Moisture as assessment criterion for coal rank and coal layers hazardous characteristics manifestation

Abstract

For the time being, moisture effect to the useful quality of coals has been researched comprehensively in detail. Herewith, there are a lot of unsolved problems related to the safety working out of coal layers. Presence of different forms of moisture in fossil coals essentially influences the coal layers hazardous characteristics manifestation during the mining activities. The Article deals with the results of analyses of more than thousand samples of the Donets Basin coals from different deposits, to research the relationship of total moisture and organic matter components in the coal carbonizations during the metamorphic processes. The researches have allowed separation of 3 stages for the fossil coal conversions. It is noted that at the initial stage, the carbon content is about 80%, moisture proportion in carbonization is rather high—0.36; but it decreases abruptly down to 0.12, in case of the carbon content increasing up to 86.5%. And the proportion of components (hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur) total increases essentially up to 0.88. At the next stage, at 86.5÷91.5%, the components proportion in carbonization changes insignificantly. At the final stage of coal metamorphic conversions, 4-time growth of moisture proportion takes place in carbonization. It is found that moisture proportion in any form to be found in the coals shall be considered as a rank index, which is necessary to determine the coal layers hazardous characteristics.