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Fossil Fuels
Published in Robert Ehrlich, Harold A. Geller, John R. Cressman, Renewable Energy, 2023
Robert Ehrlich, Harold A. Geller, John R. Cressman
Although coal miners may be the people having the greatest negative impact associated with coal, the health of the general population and the environment are both affected in a serious way when coal is mined, transported, stored, burned, even long afterward. The environmental effects associated with coal mining and coal burning include air, water, and land pollutions, resulting in very serious long-term consequences for both humans and ecosystems.
Seismicity pattern during violent roof movements in longwall mines
Published in Rajib Biswas, Recent Developments in Using Seismic Waves as a Probe for Subsurface Investigations, 2023
Debjeet Mondal, P.N.S Roy, Manoj Kumar
Though coal mining has been a common practice since ancient times but due to its long history of accidents, it has been considered as a risky activity. The accidents associated with coal mining (especially underground mining) are considered to more hazardous than other hard rock mining due to its adverse geology and gassiness of the presence of trapped methane gas in the coal seams. The accidents in the opencast mines are mostly related to bench/stope failures, HEMM (Heavy Earth Moving Machinery) collision and bench blasting, whereas in underground mines accidents occur mainly due to suffocation, gas contamination, roof collapse, rock outbursts and gas explosions (from mainly methane gas). Since accidents in underground mines occur in a closed environment, therefore, are considered to be more catastrophic as compared to accidents in the opencast mines. The country-wise analysis of coal mine accidents showed that higher number of incidents and related fatalities were occurred in underground mines (MacNeill, 2008).
Fossil Fuels
Published in Robert Ehrlich, Harold A. Geller, Renewable Energy, 2017
Robert Ehrlich, Harold A. Geller
Although coal miners may be the people having the greatest negative impact associated with coal, the health of the general population and the environment are both affected in a serious way when coal is mined, transported, stored, burned, even long afterward. The environmental effects associated with coal mining and coal burning include air, water, and land pollutions, resulting in very serious long-term consequences for both humans and ecosystems.
Towards an integrated approach for zero coal mine waste storage: solutions based on materials circularity and sustainable resource governance
Published in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 2023
Yassine Taha, Abdellatif Elghali, Manar Derhy, Mustapha Amrani, Rachid Hakkou, Mostafa Benzaazoua
Coal mining, either open pit or underground mining, is commonly associated with many environmental impacts to water, soil and air ecosystems. Depending on the mining method, many types of coal mine wastes are produced during coal extraction and beneficiation. The overburden of soil, waste rocks and tailings are the main solid wastes generated during coal mining and beneficiation. These wastes are generally excavated and stored in different coal waste piles and dumps. It was reported that if these coal waste dumps are not properly managed, many potential threats could affect the surrounding ecosystems in a variety of ways: water contamination due to acid generation from the oxidation of sulfur bearing minerals (Bendra et al. 2011; Chugh and Behum 2014), lowering of groundwater table in the mining area due to exhaustive pumping of mine water (Tiwary 2001), physical instability of coal mine waste heaps (Song et al. 2015), explosion accidents due to spontaneous coal combustion in the coal dumps (Liu et al. 1998), alteration of the natural esthetic surroundings (Taha et al. 2017), dust generation affecting the quality of air and disturbances to habitats (Adibee, Osanloo and Rahmanpour et al. 2013).
Microbial Degradation of Coal into a Value Added Product
Published in International Journal of Coal Preparation and Utilization, 2019
The coal mining sector is a major player in the global economy and by its very nature and activity impacts the biophysical, social and economic environment. Coal is one of the world’s most abundant fossil energy resources and it is estimated that world’s coal reserves are currently at 1.53 X 1020 BTU or 71.4% of the total world fossil fuel resource. Coal has three-dimensional macromolecular structures whose organic portion is composed of (1) macromolecules which are similar in structure to lignin and humic acid, and (2) low molecular weight organic molecules (Polman, Stoner, and Delezene-Briggs 1994). Due to the presence of organic matter, it has been hypothesized that coal is susceptible to transformation by microorganisms including bacteria and fungi (Polman et al. 1995). There are several reasons to investigate microbial activities towards coal. Besides crude oil, coal is an essential fossil fuel and thus, a natural source of energy as well as a raw material for the steel industry.
Experimental study of the influence of water on spontaneous combustion of coal containing pyrite
Published in International Journal of Coal Preparation and Utilization, 2020
Xueming Li, Zhixin Jin, Gang Bai, Jiren Wang, Jianshe Linghu
Coal spontaneous combustion endangers the safety of coal mining operations worldwide. The spontaneous combustion process involves exothermic reaction between coal and oxygen, causing rise in temperature and the reaction rate (Tang et al. 2013). Carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, released from spontaneous combustion suppresses that from mere surface air seepage (Luo, Wu, and Yuan 2017; Wang and Chen 2015). In addition, the oxidative decomposition of sulfur in high-sulfur coal promotes acid mine drainage (Blasco et al. 2016; Murphy and Strongin 2009) and SO2 generated by sulfur combustion endangers workers’ health and cause acid rain (Bhargava, Garg, and Subasinghe 2009). Therefore, coal spontaneous combustion causes economic losses and damages human health and environment. Currently, about 80% of coal mines in China are still at risk of spontaneous combustion. Over 90% of coal seams are capable of self-igniting coal seam, with more than 4000 accidents attributed to spontaneous combustion annually in China. Based on a large number of experimental tests from previous studies (Guo et al. 2019; Mohalik, Lester, and Lowndes 2017), anthracite is reported to exhibit a low tendency for spontaneous combustion. But Shanxi Yangquan Coal Industry Co. Ltd., as one of the largest anthracite production bases in China, faces serious spontaneous combustion in its mines. Yangquan coal contains pyrite is one of the reasons. Although pyrite, as inorganic sulfur, does not account for much in coal, it affects the coal production process (Hu et al. 2006; Zhou, Xu, and Cheng 2018). And its spontaneous combustion will affect the state of surrounding coal and accelerate the oxidation of adjacent coal seams.