theory, and their Mulliken charges, BDE values ​and frontier orbitals were calculated according to density functional theory (DFT), and the active sites and inhibition mechanisms of antioxidants were discussed. The results showed that H9 of VC, H33 of EGCG, H1 of TBHQ and H40 of BHT all had strong ability to scavenge oxygen-containing free radicals, and their order of strength was TBHQ > BHT > EGCG > VC. Antioxidant inhibitors mainly reduce the number of active free radicals by removing the peroxide groups in the initial stage of the coal oxygen reaction, and remove the hydroxyl groups to prevent the further spontaneous combustion of coal and inhibit the low temperature oxidation process of coal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional Arrhenius equation that estimates the heat generation of coal in numerical simulation has been widely applied. However, the aging effect markedly influences the exothermic behavior of coal at low temperature and cannot be achieved using the conventional Arrhenius equation. In this paper, an improved wire-mesh basket test was performed to measure the temperature and concentrations of CO and CO2 emitted from coal piles. The aging effect model based on the theory of equivalent oxidation exposure time successfully matched the experimental results. Then, a two-dimensional (2D) multifield coupling model of coal stockpiles was developed considering the aging effect to investigate the developments on values and moving paths of temperature and O2 concentration. Effects of decay-power factor, which determines the diminishing coal oxidation, and other main variables on spontaneous combustion of coal stockpiles were systematically investigated. The results indicated a unique critical value of 1.25 × 10–6 s−1 for decay-power factor. Increasing decay-power factor enlarged the safe storage time and hardly affected the moving paths of the hotspot. There are two critical values for particle size (0.7 mm, 9 mm) and porosity (0.18, 0.58), and one critical value for wind velocity (8.5 m s−1) and stockpile width (9 m). Porosity and stockpile width have significant effects on the self-ignition of coal stockpiles when their values are lower than the base ones (0.33 and 15 m). The model considering aging effect is expected to reliably predict the spontaneous combustion of coal stockpile and become the tool for inspecting the reasonability of the relative preventing measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the numerical study of aerodynamics and heat transfer for a case of a four-vortex furnace chamber designed for jet fire of brown coal from the Eastern-region coalfields. The combustion modeling is achieved by a set of linked submodels: they describe turbulent gas flow, thermal and radiative heat transfer, processes of degradation and burning for coal particles, and NOx generation. Simulation demonstrated that using of these types of brown coal in a specific-design furnace chamber creates a steady four-vortex flow structure that provides a uniform temperature field in the volume and admissible generation of NOx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The productivity of coal mines is seriously threatened by the combined disasters of gas and coal spontaneous combustion, which have become a common disaster mode. It is unclear how the gas and coal spontaneously combusted in the roof cutting along gob working face. The goal of this study is to identify the distinctive features of combined disasters in gob from two different types of roof cutting along working faces. In these two different types of roof cutting along gob working faces, the paper constructs the permeability model of the gob. The findings demonstrate that the data from the field experiment and the simulation results agree, which validates the simulation's reliability. In contrast to single sided roof cutting along gob working faces, double sided roof cutting along gob working faces clearly has a thinner oxidation zone. Moreover, the oxidation zone of the double side roof cutting along gob working faces is closer to the working face, which is located in the shallow area of the gob 50 m behind the working face. The gas explosion area and the coal spontaneous combustion area are divided by the double side roof cutting along gob working face, which reduces the risk of compound disasters. Important theoretical direction for the prevention and control of gob disasters in the roof cutting along gob working face is provided by the simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To accomplish various and efficient inhibitions of coal spontaneous combustion (CSC) and solve the safety hazards of CSC encountered in the production and operation of coal mining enterprises, inhibitors play an important role in the prevention and management of CSC. Herein, we report quercetin, which is selection as an antioxidant to prepare a composite solid lipid inhibitor. The concentration of the composite solid lipid inhibitor with the best inhibition effect on the active groups is selected by Fourier pressure infrared experiments, the change pattern of gas content and characteristic temperature released from coal samples during an oxidation process warming process was tested by using a programmed warming test system and simultaneous thermal analysis experiments, and finally, the inhibitory rate and combustion characteristic index were calculated. The results of the research showed that 10 mass% of quercetin had the most impact on the various groups, the highest inhibitor rate of the composite solid lipid inhibitor is 80.67% in the coal low-temperature oxidation process, compared to the raw coal, the heat release of coal treated with the composite solid lipid inhibitor was decreased by 507.65 J g−1, the maximum amount of heat emitted was lowered by 60%, and the flammability index was reduced by 56.4. A composite solid lipid inhibitor containing quercetin developed in this paper indicated high effectiveness in inhibiting CSC, which is vital for coping with the safety management of coal mine production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In simulating two-phase combustion, most Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulation and large-eddy simulation (LES) used Eulerian–Lagrangian (E–L) modeling (Eulerian treatment of gas phase and Lagrangian treatment of particles/droplets) which needs much more computational time than the Eulerian–Eulerian (E–E) or two-fluid modeling. However, in the E–E modeling, the problem of how to reduce the computation time for poly-dispersed particles is encountered. To solve this problem, the present author proposed an Eulerian–Eulerian–Lagrangian (E–E–L) modeling of two-phase combustion for both RANS modeling and LES. The E–E–L modeling is an Eulerian treatment of gas phase and a combined Eulerian–Lagrangian treatment of particles/droplets, in which the particle velocity and concentration are solved by Eulerian modeling, and particle temperature and mass change due to reaction are solved by Lagrangian modeling. In this paper, a review is given for an E–E–L modeling of coal combustion, its application in RANS simulation and its possible application in LES. For E–E–L LES, an energy equation model of two-phase sub-grid scale (SGS) stresses accounting for the interaction between two-phase SGS stresses is suggested, and a second-order moment SGS (SOM-SGS) turbulence-chemistry model is adopted to simulate gas-phase reaction in two-phase combustion. These SGS models were separately assessed by comparison with experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gases evolution during the low-temperature oxidation of coal is an essential parameter used to assess the state of coal oxidation and to estimate the gaseous pollutants. However, the current semi-quantitative method, which employs gas concentration as the measurement standard, is flawed. This paper presents a quantitative calculation method for gas products during coal oxidation. N2 is used as the tracer gas in the experiment, because nitrogen is an inert gas that will not participate in the reaction, and the amount of matter will not change in the reaction. According to the formula M i = X i X N 2 × V N 2 × ρ i , the corresponding mass flow rates of each gases component were calculated, and the gas yields during the reaction period were determined by comprehensive calculation. To this end, experiments were conducted on the low-temperature oxidation of coal using a flow reactor. After undergoing quantitative calculations, the main gas products' mass flow rates, yields, and energies, including CO, CO2, CH4, C2H4, C2H6, C2H2, and C3H8 between 30 and 180 °C were obtained. The findings showed that CO2 > CO > CH was generated in all the coal samples. The amount of gases produced in the low-temperature oxidation of coal is proportional to the level of oxygen concentration. When the oxygen concentration ranges from 0 to 21%, the gaseous production of MTH coal ranges from 381.44 g/ton to 8562.80 g/ton. The results of gaseous energy calculations showed that the energy loss for low temperature oxidation of the four coal samples ranged from 4334.14~26,772.73 kJ/ton under air atmosphere. Energy loss is also significantly affected by the oxygen concentration, and the energy loss of MTH coal increases significantly from 520.52 kJ/ton at 0% oxygen concentration to 26,772.73 kJ/ton at 21% oxygen concentration, an increase of about 50 times. Significantly, this method not only reflects the real gas evolution during low-temperature oxidation of coal but also computes the gas emission and energy loss, which is crucial for studying the mechanism of coal spontaneous combustion and assessing gases pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The damage caused by coal fine retention to the permeability of hydraulic propped fractures is one of the key factors restricting coalbed methane (CBM) production. In this paper, permeability experiments of propped fractures under different coal fine retention conditions are carried out, and the retention coefficient of the coal fines is introduced. In addition, the permeability model of propped fractures is established to study the influence of constant rate flow and discontinuous flow on the coal fine retention, along with the influence of coal fine retention coefficient on the permeability of propped fracture in the single-phase flow drainage stage. The study results show that, with the increase of the coal fine flow rate, the retention of the coal fines decreases exponentially, in turn resulting in a logarithmic increase of the porosity and a logarithmic increase of the permeability in the propped fracture. The larger the coal fine particle size is, the likelier it is to remain, and likelier it is to reduce the porosity of the propped fracture, thereby resulting in a decrease in the propped fracture permeability. It is also shown that the retention coefficient of coal fines decreases exponentially with the increase of the flow rate, and increases with the increase of the coal fine particle size. In addition, the retention coefficient ratios of the two flow conditions increase linearly with the increase of the flow rate. The slower the flow rate is, the likelier the coal fines will be deposited in the constant rate flow; and the larger the flow rate is, the likelier the coal fines will be deposited in the discontinuous flow. Highlights: Retention coefficient and permeability model of propped fractures were established. Discontinuous flow of permeability experiments with coal fines were carried out. Coal fine flow rate changed retention exponentially and porosity logarithmically. Large coal fine particle size resulted in badly retention and damage of permeability It is worth noting that we added a Acknowledgements Section after the Conclusion of the article that I have labled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the risk of spontaneous combustion of coal left after long-term flooding in the goaf of the mine, in this paper, the inhibitory properties of different inhibitors on two kinds of water-immersed coals with different metamorphic degrees were studied in depth. The experiment selected Pingzhuang brown coal and Shaqu coking coal as research objects. The raw coal and water-immersed coal samples were compared and analyzed by thermogravimetric experiment method and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy experiment method. The study showed that the activation temperature of brown coal and coking coal decreased by 7.91 and 2.25 °C respectively, and the activation energy decreased by 43.18 kJ/mol and 20.58 kJ/mol respectively. The natural tendency of coal was enhanced after water immersion, and water immersion had a greater impact on low-metamorphic brown coal. After adding four kinds of inhibitors, MgCl2, TEMPO, TPPI and PA to the two water-immersed coals, it was found that TPPI could significantly reduce the heat release rate of water-immersed brown coal, and the reduction value was 10.49 W/mg. The dry cracking temperature of water-immersed brown coal increased by 11.75 °C, and PA greatly increased the combustion activation energy of water-immersed coking coal by 25.77 kJ/mol. Meanwhile, it was found from the microscopic active groups that TTPI increased the content of water-immersed brown coal ether bonds by 4.84%. The absorption peak intensity of oxygen-containing functional groups such as C=O was significantly weakened. Similarly, PA also produced a large number of stable ethers in water-immersed coking coal, whose content increased by 5.21%, and the hydroxyl content decreased most significantly. The decomposition of TPPI into phosphoric acid after heating can inhibit the growth of active groups such as a large number of oxygen-containing functional groups in the water-immersed brown coal, thereby reducing the risk of spontaneous combustion. As a metal chelator, PA can reduce the catalytic effect of metal ions in water-immersed coking coal with fewer active groups, and inhibit coal spontaneous combustion by generating stable metal complexes to increase activation energy. This indicated that TTPI had the best inhibitory effect on water-immersed brown coal, while PA was more suitable for water-immersed coking coal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characteristics of pulverized coals have significant influence on the spontaneous combustion and explosion processes. This paper presents an experimental and theoretical framework on physico-chemical characteristics of coal and their interrelations from spontaneous combustion and explosion perspectives. The chemical properties, morphology, bulk density, particle size, and specific surface area of pulverized coals from nine different coal subsidiaries of India are vividly investigated in five distinct sizes. Moreover, the effects of particle size on bulk density, specific surface area, and N2 adsorption capacity of pulverized coals are critically analyzed. With decrease in particle size, the bulk density of pulverized coals decreased, and the specific surface area and N2 adsorption capacity increased. The relationships of bulk density and specific surface area of pulverized coals with particle size are established. Moreover, the specific surface areas determined by both the particle sizing and BET methods are compared, and correlation factors between them are determined. This study generated insightful coal characteristic data, which can be useful for furthering research on spontaneous combustion and explosion involving pulverized coals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the complexity and concealment of goafs, numerical simulations have become an important means for studying the coupling disasters of spontaneous coal combustion and gas. Porosity is an important parameter in the numerical simulation, but this is difficult to detect directly on site, as the current porosity model does not fully reflect the characteristics of "three horizontal areas" and "three vertical zones" in the goaf. To establish a more accurate porosity model which is based on a theory of overlying strata movement, the Sigmoid function was introduced to reflect the distribution characteristics of the "three horizontal areas" in the goaf, and subsidence models of the main roof and overlying strata were established. A model that measures the porosity of the goaf was formulated, which reflects its O-shaped circle characteristics. The accuracy of the theoretical model was verified by obtaining experimental data. The results showed that the main roof subsidence in the natural accumulation area was approximately zero, there was an exponential decrease in the load-affected area, and the maximum subsidence appeared in the compacted area. The descending displacement was very small around the impacted area along the roadway wall. The movement of overlying strata in the fractured zone was controlled by the main roof, and the subsidence of the strata near the roadway wall and the working face was very small. In the vertical direction, the subsidence of the overlying strata decreased as the distance from the mining coal seam increased. The distribution of porosity in the goaf was shaped like a dustpan. In the horizontal direction, the porosity of the natural accumulation area and the impacted area of the roadway wall was the largest. Deep within the goaf, the porosity gradually decreased. The porosity in the fractured zone decreased in the vertical direction in a logarithmic manner. The porosity model proposed in this paper fully reflects the characteristics of the goaf, and provides a more accurate porosity model for the numerical simulation of spontaneous coal combustion and gas coupling disasters in the goaf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low and medium temperature pyrolysis technology is an important way of clean and utilization of low metamorphic coal. In this paper, three kinds of char samples were prepared in tube furnace according to different pyrolysis temperatures, and their combustion characteristics were compared by means of thermal analysis. Three modeless kinetic methods, KAS, FWO and Fredman, were used to study the combustion reaction activity under nonisothermal conditions from TG curve and DSC curve. In the end, Malek method is used to explore the mechanism function of the reaction process, and the results are analyzed numerically. The objective programming model and MATLAB are used to calculate the combined mechanism function of the reaction process. The results show that with the increase in the pyrolysis temperature, the combustion of char gradually shifts to the high temperature zone and shows a secondary effect between the volatile matter and the combustion characteristic temperature. The results show that the flammability index and burnout index increase first and then decrease, and the char prepared at 550 °C has the most developed pores and the best combustion performance with the increase in pyrolysis temperature, the average reaction activation energy decreases first and then increases, and the char prepared at 550 °C has the lowest activation energy. When the combustion heating rate is 5 °C min−1, the experimental curve and theoretical curve have a higher coincidence, and the combined mechanism function is adopted. The number is more suitable than the single most probable mechanism function to describe the combustion process of char. At this heating rate, the fuel reaction conforms to Z–L–T equation and reaction order model, which is limited by three-dimensional diffusion and chemical reaction. The distribution coefficients of the combined mechanism function are 0.4207 and 0.5886. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power plants have their own corresponding designed coal types. However, in practice, typically in China, more than one types of coal are burnt in power plants for long term as the cost of transportation and limited reserves of coal needed to be considered. In this paper, a soft-measuring model is built to analyze coal quality. By running the online coal quality analysis program, coal type burning on the boiler at present is obtained. Three common coal types are selected and three air distribution modes are designed. By simulation, temperature CO emission and NOx emission graphics are obtained and the best air distribution mode is chosen for each coal type. Combining with the coal quality analysis system, the air distribution mode can be adjusted while the boiler is running, which can increase the thermal efficiency and decrease the NOx emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For realizing the coupling pyrolysis of coal and combustion of semi-coke, this paper explored the effect of pyrolysis temperature on the combustion characteristics and NO emission of Pingshuo semi-coke. The main physical and chemical properties, which might affect the NO emission, were also investigated systematically. As the pyrolysis temperature increased, the nitrogen content of semi-coke gradually decreased and the proportion of quaternary nitrogen (N-Q) gradually increased. CaO produced by the decomposition of CaCO3 would promote the transformation from HCN to NO. Pore structure was most developed at 750 °C, which was beneficial to the conversion of HCN and reduction of NO. Combustion experiments were carried out on a thermogravimetric–mass spectrometry. It was found that increasing the pyrolysis temperature would cause the combustion reaction to occur at a higher temperature. Evolved gases during the combustion were quantitatively analyzed by equivalent characteristic spectrum analysis. The yield of HCN during combustion first decreased and then increased and the yield of NO decreased while the pyrolysis temperature increased. There was an optimum pyrolysis temperature for the minimum conversion rate of fuel-N to NO and HCN. For Pingshuo bituminous, this optimum pyrolysis temperature was 750 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas diffusion in a porous medium is a very complex process. Aiming at accurately describing the whole process of gas diffusion in a coal particle, a dynamic diffusion model of capillary pores in a coal particle (hereafter referred to as CPCPDD model) which is dependent on both the pore size and the pore pressure and based on the fractal characteristics of these capillary pores was established according to the characteristics of gas diffusion in different-sized pores. Next, parameters of the CPCPDD model were obtained through gas desorption, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption and mercury injection experiments on a coal particle. Furthermore, a comparative analysis was made between the solution results of the CPCPDD model and the data obtained from the gas desorption experiment. The results suggest that the CPCPDD model proposed in this study can accurately describe the whole process of gas diffusion in a coal particle. The diffusion coefficient obtained by the CPCPDD model is a variable related to the pore diameter and the pore pressure, and the classical uni-pore diffusion model, bi-disperse diffusion model and the multi-pore diffusion model are specific manifestations of the CPCPDD model in different pore size ranges. The research results boast crucial theoretical significance for in-depth understanding and interpretation of gas migration in coal reservoirs. Article Highlights: A new dynamic diffusion model for capillary pores in coal particle is established in this paper. This new model is based on the high-pressure mercury injection experiment and low-temperature nitrogen adsorption experiment. This new model could accurately describe the whole process of gas diffusion in a coal particle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spontaneous combustion of oxidized coal was one of the serious hazards during coal mining and utilization. However, spontaneous combustibility of oxidized coal affected by the first oxidation of coal was still unclear. In this paper, the influence of pre-heating with different oxygen concentrations on coal secondary spontaneous combustion behaviors was studied. Temperature-programmed heating experiments were carried out to prepare pre-heated coal samples by heating at the preset temperature of 80 °C in mixture atmosphere of N2 and O2 with different oxygen proportions of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%. Pre-heated and raw coals were heated programmatically in an air atmosphere of 120 mL min−1 with a heating rate of 0.33 °C min−1. The gaseous compounds of O2, CO and CO2 were analyzed to identify spontaneous combustion behaviors of pre-heated and raw coals. The results showed that pre-heating at 80 °C promoted oxygen physisorption at low temperatures and lowered oxidability at high temperatures in the coal secondary oxidation process. Pre-heating at 80 °C with higher oxygen content reduced oxidability and exothermicity of coal secondary spontaneous combustion, but had no obvious effect on oxygen physisorption of coal low-temperature oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents measurement data concerning the degree of acidification of precipitation collected during a 6-month measurement campaign carried out in an immediate vicinity of a power plant, where the cooling tower was used for discharging flue gases as a product of coal combustion. As reference, data obtained from parallel measurements carried out at a monitoring station considered as city background station were used. High acidity of precipitation was anticipated due to reactions of acid gases contained in the combustion gases with water, which already occur inside the cooling tower. The results have not confirmed this assumption. The pH value of the precipitation samples was significantly higher than the pH of rainwater at the background station located 18 km away from the power plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring the electric potential (EP) response induced by coal deformation and rupture is essential to the safety of underground engineering under extreme load and stress wave disturbance conditions. In this study, the split Hopkinson pressure bar and EP acquisition systems were utilized for EP testing of coal under stress waves. The EP response under stress waves was investigated, the changes in accumulated charge caused by each stage of stress wave loading were analyzed, and the mechanism of EP signal generation is discussed. The results show that under stress waves, coal produces a significant EP signal, and the EP fluctuations correspond well to each stage of the stress wave. The EP and stress wave signals have a strong linear relationship when the stress wave is rising. During the descent of the stress wave, the EP decreases exponentially with time, showing a gradual decrease in the rate of EP decrease. The cumulative charge growth at each stage shows a "stable-surging-stable" change trend. Dislocation charged movement causes local polarization within the coal. Crack propagation leads to charge separation and free charge generation. These findings explain the mechanism of EP signal creation caused by stress waves. A mathematical model of the link between charge density and dynamic load stress is derived, indicating a strong positive correlation between the two parameters. The results of this research help to improve the reflection of coal seam stability through the EP response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the macro-kinetics of coal–oxygen reactions is the theoretical foundation for combating coal spontaneous combustion, with focus on obtaining kinetic parameters. There are still open questions, including which thermal analysis kinetics processing methods (TAKPMs) output more confident kinetic parameters, and how these TAKPMs respond in terms of computational accuracy when experimental conditions change. This study evaluated these questions quantitatively, and yielded the following noteworthy findings. (1) Integral processing-based multi-scan methods were more data-friendly than differentials, which produced over 40% error due to thermal noise. (2) Combined 29 widely used most probable reaction mechanism functions (MPRMFs), like Jander, Ginstling–Brounshtein, and Zhuralev–Lesokin–Tempelman, with five popular single-scan methods, and ran 870+ calculations under six experimental conditions. Using traditional model fitting to identify MPRMFs can introduce errors of 4.08–275.49% (median 121.99%). (3) Applied spectroscopy–Málek–Popescu coupling for high-confidence MPRMFs. Its integration into single-scan methods improved computational accuracy, reducing error to the range of 1.84–76.20%. However, a median of 37.76% error indicates that some single-scan methods still failed to yield satisfactory results. (4) Notably, the accuracy of single-scan methods correlated significantly with heating rate, with various methods showing positive or negative correlations. From 5 to 15 K/min, the increase/decrease in accuracy ranged 10.63–244.25% (with median of 51.40%). These findings underline the need for a case-by-case selection of TAKPMs based on experimental conditions, ensuring more confident kinetic parameters. This study introduced a workflow, exemplified with bituminous coal, to assist researchers in selecting the optimal TAKPMs for diverse experimental scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The haulage roadway of the F15-22080 working face, No.8 mine is situated within a special non-uniform stress zone. In this area, the extraction-boreholes drilling process frequently triggers coal and gas outburst. Against this background, this study systematically conducted high-pressure gas adsorption experiments and high-pressure gas desorption experiments on coal samples collected from different stress zones and obtained their adsorption/desorption characteristics. Subsequently, coal pore structure characteristics at various scales were investigated by employing scanning electron microscopy, low-pressure N2 adsorption and low-pressure CO2 adsorption techniques and fractal analysis to assess the impact of varying stress levels. On this basis, a comprehensive analysis was carried out to explore the connections between stress, pore structure, adsorption/desorption traits, and the risk of outburst. The results indicate that, with increasing stress, the Protodyakonov coefficient f and the Langmuir pressure PL decrease, while the index of diffusion initial velocity of coal gas Δp and the Langmuir volume VL increase. The desorption amount and rate of gas also increase significantly. The total pore volume and specific surface area of micropores increase, while those of mesopores and macropores show an overall decreasing trend. The surface fractal dimension DF1 increases by 9%, the spatial fractal dimension DF2 decreases by 5.2%, and the volume fractal dimension DSIE increases by 1%. The induced stress leads to a decrease in the abundance of macropores and mesopores, with concurrent increase in micropores. The VL exhibits a linear increase with the DSIE, whereas the PL demonstrates a linear decrease with it. The initial desorption rate rises with the reduction of the DF2 and the increase of the DSIE. The influence of superimposed-stress on outburst stems from alterations in pore structure and adsorption–desorption capabilities. Simultaneously, it collectively heightened the outburst risk by increasing the gas pressure gradient and weakening the strength of the coal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High concentration of particulates in the university and research institutional campus can affect cognitive performance of students and researchers. However, studies on ambient particulate concentration in the campus of universities or research institutes are scarce. The ambient concentration of PM10 was measured in the campus of Jadavpur University, Kolkata, during two different seasons (S1: Post-monsoon; S2: Winter) to identify major sources of pollutant here. Significant seasonal variation of ambient PM10 was recorded in the campus. The average ambient PM10 concentration was recorded higher in S2 compared to S1 of the study period. Morphological characteristics of PM10 during the study period suggest that the roundness of particles was in the range of 0.66 to 0.68, whilst the mean spherical diameter suggests most of the PM10 particles were < 2.5 μ diameter. Based on factorial analysis, three factors were generated which includes factor 1: soil, building material and coal burning particles (53.76% of the variance); factor 2: particles from coal combustion (29.89% of the variance) and factor 3: particles from transport emission (16.33% of the variance). The study suggests that it is important to stop burning coal, reduce vehicular emission and reduce road dust resuspension around the campus to maintain the ambient PM10 concentration within the university campus during the post-monsoon and winter months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the spontaneous combustion characteristics and hazards of the low-temperature oxidation (LTO) stage in the process of spontaneous combustion of coal and mudstone, the pore structure, spontaneous combustion characteristic parameters, and exothermic characteristics of coal and mudstone were tested and studied, and the oxidation kinetic parameters were calculated. The results show that mudstone has a larger specific surface area and pore volume than coal. From the fractal characteristics, the pore structure of mudstone is more complex than that of coal. According to the comparison of theoretical and actual gas generation and oxygen consumption rate curves, it is found that there is an interaction between coal and mudstone in the LTO process. With the increase of mudstone mass ratio, gas production, and its oxygen consumption rate increase. Among them, CM-4 (Coal:Mudstone = 1:1) has the highest exothermic intensity and the exothermic factor (A) and fire coefficient (K) increase with the increase of mudstone content. The apparent activation energy of the mudstone sample is lower than that of the raw coal, indicating that the sample after adding mudstone is more likely to have spontaneous combustion in the LTO stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the storage and transportation process after mining, coal piles are placed in open environments, making them prone to self-heating and spontaneous combustion due to the nature of coal and factors like natural wind flow. In recent years, there have been frequent spontaneous combustion incidents involving coal piles, posing significant safety risks. To effectively prevent and control spontaneous combustion disasters in open-air coal storage piles, we propose a method involving the arrangement of water-cooling steel pipes within the coal piles. This method applies theories of coal spontaneous combustion mechanisms, porous media heat transfer, and non-isothermal pipeline heat transfer. The multi-physics coupling model of COMSOL numerical simulation software is used to analyze the spontaneous ignition process and prevention effect of open pit coal pile. In the model, the thin material transfer of porous media is taken as the oxygen concentration field, the heat transfer of porous media is taken as the temperature field, and the free and porous media flow is taken as the air seepage velocity field. The simulation results of the spontaneous combustion process in the coal pile indicate that the high-temperature zone of spontaneous combustion is situated within the range of 0.5 ~ 1.5 m inside the wind-facing surface and extends 0.5 m above the ground level. These findings serve as a basis for determining the optimal placement of water-cooling steel pipes within the coal pile. The simulation results of a single water-cooling steel pipe demonstrate a positive correlation between the cooling effect on the coal pile and the water cool flow, and a negative correlation with the water cool temperature. Additionally, the cooling radius of the water-cooling steel pipe is determined by the circumference of the pipe and remains unaffected by the water cool flow. Finally, simulations were conducted to evaluate the cooling effect of multiple rows of steel pipes, and optimal arrangement parameters were determined: a center distance between steel pipes of 1 m and a water cool flow rate of 1500 L/min. As a result, the onset of the self-heating period in the coal pile was delayed by 11 days, and the spontaneous combustion period was extended by 56 days. The arrangement of water-cooling steel pipes in the coal pile has demonstrated significant efficacy in preventing and controlling spontaneous combustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric dustfall is solid air pollutant, has a major impact on the environment and human health. The objective of this study was to investigate the microscopic characteristics and sources of atmospheric dustfall in open-pit mining coal resource-based city in the arid desert area of Northwest China. The characteristics of size and shape factors, variation of shape factors with size distribution, types of individual particles, and sources of atmospheric dustfall, which were collected in the open-pit mining area and surrounding areas, were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with an energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM–EDS) combined with graphical method and shape factors. The results showed that the atmospheric dustfall in all functional areas was dominated by coarse-grained particles. The shape of the atmospheric dustfall deviated from spherical shape, and with decreasing particle size, the difference in shape factors increased in each functional area. The EDS and XRD analyses indicated the presence of 13 types of particles. The sources were mainly local and included soil dust from each functional area; industrial dust, construction dust, biogenic impurities, fossil fuel combustion, wear products of motor vehicle parts, motor vehicle exhaust emissions, and emission and excreta from biological activities in each functional area except the desert area; emissions from a steel plant in the industrial area; coal-associated ore, coal dust, coal gangue emissions, and emissions from the spontaneous combustion of coal gangue in the open-pit mining area; secondary chemical crystallization products in the industrial area and the open-pit mining area; dust generated by vehicles abrading the surface of the off-mine coal road and in the open-pit mining area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the mechanism of inhibiting spontaneous combustion of coal by mixed gases, the low-temperature oxidation characteristics of coal under different components of mixed gases were analyzed. ESR and FTIR experiments were used to investigate the effects of different gas mixtures on the activity of coal during low-temperature oxidation and the oxidation reaction of coal surface functional groups. The mechanism of chemical oxygen inhibition of mixed gas was studied by density functional theory. The results show that the larger the CO2 component in the mixed gas, the higher the ability to inhibit coal oxidation. The concentration of free radicals in coal under dry air condition is higher than that under inert mixed gas condition during oxidation heating at 30–230 °C. The oxidation ability of –CH3, –OH and oxygen-containing functional groups in the mixed gas reaction is inhibited. Through quantum chemistry calculation, it is found that the mixed gas increases the activation energy of free radicals and reduces the heat release of the reaction. This study provides theoretical reference for coal mine thermal disaster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents experimental results of research concerning the action of weak electric and magnetic fields on physicochemical transformations in samples of hard coal with a previously destabilized microstructure. The actions of electric and magnetic fields are fundamentally different by many parameters. It has been shown that after treatment with a weak electric field, coal posted an electret potential with an anomalously continuous charge relaxation. Compared to untreated coal samples, the rate of methane emission from methane-saturated samples is maximum for long-flame coal and decreases as it approaches anthracite. The electric field stimulates the grinding of microparticles, a decrease in the maximum gas outlet temperature, a decrease in the enthalpy value in the formation of a new phase, and an increase in the chemical activity of treated coal samples. Fundamentally different results were obtained with magnetic stimulation of coals. In X-ray diffractograms of coal powders after magnetic treatment, the values of the maxima of the main peaks are the largest in comparison with the original samples and those treated with an electric field, which is consistent with an increase in the size of microparticles in a magnetic field. There is an increase in the heat of combustion and a decrease (by 5 times) in the loss of coal mass during heating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]