Technology News 448: Improving the Performance of Longwall Gob Gas Ventholes

Details

• Journal Article:
  Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, TN 448
• Corporate Authors:
  United States. Bureau of Mines
• Description:
  Longwall productivity has been increased by improvements in mining technology as well as by the mining of larger panels. Unfortunately, with these productivity improvements and the mining of deeper, gassier coalbeds, methane gas emissions can become a problem. Increased methane gas emissions are a safety concern and can also reduce productivity when mining is halted to allow gas concentrations to decline to statutory levels. When ventilation alone is not sufficient to control high levels of gas emissions, methane drainage is often used as a supplementary control measure. Gob gas ventholes are the methane drainage method most often used on U.S. longwalls. The completion configuration and spacing of the holes on a longwall panel have generally been determined by trial-and-error experimentation. Once a completion configuration has been established, changes are rarely made. The absence of fundamental scientific and engineering principles in the design and placement of gob gas ventholes can cause difficulties for mine operators when gas emissions increase because of a change in mine design or because variable geologic conditions are encountered. In an effort to improve on the trial-and-error method of designing and locating gob gas ventholes, the U.S. Bureau of Mines investigated the performance of such holes and how and why they work. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mining Occupational Health Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Mining-industry; Underground-mining; Longwall-mining; Methane-drainage; Methane-control; Methanes
• Source:
  Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, TN 448, 1995 Mar; :1-2
• Series:
  Mining Publications   ; NIOSH Numbered Publications  
• Subseries:
  Technology News
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Periodical
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PRC - Pittsburgh Research Center
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  2 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20023959
• CAS Registry Number:
  Methane (CAS RN 74-82-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:07a66ef3599a20db8fccf68946a1d13151b90da7726c444e90b591bbce93ba7920ecd1a4ec53fcf72e211ecb75d64f51b06a7818ffcd3d56c27e158c20170557
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/9773/cdc_9773_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 99.81 KB ]