Improving Gas Management and Ventilation Performance at Longwall Mines with Potentially High Gas Emission Rates

Details

• Personal Author:
  Addis J ; Raj KV ; Schatzel, Steven J. ; Tulu B
• Description:
  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is conducting research to enhance methane control and mine ventilation practices at coal mines, as a method to mitigate hazardous work conditions. NIOSH researchers conducted case studies to investigate the effectiveness of existing systems and improve performance to decrease the potential for unplanned or excessive methane emissions. At one mine, drainage was influenced by hydrofracking inefficiencies where two of the six wells showed good frack development. Methane content was variable, from 300 ft3/t to 600 ft3/t. This paper also summarizes overburden movement during undermining and the estimated quantities of gas transported to the mine using FLAC3D and CFD modeling. The findings from this research effort highlight considerations based on specific mine conditions that may also be applicable to most longwall mines utilizing methane control systems. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mining Occupational Health Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  CFD Computational Fluid Dynamics Fracking Gas Flow Longwall Mining Methane Control Mining Industry
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070842
• Citation:
  MineXchange: 2025 SME Annual Conference & Expo, February 23-26, 2025, Denver, Coloardo, preprint 25-044. Englewood, CO: Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, 2025 Feb; :1-11
• CAS Registry Number:
  Methane (CAS RN 74-82-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  MineXchange: 2025 SME Annual Conference & Expo, February 23-26, 2025, Denver, Coloardo, preprint 25-044
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:78192764a8a0c7deb4585e8dd1bfbfaeed1a72134aab253d33f3a637d9f50251319e1d99a871742ba4b3a9546bd64f60483f9179357494a1f9acf0997535dabf
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215741/cdc_215741_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.08 MB ]