Coal char gasification for co-production of fuel gas and methane decomposition catalysts

Partial gasification of coal char was conducted with addition of metal oxides for co-production of fuel gas and methane decomposition catalysts. Effect of the metal composition (Ni, Co and Fe based mono- or bi-metals) was investigated on the fuel gas production and the resultant catalyst surface and textural properties, morphology and performance in catalytic methane decomposition (CMD). Besides H₂-rich fuel gas production (the combustion energy up to 11.03–23.42 MJ/kg_char) from the gasification, the gasification residue can directly serve as the effective and efficient catalyst for CMD. The Fe and Fe–Co composite oxides were found to be better among the mono- and bi-metallic oxides for the fuel gas production during the gasification, respectively. The Ni-based mono-/bi-metallic catalysts could display high and stable methane conversion (up to 80%) during the 600-min CMD test at 850 °C. Promotional role of the second metal in CMD was discussed on the carbon diffusion, metal mobility and reducibility, formation and growth of the deposited carbons. The formed carbon morphology after CMD was analyzed based on the Kirkendall effect and Tammann temperature and further correlated to the potential catalyst deactivation.     

Heterogeneously Catalyzed Methanolysis of Gmelina Seed Oil to Biodiesel

The heterogeneous catalysis of transesterification of gmelina seed oil to biodiesel is evaluated. The oil was extracted from the seeds with n‐hexane by solvent extraction and characterized to determine its physiochemical properties. Response surface methodology was applied to optimize the effect of process variables on the biodiesel yield. The base‐activated clay catalyst performed as montmorillonite clay with the characteristic property of a Brønsted acid. It has an improved surface area after activation that enhanced its catalytic activity on transesterification reaction. Under optimal conditions, the biodiesel yield was 70.1 %, thus demonstrating that the model predicted well the biodiesel production.     

小青煤矿北二采区4煤层顶板含水砂岩富水性研究

由于小青煤矿北二采区顶板含水砂岩较为发育,给安全生产造成了隐患,为保证矿井安全生产,通过对顶板砂岩沉积、岩性和地质构造等因素进行研究,分析了4煤层顶板含水砂岩的富水性。该项研究对类似条件下其他矿井水害防治工作具有一定的参考价值。     

安家岭储煤场输煤暗道通风除尘技术应用研究

针对输煤暗道的生产工艺现状，提出了采用通风与密闭抽尘净化技术，结合转载落料点密闭干雾降尘等技术措施，实现了输煤暗道内粉尘的的综合治理，通过粉尘浓度在线监测系统进行智能化控制，实现对输煤暗道通风除尘系统的远程连续监测监控，输煤暗道转载点下风侧5 m作业人员通行的位置总粉尘浓度由380.8 mg/m3降至19.8 mg/m3，降尘效率达94.8%，呼吸性粉尘浓度从96.7 mg/m3降至8.4 mg/m3，降尘效率达91.3%，降尘效果较好，有效地解决了输煤暗道及其转载落料点的粉尘污染问题，为输煤暗道内的粉尘防治提供参考依据。     

赵庄井田煤层气成藏条件研究

煤层气成藏条件研究是有效划分成藏类型或含气系统，煤层气富集高渗有利区预测、评价及优选的关键基础工作。基于赵庄井田煤层气地质条件及相关测试资料，借鉴前人研究成果，从煤生烃、煤层气储集和煤层气封盖保存条件等方面对赵庄井田煤层气成藏条件进行了研究。研究结果表明:煤中丰富的生烃物质在良好的生烃动力作用下，提高了生烃率和生烃量，为煤层气成藏提供了基础条件；煤变质程度高，促使煤中微小孔隙发育，煤层气储集能力增强和储集空间增大，有利于煤层气大量储存和富集；煤层埋深、围岩特性、构造及地下水径流等地质条件的有机匹配，为煤层气成藏提供了良好的封盖保存条件，是煤层气成藏的关键因素。     

煤系地层致密砂岩气甜点区地震逐级预测——以鄂尔多斯盆地东南缘下二叠统山西组2~3亚段为例

鄂尔多斯盆地东南部下二叠统山西组2~3亚段(以下简称山2~3亚段)为该盆地重要的天然气勘探目的层,但该亚段储层薄、厚度变化快、非均质性强,储层预测和勘探目标优选难度大。为了准确预测该亚段煤系地层致密砂岩气甜点区、提高天然气勘探成功率,针对该套储层的特征和预测难点,提出了90°相移技术识别河道外形、模型约束波阻抗反演刻画砂体厚度和子波衰减梯度属性识别含气砂体的地震逐级预测技术。研究结果表明:①山2~3亚段上覆5号煤地震强反射层,下伏储层地震反射能量弱,加之为稀疏二维地震测网、井控程度低,致使致密砂岩气甜点区预测难度大;②所提出的技术方法通过地震逐级预测约束,可以有效地刻画河道砂体分布并识别有效含气储层,提高了对勘探开发目标预测的精度;③基于该技术方法指导部署的勘探开发目标实钻效果好,地震预测结果横向分辨率高,真实地反映了河道及河道砂体的变化特征。结论认为,采用该方法可以有效地解决二维地震勘探区煤系地层强非均质性、薄储层致密砂岩气甜点区预测的地质难题。     

Effects of CO Atmosphere on the Pyrolysis of a Typical Lignite

To reveal the effect mechanism of CO atmosphere on coal pyrolysis, a study on raw and demineralized lignite was carried out in a horizontal tube furnace under N₂ and CO/N₂ atmosphere. CO had a negligible effect on the char yield at low temperatures, whereas it enhances the char yield at temperatures higher than 550 °C. The release of tar was higher in the presence of CO above 450 °C because of more free radicals, which reduced low‐temperature crosslinking, and higher selectivity of hydroxyl groups to phenols in the CO‐containing atmosphere. The yields of CO₂ and H₂ increased, water and CO yields decreased under CO/N₂ atmosphere. Light hydrocarbon gases were not affected by changing the reaction atmosphere. The difference between product yields from raw and demineralized coal confirmed that the catalysis of inherent minerals had a great catalytic effect on the water‐gas shift reaction and Boudouard reaction.     

Coal and Lignite Production

Current data on coal and lignite production, as well as a breakdown of production by country. Updated on a monthly basis.     

Development of a new solar,gasification and fuel cell based integrated plant

Despite its shortcomings, fossil-based fuels are still utilized as the main energy source, accounting for about 80% of the world's total energy supply with about one-third of which comes from coal. However, conventional coal-fired power plants emit relatively higher amounts of greenhouse gases, and the derivatives of air pollutants, which necessitates the integration of environmentally benign technologies into the conventional power plants. In the current study, a H₂–CO synthesis gas fueled solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is integrated to the coal-fired combined cycle along with a concentrated solar energy system for the purpose of promoting the cleaner energy applications in the fossil fuel-based power plants. The underlying motivation of the present study is to propose a novel design for a conventional coal-fired combined cycle without altering its main infrastructure to make its environmentally hazardous nature more ecofriendly. The proposed SOFC integrated coal-fired combined cycle is modeled thermodynamically for different types of coals, namely pet coke, Powder River Basin (PRB) coal, lignite and anthracite using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) and the Ebsilon software packages. The current results show that the designed hybrid energy system provide higher performance with higher energy and exergy efficiencies ranging from 70.6% to 72.7% energetically and from 35.5% to 43.8% exergetically. In addition, carbon dioxide emissions are reduced varying between 18.31 kg/s and 30.09 kg/s depending on the selected coal type, under the assumption of 10 kg per second fuel inlet.     

Experimental study on the deformation and failure mechanism of overburden rock during coal mining using a comprehensive intelligent sensing method

Understanding the spatiotemporal evolution of overburden deformation during coal mining is still a challenge in engineering practice due to the limitation of monitoring techniques. Taking the Yangliu Coal Mine as an example, a similarity model test was designed and conducted to investigate the deformation and failure mechanism of overlying rocks in this study. Distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS), high-density electrical resistivity tomography (HD-ERT) and close-range photogrammetry (CRP) technologies were used in the test for comprehensive analyses. The combined use of the three methods facilitates the investigation of the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of overburden deformation, showing that the mining-induced deformation of overburden strata was a dynamic evolution process. This process was accompanied by the formation, propagation, closure and redevelopment of separation cracks. Moreover, the key rock stratum with high strength and high-quality lithology played a crucial role in the whole process of overburden deformation. There were generally three failure modes of overburden rock layers, including bending and tension, overall shearing, and shearing and sliding. Shear failure often leads to overburden falling off in blocks, which poses a serious threat to mining safety. Therefore, real-time and accurate monitoring of overburden deformation is of great significance for the safe mining of underground coal seams.