DETECTION AND ASSESSMENT OF HEATING IN COAL MINES

Earlier is the fire is attended to, easier would it be to deal with Methods based on: A. Observation of the physical symptoms B. Thermal surveys C. Mine air analysis

A. Observation of physical symptoms:

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. Appearance of faint haze Sweating of the strata Gob stink or fire stink Sound Smoke Fire

i. Haze Initial stage of heating-- moisture released from coal gets converted into vapour on coming into contact with cooler ventilating air = haze like formation Signs: Poor visibility in the vicinity of heating Appear little away from seat of fire towards intake side ii. Sweating of strata: Advanced stage after formation of haze. Water vapour, on coming into contact with cooler ventilating air/surface, forms water droplets on roofs, walls and timber supports This may be misleading symptom in humid mines, hence considered only in dry mines and with coals having low moisture content <5%

iii. Gob stink or fire stink: Characteristic smell normally found in coal fire area Tarry smell is considered as a sure warning to the initiation of spontaneous heating iv. Sound (Strata or insects): Cracking sound, from collapse of strata or due to crack formation, may be heard behind stopping or barriers indicates advancement of fire Increased activity and chirping of cockroaches and cricket may be considered as warning v. Smoke: Observed beyond the ignition temperature of coal when fire has set in

Limitations of Physical Symptoms: One can not assess the degree of heating, nor can one always detect heating early stages. At times the physical symptoms may give misleading information e.g lubrication of wire ropes on haulage roads give smell similar to tarry smell, decay of wood in warm damp places, grinding rocks under roof weight, tarred brattice cloth, pine like odour of new timber

Symptoms indicating different stages of heating I. Incipient or initial stage a. faint haze b. Sweating of roof, sides, timber and metal surfaces c. Typical faint odour- slightly oily, some times sweet sometimes like decaying of timber d. Increased activity of cockroaches and crickets if present e. Slight discomfort and uneasiness to men near the site of heating due to increased temp and humidity. Sense of tickling in nose, increased secretion of saliva and dry throat

II. a. b.

Intermediate or smouldering stage (>130 deg)

Intensified symptoms of Incipient stage

Smell now becomes petrol like (distillation of coal) Men may feel headache, increased restlessness and dulling of senses. Wobbling of knees in some cases

III.

Heating approaching ignition (>330 deg) a. Petrol smell changes to tarry odour b. Smoke, incandescence or even flame may be visible Cooling stage Characteristics odour and unpleasant smell of stale garlic

III.

B. Thermal surveys: Much before actual fire, temperature tends to show some rise due to spontaneous heating Systematic check on temperature rise in areas susceptible to spontaneous heating may help in the early detection of spontaneous heating Methods: B.1. Direct methods B.2 Indirect methods

B.1. Direct methods

Principles:
Expansion of confined volume of material (Hg-in-glass type thermometers, bimetallic strips) Melting point of suitable material (fusible plugs) Thermo-electric effect (thermocouples) Resistance change of semi-conducting material( thermistor type units)

Limitations of Direct methods:

Connecting wires may get damaged due to roof falls, or floor heaving or similar disturbance underground

B.2. Indirect methods:

Thermal response can be relayed without wired connection (wireless systems)

i. Radio Sonde
Humid atmosphere obstruct their successful operations in goaves

ii. Stentch agents:

Capsules containing highly odourous liquid of low boiling point -> quite useful when capsules are placed at suitable points. Human nose is sensitive to respond 0.001 ppm of odorant in air

iii. Paints:
Emit strong smelling vapour when heated

iv. Infra red Radiometry (Heat Spy, infra-red camera)

Picking the infra-red rays from any hot surface and converts the received energy into an electric signal It can measure temperature differential of a surface from a distance of >30 m with an accuracy of 10C.

Limitations of Indirect methods:

If hot surfaces can not be sighted by the equipment, then this technique becomes in-effective Thermal surveys has to be supplemented with gas survey studies or analysis of products of combustion

C. Mine Air Analysis: Gaseous products generated from heating of coal are likely to be carried to places far off from the sources of heating due to convection current as well as from mine ventilation. Hence examination of change in composition of the constituents of mine air becomes very useful in early detection as well as in assessing the state of heating in the mine Mine Air Composition vary over wide range depending upon the amount and nature of pollutant gases emitted/produced in mines e.g.CO2, CH4, CO, Hydrocarbons, traces of N2. H2 may be present in fire area.

Points to be remembered: 1. In case of breathing of men, the burning of lights and the decay of timber, no CO is produced and the amount of CO2 produced is roughly equal to O2 deficiency. CO2/O2Deficiency > 80% & CO/O2 deficiency = 0 2. In case of iron pyrite, no CO is produced. The amount of CO2 produced indirectly by the action of sulphuric acid on carbonates in the coal, is usually less than half the O2 absorbed, CO2/O2Deficiency < 50% & CO/O2 deficiency = 0 3. On oxidation of coal variable amount of CO2 and CO is produced depending upon the temperature of coal. At normal temp CO2/O2Deficiency = 4% & CO/O2 deficiency <= 0.4%. At higher temperature (1400C), CO2/O2Deficiency = 40% & CO/O2 deficiency = 7% CO2/O2Deficiency ratio is always affected by factors other than oxidation of coal as there are other sources of CO2 other than combustion and CO2 is soluble in water.

Indicators: 1. Presence of various gases as indicator of fires: CO, unsaturated hydrocarbons, H2 2. Oxygen consumption 3. Various Indices: a) Grahams Ratio b) Willets Ratio c) Pertington Ratio d) C/H ratio e) CO/CO2 Ratio

 Presence of various gases:

CO, CO2, O2, N2

Presence of Unsaturated Hydrocarbons

2. Oxygen Consumption Flaming combustion ceases in an atmosphere <12% Oxygen. The coal can sustain heating for a pretty long time even at 1-2% O2 readmission of air might reignite the coal unless coal bed temp is allowed to cool down sufficiently elow its active state (much less than 1500 C). Fire in extinct when on admission of air in the sealed of f area , it does not become active immediately or within the time needed to allow completely recovery of the area as well as removing or cooling down of the heated material. O2 consumption rate <0.007%/day may be considered indicative of extinction condition It is difficult to ascertain O2 consumption rate because of uneven leakages of air

Indices/Ratios
a) b) c) d) Grahams Ratio Willets Ratio Pertington Ratio C/H ratio

3. Indices/Ratios a. Grahams Ratio CO/O2 deficiency %, CO2/O2 deficiency % CO/O2 deficiency ratio Most useful tool in detection and assessment of state of heating in sealed off areas. = CO*100/( 0.265N2 - O2)

Relates the production of CO with oxygen used up by oxidizing material and indicates the average intensity of oxidizing/ burning of coal mass. It does not provide any information on the extent of the fire

CO2= 6.79, O2= 2.19%, CO= 0.059%, N2= 90.961% CO/O2 def 0.059*100/(0.265*90.961-2.19) = 0.27%

CO2 / O2 Def = (6.79-.03)*100/(0.265*90.961-2.19) = 30%

As CO2 can be emitted by strata and it is soluble in water, the results are sometimes anomalous Limitations: 1. Only the average value is given , and thus maximum intensity of heating in a sealed zone is often under-estimated 2. The analytical errors accrued in the gas analysis may considerably affect its accuracy for low oxygen deficiencies 3. The ratio will be affected if products of combustion are diluted with blackdamp or oxygen deficient air 4. Usually CO produced progressively reduces as the fire cools. At times CO disappearance takes place even if the fire is not completely extinct, particularly in wet mines (due to bacterial disappearance)

 Willets Ratio

Analysis of samples collected behind sealed off area shows that certain amount of CO produced by oxidation does not disappear at all or falls at a very slow rate with progressive extinction of fire
CO 100 WR = BlackDamp + Combustiblegases

 Pertington Ratio

N2/(CO+CO2) It increase with temperature , peak at about 1000 C then reduces until temperature reaches 2500C. It shows increasing trend if fire rekindles.

 C/H ratio Assess the intensity of fire and along with oxygen consumption rate values it indicates extensivity of fire [6(CO2 + CO + CH 4 + 2C 2 H 2)] C/H = [2(( N 2 20.73 / 79.04) O 2 CO2 + C 2 H 4 + CH 4) + H 2 CO] For complete burning of bituminous coal- 16-20 High values burning of cellulosic material (Timber etc) Lower values partial burning of coal C/H with O2 consumption rate gives a good assessment of a fire in a sealed off area

Limitations: 1. It depends on dilution of area with fire damp emitted from the strata 2. The various sources of generation of CO2 and chances of its escape from dissolution with water also affect its accuracy 3. But in combination with O2 consumption rate and grahams ratio it gives good indication

 CO2/CO Ratio

Sensitive to temperature of coal bed, decreases with the increase in temperature and decreases with time. It becomes constant beyond a certain temperature

Conclusions: 1. Physical symptoms like gob stink and persistent rise in CO concentration level ( as well as rise in C2H4 and CO2 values) in the return air are indicative of heating in mine. A check on change of gas composition and also of thermal changes at vulnerable places would assist in early detection and location of heating 2. With present day innovation of tube bundle system of gas sampling, collecting gases from vulnerable areas and introduction of continuous monitoring devices with gas analysis appliances like IR gas analysers, early detection of spontaneous heating and location of the site are no longer arduous work 3. With outbreak of fire mine air composition varies:
O2-- <0.01%-19-20% CO2 <0.1%- 15-20% CO H2 CH4 traces- 5-10% traces 8-10% 1-2% -- 5-10% in low degree of gassiness and upto 95% in high degree of gassiness

Based on compositional analysis of fire area different ratios in combination will be useful