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Comparative study on the inhibiting effect of dissolvable tiny-foam extinguishing agent and chlorine salts on coal spontaneous combustion

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Abstract

Coal spontaneous combustion (CSC) is a global disaster and detrimental to the ecological environment. This study aims to better apply environmentally friendly dissolvable tiny-foam extinguisher (DTE) to CSC and look further into the inhibition mechanism. Thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) were employed to test the oxidation properties of coal samples treated with DTE, NaCl, MgCl2, and CaCl2 inhibitors, and the reaction mechanisms and kinetic parameters in the high-temperature stage of coal oxidation were determined. The results revealed that the inhibition of the four inhibitors was similar in the initial period of the coal oxidation, DTE increased the cracking temperature of the coal by 37 °C, mass loss was a minimum when reaching the ignition temperature, and inhibition was better than the other inhibitors at the low temperature. DTE had higher thermal stability and played a stable role in suppression at the high temperature, while chlorine salt inhibitors promoted the oxidative exothermic reaction. DTE coal sample absorbed forty times more heat during the endothermic stage than raw coal, ten times more than MgCl2, and released a minimum of heat. In the decomposition and combustion stages, the reaction mechanism of coal and oxygen conformed to the three-dimensional diffusion Z.-L.-T. equation, and the apparent activation energy of the DTE-treated coal sample was about 40 kJ/mol higher than raw coal.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

A :

Pre-exponential factor, min−1

CSC:

Coal spontaneous combustion

DTE:

Dissolvable tiny-foam extinguisher

DSC :

Differential scanning calorimetry

E a :

Apparent activation energy, kJ·mol−1

DTG:

Differential thermogravimetry

f(α) :

Differential function (dimensionless)

G(α) :

Integrated function (dimensionless)

R :

Universal gas constant (8.314 J/[mol·K])

r 2 :

Correlation degree

TG:

Thermogravimetry

T D :

Thermal equilibrium temperature, ℃

T 1 :

Critical temperature, ℃

T 2 :

Cracking temperature, ℃

T 3 :

Decomposition temperature, ℃

T 4 :

Ignition temperature, ℃

T 5 :

Maximum mass loss rate temperature, ℃

T 6 :

Burnout temperature, ℃

△ T :

Difference between the temperature of the resistance coal sample and the raw coal, ℃

α :

Conversion rate of the coal at a temperature of T

m 0 :

Mass before weightlessness, mg

m t :

Mass at time t, mg

m f :

Mass at the end of masslessness, mg

β :

Constant heating rate, ℃·min−1

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Acknowledgements

The authors are very thankful for the support from the Science and Technology Department of Shaanxi Province and Xi’an University of Science and Technology. The authors also acknowledge the Key Laboratory of Coal Fire and Hazard Prevention in Shaanxi Province, China.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers [51974236]), the Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi Province (grant numbers [2021JC-48]), and the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Education Youth Innovation Team Building Research Program (grant numbers [21JP078]).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Safety Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, 58, Yanta Mid. Rd, Xi’an, 710054, Shaanxi, China

    Xiaowei Zhai, Yujie Zhou, Bobo Song, Wenjun Pan & Jiuge Wang

  2. Key Laboratory of Coal Fire Disaster Prevention and Control in Shaanxi Province, Xi’an, 710054, Shaanxi, China

    Xiaowei Zhai, Yujie Zhou, Bobo Song, Wenjun Pan & Jiuge Wang

  3. Mine Emergency Rescue Innovation Team, The Youth Innovation Team of Shaanxi Universities, Shaanxi, China

    Xiaowei Zhai, Yujie Zhou, Bobo Song, Wenjun Pan & Jiuge Wang

Authors
  1. Xiaowei Zhai
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  2. Yujie Zhou
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  3. Bobo Song
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  4. Wenjun Pan
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  5. Jiuge Wang
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Contributions

Xiaowei Zhai provided ideas and experimental protocols, supervised the experimental procedure, reviewed the manuscript, guided the research, obtained fundings, and edited the final manuscript. Yujie Zhou performed experiments, processed data, wrote the original manuscript, and revised the final manuscript. Bobo Song performed the experiments, analyzed and interpreted data, and revised the manuscript. Wenjun Pan and Jiuge Wang performed the experiments and methodology. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xiaowei Zhai.

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Highlights

• Synchronous thermal analysis experiments were used to explore the oxidation properties of coal samples treated with DTE, NaCl, MgCl2, and CaCl2 inhibitors.

• The inhibiting effects of DTE and chlorine salt inhibitors on coal spontaneous combustion were compared.

• The reaction mechanism and kinetic parameters of coal samples in the high-temperature stage of coal oxidation were speculated.

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Zhai, X., Zhou, Y., Song, B. et al. Comparative study on the inhibiting effect of dissolvable tiny-foam extinguishing agent and chlorine salts on coal spontaneous combustion. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 80591–80601 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-27948-5

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