Investigation of thermal behavior and hazards quantification in spontaneous combustion fires of coal and coal gangue

Study on the thermal behaviour of spontaneous combustion of open-pit minerals

To study thermal behaviour during spontaneous combustion of an open-pit coal mine, mixed slag (coal, oil shale, and coal gangue) was taken as the research object. Laser thermal conductivity analyser and differential scanning calorimetry were used to test thermophysical parameters and heat release characteristics of the minerals. The parameters can be employed to calculate the apparent activation energy using the Arrhenius equation and evaluate the thermal behaviour of open-pit mixed slag. The results indicate that thermophysical parameters have stage characteristics. Thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity of minerals, especially mixed slag, have a strong correlation with temperature. Heat flow of minerals exhibits five characteristic stages, and heat flow of the samples is consistent with the change in heating rate. During the heating process, thermal diffusivity and heat flow of the mixed slag are between those of a single mineral. Except for the mixed slag at 15 and 20 °C/min, the initial exothermic temperature of the other samples is mainly concentrated at 50-80 °C. Thermal energy release of the sample is mainly concentrated in the accelerated exothermic stage and rapid exothermic stage. Thermal energy release of mixed slag in rapid exothermic stage is always greater than that in accelerated exothermic stage, and the proportion of thermal energy release in these two stages exceeds 98 %. The apparent activation energy during the accelerated exothermic stage is lower, making it easier to release heat, and rapid exothermic stage is relatively high, which can readily lead to heat accumulation. Thermal analysis reveals that the thermal behaviour of mixed slag is significantly different from that of a single mineral. Its unique exothermic characteristics can provide a more accurate theoretical basis for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by slag spontaneous combustion.

Mechanochemical evolution of coal microscopic groups: A new pathway for mechanical forces acting on coal spontaneous combustion

Coal spontaneous combustion (CSC) remains a significant threat to regional ecological environments. As coal mining operations extend deeper into the earth, the increasingly complex mechanical force conditions in deep-seated mines escalate the potential risk of CSC. Mechanical forces such as ground stress and mechanical cutting are traditionally believed to be linked to CSC through the following pathway: mechanical forces act → mechanical energy is input → mechanical crushing and pulverization occur → coal-oxygen contact area increases → CSC accelerates. Noteworthily, these forces do more than just physically break coal; they also trigger a mechanochemical effect (MCE) that alters coal's microscopic chemistry. However, an independent evaluation of its influence on CSC was lacking. This study characterized coal's microscopic chemical group responses to the MCE. It was found that the MCE led to the degradation of aliphatic side chains while enhancing the polycondensation of aromatic ring structures, indicating a synergistic effect. Additionally, an increase in oxygen-containing functional groups, such as alkyl/aryl ethers, suggested enhanced interactions of the coal microscopic groups with oxygen due to mechanical forces. Based on these findings, an MCE-modified coal macromolecular model was developed and molecular quantum mechanical calculations were conducted. The results indicated that the MCE boosted coal macromolecule reactivity, thus facilitating easier activation. These conclusions were validated through modern thermal analysis tests. Finally, this study proposed a new pathway of mechanical forces acting on CSC: mechanical forces act → mechanical energy is input → the MCE occurs → evolutions of the microscopic groups within coal are induced → Activity of coal molecules is enhanced → CSC accelerates.

Detection of Spontaneous Combustion Areas of Coal Gangue Dumps and Comprehensive Governance Technologies: A Case Study

Spontaneous combustion of coal gangue dumps not only releases toxic and harmful gases, polluting the environment, but also leads to explosion accidents and casualties due to improper handling. This paper focuses on delineating the fire area, constructing a comprehensive fire prevention and extinguishing system, and restoring the ecological environment. Infrared thermal imaging was used to detect the shallow fire area, while intensive drilling was conducted to detect the deep fire area. The stability of the coal gangue dump was enhanced by perfusing three-phase foam for cooling and using a curing material to fill the cracks. Land reclamation was then performed to restore the ecological environment. The results indicate that spontaneous combustion of coal gangue dumps can trigger the spread of the fire area from the outside to the inside, gradually expanding due to the 'stack effect'. The sources of spontaneous combustion in gangue fire areas are mainly located 3-5 m below the flat surface, and the shallow and deep fire areas are interconnected, posing a significant danger. These research findings can serve as a reference for detecting fire areas in coal gangue dumps and controlling environmental pollution.

Oxidation and exothermic properties of long flame coal spontaneous combustion under solid-liquid-gas coexistence and its microscopic mechanism analysis

Coal spontaneous combustion (CSC) wastes valuable resources and does great damage to the environment. To study the oxidation and exothermic properties of CSC under solid-liquid-gas coexistence conditions, a C600 microcalorimeter was used to analyze the heat released by the oxidation of raw coal (RC) and water immersion coal (WIC) under different air leakage (AL) conditions. The experimental results showed that the AL was negatively correlated with the heat release intensity (HRI) in the initial stages of coal oxidation, but as the oxidation proceeded, the AL and the HRI gradually showed positive correlations. The HRI of the WIC was lower than that of the RC under the same AL conditions. However, since water participated in the generation and transfer of free radicals in the coal oxidation reaction and promoted the development of coal pores, the HRI growth rate of the WIC was higher than that of the RC during the rapid oxidation period, and the self-heating risk was higher. The heat flow curves for the RC and WIC in the rapid oxidation exothermic stage could be fitted with quadratic functions. The experimental results provide an important theoretical basis for the prevention of CSC.

Study on the Variations of Key Groups and Thermal Characteristic Parameters during Coal Secondary Spontaneous Combustion

To investigate the effect of preoxidation on the secondary spontaneous combustion of coal, the changes in the key groups and thermal characteristic parameters in coal after preoxidation were investigated through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), laser thermal conductivity, and thermogravimetric experiments. Results showed that the aromatic hydrocarbons in coal gradually decrease with the rise in the preoxidation temperature, the aliphatic hydrocarbons increase and then decrease, the -C-O- group gradually decreases, and the -C=O and -COO- group content slowly increases. Preoxidation promotes the breakdown of aromatic hydrocarbons and the oxidation of oxygen-containing functional groups in coal. Meanwhile, the thermal diffusivity of coal decreases after preoxidation, while the specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity increase and then decrease. The results of the thermogravimetric analysis indicate that preoxidation changes the characteristic temperature, but it does not change the process of spontaneous combustion. The spontaneous combustion process of raw and preoxidized coals can be divided into three stages: water evaporation, oxygen adsorption, and combustion. Further, the apparent activation energy increases and then decreases with a rise in the preoxidation temperature during the moisture evaporation stage, increases during the oxygen adsorption stage, and decreases during the combustion stage.