Principle and engineering application of pressure relief gas drainage in low permeability outburst coal seam

With the increase in mining depth, the danger of coal and gas outbursts increases.In order to drain coal gas effectively and to eliminate the risk of coal and gas outbursts, we used a specific number of penetration boreholes for draining of pressure relief gas.Based on the principle of overlying strata movement, deformation and pressure relief, a good effect of gas drainage was obtained.The practice in the Panyi coal mine has shown that, after mining the C11coal seam as the protective layer, the relative expansion deformation value of the protected layer C13 reached 2.63%, The permeability coefficient increased 2880 times, the gas drainage rate of the C13 coal seam increased to more than 60%, the amount of gas was reduced from 13.0 to 5.2 m3/t and the gas pressure declined from 4.4 to 0.4 MPa, which caused the danger the outbursts in the coal seams to be eliminated.The result was that we achieved a safe and highly efficient mining operation of the C13 coal seam.

Fracture evolution and pressure relief gas drainage from distant protected coal seams under an extremely thick key stratum

When an extremely thick rock bed exists above a protected coal seam in the bending zone given the condition of a min- ing protective seam, this extremely thick rock bed controls the movement of the entire overlying stratum. This extremely thick rock bed, called a "main key stratum", will not subside nor break for a long time, causing lower fractures and bed separations not to close and gas can migrate to the bed separation areas along the fractures. These bed separations become gas enrichment areas. By analyzing the rule of fracture evolution and gas migration under the main key stratum after the deep protective coal seam has been mined, we propose a new gas drainage method which uses bore holes, drilled through rock and coal seams at great depths for draining pressure relief gas. In this method, the bores are located at a high level suction roadway (we can also drill them in the drill- ing field located high in an air gateway). Given the practice in the Haizi mine, the gas drainage rate can reach 73% in the middle coal group, with a gas drainage radius over 100m.

Effect of magma intrusion on the occurrence of coal gas in the Wolonghu coalfield

Chemical analysis, methane isothermal adsorption studies, and mercury porosimetry were performed on ten samples taken from the magma intrusion boundary in the Wolonghu coalfield. The physico-chemical properties of coals from the magma intrusion region are compared to those from the normal regions. The results show that the volatile content (Vad), the limiting adsorption constant (a), and the initial methane diffusion rate of samples from the magma intrusion region are generally smaller than those values from samples from the normal region. The number three coal sample from the magma intrusion region has a large vitrinite reflectance, well developed macropores, a small surface area, and weak methane adsorp- tion capacity. The number ten coal sample from the normal region has a small vitrinite reflectance, well developed micropores, a large surface area, and a strong methane adsorption capacity. The maceral of the coal samples from the magma intrusion region and the normal region are similar. The coal in the area near the magma intrusion boundary is rich in methane and is an area where coal and gas outbursts often occur.

Pressure relief, gas drainage and deformation effects on an overlying coal seam induced by drilling an extra-thin protective coal seam

Numerical simulations and field tests were used to investigate the changes in ground stress and deformation of, and gas flow from, a protected coal seam under which an extra-thin coal seam was drilled. The geological conditions were: 0.5 meter mining height, 18.5 meter coal seam spacing and a hard limestone/fine sandstone inter-stratum. For these conditions we conclude: 1) the overlying coal-rock mass bends and sinks without the appearance of a caving zone, and 2) the protected coal seam is in the bending zone and undergoes expansion deformation in the stress-relaxed area. The deformation was 12 mm and the relative defor- mation was 0.15%. As mining proceeds, deformation in the protected layer begins as compression, then becomes a rapid expansion and, finally, reaches a stable value. A large number of bed separation crannies are created in the stress-relaxed area and the permeability coefficient of the coal seam was increased 403 fold. Grid penetration boreholes were evenly drilled toward the protected coal seam to affect pressure relief and gas drainage. This made the gas pressure decrease from 0.75 to 0.15 MPa, the gas content decrease from 13 to 4.66 m3/t and the gas drainage reach 64%.