A Study of the Differences in the Gas Diffusion and Migration Characteristics of Soft and Hard Coal in High Gas Coal Seams

At the present time, it is of major significance to examine the differences in the gas diffusion and migration characteristics of soft and hard coal in order to prevent and control safety hazards in high gas coal seams. In this study, the differences in the gas diffusion and migration characteristic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Anying Yuan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-01-01
Series:Advances in Civil Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8825625
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849397094832406528
author Anying Yuan
author_facet Anying Yuan
author_sort Anying Yuan
collection DOAJ
description At the present time, it is of major significance to examine the differences in the gas diffusion and migration characteristics of soft and hard coal in order to prevent and control safety hazards in high gas coal seams. In this study, the differences in the gas diffusion and migration characteristics between soft coal and hard coal were examined in detail using macrostructural, mesostructural, and microstructural research methods. The root causes of the differences in the gas diffusion and migration between soft coal and hard coal were revealed in the obtained research results. The study shows that, in terms of the macrostructures, the soft coal particle grains were flakey and with shapes resembling fingernails. Meanwhile, the hard coal particle grains were observed to be in the shapes of complete blocks. In addition, in terms of the mesostructures of the different coal types, it was found that the proportion of granular coal below the particle size limit of 6 mm in the soft coal was much higher than that of the hard coal. Also, from the aspect of the characteristics of the microstructures, the pores and fissures on the soft coal surfaces were observed to be better developed, and the BJH specific surface areas of the soft coal were more than twice those of the hard coal. That is to say, the gas diffusion and migration conditions of the soft coal were better than those of the hard coal. At the same time, the increments of the specific surface areas and volumes of the pores of soft coal were above 100 nm, which provided channels for gas diffusion and migration at rates of more than twice those of the hard coal. Therefore, the soft coal was more conducive to gas emissions. This study conducted gas desorption experiments on both soft and hard coal samples and found that the initial gas desorption speed of the soft coal was significantly higher than that of the hard coal. Since the instantaneous gas emissions of the soft coal were significantly higher than those of the hard coal, it was considered to be more likely that gas outbursts and transfinite accidents could potentially occur in the soft coal layers of a project site. This study’s results provided a foundation and basis for effective gas control measures in coal seams composed of soft coal layers, which will be of major significance to the safety of coal mining activities in the future.
format Article
id doaj-art-a91cdfba8d5242bfa40d1e02648171e6
institution Kabale University
issn 1687-8086
1687-8094
language English
publishDate 2020-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Advances in Civil Engineering
spelling doaj-art-a91cdfba8d5242bfa40d1e02648171e62025-08-20T03:39:09ZengWileyAdvances in Civil Engineering1687-80861687-80942020-01-01202010.1155/2020/88256258825625A Study of the Differences in the Gas Diffusion and Migration Characteristics of Soft and Hard Coal in High Gas Coal SeamsAnying Yuan0State Key Laboratory of Mining Response and Disaster Prevention and Control in Deep Coal Mines, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan City, Anhui Province 232001, ChinaAt the present time, it is of major significance to examine the differences in the gas diffusion and migration characteristics of soft and hard coal in order to prevent and control safety hazards in high gas coal seams. In this study, the differences in the gas diffusion and migration characteristics between soft coal and hard coal were examined in detail using macrostructural, mesostructural, and microstructural research methods. The root causes of the differences in the gas diffusion and migration between soft coal and hard coal were revealed in the obtained research results. The study shows that, in terms of the macrostructures, the soft coal particle grains were flakey and with shapes resembling fingernails. Meanwhile, the hard coal particle grains were observed to be in the shapes of complete blocks. In addition, in terms of the mesostructures of the different coal types, it was found that the proportion of granular coal below the particle size limit of 6 mm in the soft coal was much higher than that of the hard coal. Also, from the aspect of the characteristics of the microstructures, the pores and fissures on the soft coal surfaces were observed to be better developed, and the BJH specific surface areas of the soft coal were more than twice those of the hard coal. That is to say, the gas diffusion and migration conditions of the soft coal were better than those of the hard coal. At the same time, the increments of the specific surface areas and volumes of the pores of soft coal were above 100 nm, which provided channels for gas diffusion and migration at rates of more than twice those of the hard coal. Therefore, the soft coal was more conducive to gas emissions. This study conducted gas desorption experiments on both soft and hard coal samples and found that the initial gas desorption speed of the soft coal was significantly higher than that of the hard coal. Since the instantaneous gas emissions of the soft coal were significantly higher than those of the hard coal, it was considered to be more likely that gas outbursts and transfinite accidents could potentially occur in the soft coal layers of a project site. This study’s results provided a foundation and basis for effective gas control measures in coal seams composed of soft coal layers, which will be of major significance to the safety of coal mining activities in the future.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8825625
spellingShingle Anying Yuan
A Study of the Differences in the Gas Diffusion and Migration Characteristics of Soft and Hard Coal in High Gas Coal Seams
Advances in Civil Engineering
title A Study of the Differences in the Gas Diffusion and Migration Characteristics of Soft and Hard Coal in High Gas Coal Seams
title_full A Study of the Differences in the Gas Diffusion and Migration Characteristics of Soft and Hard Coal in High Gas Coal Seams
title_fullStr A Study of the Differences in the Gas Diffusion and Migration Characteristics of Soft and Hard Coal in High Gas Coal Seams
title_full_unstemmed A Study of the Differences in the Gas Diffusion and Migration Characteristics of Soft and Hard Coal in High Gas Coal Seams
title_short A Study of the Differences in the Gas Diffusion and Migration Characteristics of Soft and Hard Coal in High Gas Coal Seams
title_sort study of the differences in the gas diffusion and migration characteristics of soft and hard coal in high gas coal seams
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8825625
work_keys_str_mv AT anyingyuan astudyofthedifferencesinthegasdiffusionandmigrationcharacteristicsofsoftandhardcoalinhighgascoalseams
AT anyingyuan studyofthedifferencesinthegasdiffusionandmigrationcharacteristicsofsoftandhardcoalinhighgascoalseams