Assessment of spontaneous heating liability of some Indian coals using experimental techniques

Abstract

Spontaneous combustion is the result of auto oxidation of coal. Majority of mine fire which occurs in the coalfields are mainly due to spontaneous heating of coal. Mine fire is a major problem for mining industry as well as the researcher in the field. It is important to determine the spontaneous heating susceptibility of coal for better production and minimization of the risk involved in the process. The project deals with the various experimental investigations to find out the spontaneous heating susceptibility of some Indian coal. Eight coal samples for the project were collected from CCL and MCL mines, both from opencast as well as underground workings. The intrinsic properties as well as susceptibility indices of the coal samples were determined by following experimental techniques: • Proximate analysis • Calorific value • Wet oxidation potential • Crossing point temperature • Olpinski index • Flammability temperature • Differential thermal analysis From the experimental investigation, it is found that the coal samples collected from CCL coal fields as well as MCL coal fields are moderately susceptible to spontaneous heating of coal. Some of the coal samples are more susceptible than the other. But overall we can say that the coals are moderately susceptible to spontaneous heating.