Study of Methane Outgassing and Mitigation in Longwall Coal Mines

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bogin GE Jr. ; Brune, Jürgen F. ; Juganda A ; Lolon SA
• Description:
  Historically, there have been many occurrences of mine fires and explosions recorded in the United States and other countries that have demonstrated the existence of explosive methane-air mixtures, herein referred to as explosive gas zones (EGZs). The risk of mine explosions can increase if the EGZs migrate out from the gob into the surrounding mine entries. Fluctuating barometric pressure is the common cause for EGZs outflowing or outgassing from the gob. Numerical analysis using a 3D computational fluid dynamics method was developed to fully understand the outgassing phenomenon. A number of simulations using various magnitudes and periods of barometric pressure changes indicated that the EGZ outgassing potentially occurs due to lags in pressure, which are strongly influenced by mine conditions and ventilation systems. An early warning system with a real-time pressure monitoring and the application of gob ventilation boreholes are recommended to detect and mitigate explosion hazards from gob outgassing. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Explosions Occupational Health Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Gob Outgassing Barometric Pressure Variation CFD Coal Mines Computational Fluid Dynamics EGZ Explosive Gases Explosive Gas Zone Gas Flow Longwall Mining Methane Control Methane Gas Mine Fires

  More +
• ISSN:
  0026-5187
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  49-50
• Volume:
  73
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062790
• Citation:
  Min Eng 2021 Mar; 73(3):49-50
• Contact Point Address:
  Samuel A. Lolon, Deswik USA, Inc., Denver, CO, USA
• Email:
  samlolon@gmail.com
• CAS Registry Number:
  Methane (CAS RN 74-82-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Mining Engineering
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:41b3823425eeed4b97311af61f44977440fad0201a07d36942f7c2cfea32efe8d853d0c74a54d21d6516c51db54b3e1b5cf91a047f0b537e7bcd01d1cca6947c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225977/cdc_225977_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 202.96 KB ]