International Journal of Coal Science & Technology最新文献

Extracting gas from unconventional shale reservoirs with low permeability is challenging. To overcome this, hydraulic fracturing (HF) is employed. Despite enhancing shale gas production, HF has drawbacks like groundwater pollution and induced earthquakes. Such issues highlight the need for ongoing exploration of novel shale gas extraction methods such as in situ heating through combustion or pyrolysis to mitigate operational and environmental concerns. In this study, thermally immature shales of contrasting organic richness from Rajmahal Basin of India were heated to different temperatures (pyrolysis at 350, 500 and 650 °C) to assess the temperature protocols necessary for hydrocarbon liberation and investigate the evolution of pore structural facets with implications for CO₂ sequestration in underground thermally treated shale horizons. Our results from low-pressure N₂ adsorption reveal reduced adsorption capacity in the shale splits treated at 350 and 500 ºC, which can be attributed to structural reworking of the organic matter within the samples leading to formation of complex pore structures that limits the access of nitrogen at low experimental temperatures. Consequently, for both the studied samples BET SSA decreased by ∼58% and 72% at 350 °C, and ∼67% and 68% at 500 °C, whereas average pore diameter increased by ∼45% and 91% at 350 °C, and ∼100% and 94% at 500 °C compared to their untreated counterparts. CO₂ adsorption results, unlike N₂, revealed a pronounced rise in micropore properties (surface area and volume) at 500 and 650 ºC (∼30%–35% and ∼41%–63%, respectively for both samples), contradicting the N₂ adsorption outcomes. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images complemented the findings, showing pore structures evolving from microcracks to collapsed pores with increasing thermal treatment. Analysis of the SEM images of both samples revealed a notable increase in average pore width (short axis): by ∼4 and 10 times at 350 °C, ∼5 and 12 times at 500 °C, and ∼10 and 28 times at 650 °C compared to the untreated samples. Rock-Eval analysis demonstrated the liberation of almost all pyrolyzable kerogen components in the shales heated to 650 °C. Additionally, the maximum micropore capacity, identified from CO₂ gas adsorption analysis, indicated 650 °C as the ideal temperature for in situ conversion and CO₂ sequestration. Nevertheless, project viability hinges on assessing other relevant aspects of shale gas development such as geomechanical stability and supercritical CO₂ interactions in addition to thermal treatment.

To explore the static pressure dynamic disaster mechanism of coal-and-gas outburst (CGO) fluid, the self-developed multi-field coupling large-scale physical simulation test system of coal mine dynamic disaster was used to carry out gas outburst and CGO physical simulation tests in straight, L-shaped and T-shaped roadways. The influence of roadway shape on the evolution of static pressure was explored, and the role of pulverized coal in the process of static pressure dynamic disaster was clarified. The results indicated that the static pressure showed a fluctuating downward trend during the outburst process. When gas outburst, the middle and front parts of the roadway in the straight section roadway were the most serious areas of static pressure disasters in the three shapes of roadways. The duration and range of high static pressure disaster in L-shaped roadway were larger than those in T-shaped and straight roadways in turn. When CGO, the most serious area of static pressure disaster in L-shaped and T-shaped roadways moved backward to the middle of the straight section roadway, and there was a rebound phenomenon in the process of static pressure fluctuation decline, which showed the pulse characteristics of CGO. During the outburst, the static pressure dynamic disaster hazard of L-shaped roadway was higher than that of T-shaped roadway, and the static pressure at the bifurcation structure decayed faster than that at the turning structure, which indicated that T-shaped roadway was more conducive to the release of static pressure in roadway, thus reduced the risk of static pressure disaster. When gas outburst, the static pressure attenuation of the fluid in the roadway before and after the turning and bifurcation structure was greater than that of CGO. The peak static pressure and impulse of the fluid during gas outburst were 2 times and 4–5 times that of CGO respectively. The presence of pulverized coal reduced the attenuation of static pressure and the hazard of dynamic disaster, prolonged the release time of energy, and led to the change of the maximum static pressure disaster area.

Coal pitch, an important by-product in the coal coking industry with a high output, is a low-cost and high-carbon yield precursor for the manufacturing of high-value carbon materials. Herein, N/O co-doped carbon fiber (CF_CP), fabricated by electrospinning using pre-oxidized coal pitch as the precursor, was employed as the sulfur host for Li-S batteries. The presence of more pyrrolic N and graphic N in CF_CP than carbon fiber made from polyacrylonitrile benefits the adsorption of lithium polysulfide and the battery’s life. Sulphur-CF_CP cathode (S@CF_CP) exhibited excellent specific capacity and cyclability, with a specific capacity of 701.1 mAh/g and a low capacity decay rate of 0.088% per cycle over 200 cycles at 2.0 C, respectively. The high ion diffusion rate, low charge transfer resistance, and effective conversion of lithium polysulfides enable the high electrochemical performance of S@CF_CP.

Assessment of mining impact on groundwater is one of critical considerations for longwall extension and sustainability, however usually constrained by limited data availability, hydrogeological variation, and the complex coupled hydro-mechanical behaviour. This paper aims to determine the factors and mechanism of groundwater depressurisation and identify knowledge gaps and methodological limitations for improving groundwater impact assessment. Analysis of dewatering cases in Australian, Chinese, and US coalfields demonstrates that piezometric drawdown can further lead to surface hydrology degradation, while the hydraulic responses vary with longwall parameters and geological conditions. Statistical interpretation of 422 height of fracturing datasets indicates that the groundwater impact positively correlates to panel geometry and depth of cover, and more pronounced in panel interaction and top coal caving cases. In situ stress, rock competency, clay mineral infillings, fault, valley topography, and surface–subsurface water interaction are geological and hydrogeological factors influencing groundwater hydraulics and long-term recovery. The dewatering mechanism involves permeability enhancement and extensive flow through fracture networks, where interconnected fractures provide steep hydraulic gradients and smooth flow pathways draining the overlying water to goaf of lower heads. Future research should improve fracture network identification and interconnectivity quantification, accompanied by description of fluid flow dynamics in the high fracture frequency and large fracture aperture context. The paper recommends a research framework to address the knowledge gaps with continuous data collection and field-scale numerical modelling as key technical support. The paper consolidates the understanding of longwall mining impacting mine hydrology and provides viewpoints that facilitate an improved assessment of groundwater depressurisation.

This work presents particle-based numerical simulations on coal pillars in a coal mine based underground water reservoir (CMUWR). We aim to replicate the stress–strain characteristics and present the acoustic emission behavior of the coal under complex dynamic stress paths. The study reveals failure characteristics of coal exposed to monotonic/cyclic shear load under constant/cyclic normal loads. Based on the evolution of stress-time-dependent bond diameter implemented in particle model, different damage paths are established for dry and water-immersed samples under two loading frequencies. Furthermore, the numerical Gutenberg–Richter’s b-value was calculated from the released energy emanating from bond failure, and this work presents the evolution of numerical Gutenberg–Richter’s b-value. The numerical simulation contributes to a micromechanical understanding of the failure mechanisms of coal under water-immersion and cyclic stress, providing valuable insights for strength prediction of CMUWR.

A simple and flexible mass balance approach was applied to observations of XCH₄ from TROPOMI to estimate CH₄ emissions over Shanxi Province, including the impacts of advective transport, pressure transport, and atmospheric diffusion. High-frequency eddy-covariance flux observations were used to constrain the driving terms of the mass balance equation. This equation was then used to calculate day-to-day and 5 km × 5 km grided CH₄ emissions from May 2018 to July 2022 based on TROPOMI RPRO column CH₄ observations. The Shanxi-wide emissions of CH₄, 126 ± 58.8 ug/m²/s, shows a fat tail distribution and high variability on a daily time scale (the 90th percentile is 2.14 times the mean and 2.74 times the median). As the number of days in the rolling average increases, the change in the variation decreases to 128 ± 35.7 ug/m²/s at 10-day, 128 ± 19.8 ug/m²/s at 30-day and 127 ± 13.9 ug/m²/s at 90-day. The range of values of the annual mean emissions on coal mine grids within Shanxi for the years 2018 to 2022 was 122 ± 58.2, 131 ± 71.2, 111 ± 63.6, 129 ± 87.1, and 138 ± 63.4 ug/m²/s, respectively. The 5-year average emissions from TROPOMI are 131 ± 68.0 ug/m²/s versus 125 ± 94.6 ug/m²/s on the grids where the EDGAR bottom-up database also has data, indicating that those pixels with mines dominate the overall emissions in terms of both magnitude and variability. The results show that high-frequency observation-based campaigns can produce a less biased result in terms of both the spatial and temporal distribution of CH₄ emissions as compared with approaches using either low-frequency data or bottom-up databases, that coal mines dominate the sources of CH₄ in Shanxi, and that the observed fat tail distribution can be accounted for using this approach.

Moisture content of rock/coal can change its mechanical properties and absorption capacities, which can directly affect gas diffusivity, change the stress distribution and hence cause significant impacts on the overall gas or coal extraction process. Observation of the water penetration process and water distribution in the coal matrix will be beneficial for the understanding of the fluid-solid coupling mechanism in hydraulic fracturing, aquifer cracking and coal seam infusion. However, the observation of water penetration process and the determination of water distribution mode were hard to be non-destructively achieved as coal is a non-uniform, inhomogeneous and un-transparent material. µ-CT imaging, which is based on variation of X-ray attenuation related to the density and atomic composition of the scanned objects, enables a four-dimensional (spatial-temporal) visualise of the heterogeneous and anisotropic coal samples. The primary aim of this paper is extending the application of µ-CT imaging to explore the moisture penetration and distribution within coal samples during water infusion process, which has been reported by very little literature. The working principle and procedures of CT imaging was firstly introduced. Then, the determination equation of moisture distribution based on density profile was established. The CT determined moisture content has been compared with weighting method for verification. The paper has demonstrated that µ-CT can be used for non-destructively imaging the moisture distribution within coal samples.

Dust pollution from Chinese open-pit coal mines (OPCMs) threatens the coexistence of resource development and environmental protection. This research introduces a new approach to designing OPCMs based on meteorological indicators for dust removal and diffusion. It analyzes the production, distribution, and dust emission features of large-scale OPCMs in China. The factors affecting dust dispersion and atmospheric pollution characteristics were also examined. The findings reveal a surge in the number and output of OPCMs, intensifying the conflict between resource development and environmental protection. Notably, over 80% of OPCMs are in arid and semi-arid regions, exacerbating the challenge. Microclimate effects, including circulation and inversion effects, further amplify dust pollution. Regional and seasonal dust pollution patterns were identified, with the southern region experiencing the highest pollution levels, followed by the northern and central regions. Seasonally, dust pollution exhibits the following pattern: winter > autumn > spring > summer. An alarming decline in atmospheric self-cleaning capacity over the past two decades underscores the pressing challenges ahead for dust control. The increase in air stagnation days/events highlights the urgency for effective dust prevention and control measures. This research suggests considering meteorological elements in OPCM design for dust control. Optimizing mining operations based on weather forecasts enables the utilization of natural conditions for effective dust prevention and control. The results provide insights for dust prevention and control in open-pit mines to foster green and climate-smart mining.

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.

The extraction of valuables from waste has gained momentum. Thermal influence alters both the organic and inorganic components of coal. Insufficient knowledge on the association of rare earth elements (REEs) with the parent matrix of thermally altered high-ash coals (63% ash) limits the potential for such coals being utilized for isolation of valuables. In this study, we analyzed the distribution and occurrence modes of REEs within a magmatically altered high-ash coal via nine-step sequential extraction, combining Tessier and BCR methods. The total concentration of REEs in the coal sample, on whole coal basis, was found to be 820 ppm, which is significantly higher than the world average. Major mineral oxides were deduced to be those of Si, Fe, Al, Ca, Mg, and Ti. Sequential extraction confirmed that about 66% of HREE and 25% of LREE were included in the residual fraction. LREEs were concluded to be primarily in ionic form, whereas HREEs were speculated to be associated with the TiO₂ phase. XRD analyses showed that thermal alteration affected the dolomite phase specifically, which selectively got removed where carbonate-bound elements were assessed. Petrographic analysis supported the magmatic influence and demonstrated the presence of mosaic structures and pores containing unfused vitrinite, with a reflectance value of 3.6. To summarize, the present study pertaining to delineation of association of valuables in high-ash heat-altered coals from an Eastern coalfield in India can potentially open up new avenues for utilizing such coals, which are otherwise considered waste.