An Environmentally Friendly Antioxidant Foamed Gel for Inhibiting Spontaneous Combustion of Coal

ABSTRACT

Coal spontaneous combustion can cause serious coal mine fire and gas explosion. In order to overcome the problem that the effect of existing materials to inhibit coal spontaneous combustion is reduced at high temperature and some environmental protection problems of materials, this study developed an effective, green and environmental protection antioxidant foamed gel (AFG). Modified sodium polyacrylate, konjac glucomannan, sodium dodecyl sulfate, sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate, modified silicone polyether microemulsion, montmorillonite, and tert-butyl hydroquinone were selected as raw materials. A single factor experiment was conducted to determine the appropriate adding proportions for each component. Then, the optimal proportion for the five components were fitted and verified by response surface analysis. The structures of the samples were characterized, and their properties were compared and tested. The fluidity, water loss, and thermogravimetry experiments demonstrated that the effect of AFG was excellent. In the experiment of in situ diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the AFG inhibition reaction was verified. Finally, combined with the structural characteristics of the AFG, the following inhibiting mechanisms were confirmed: AFG adhered to the coal surface and blocked the coal–oxygen contact; the antioxidant component slowed down chemisorption and the chemical reactions; AFG interrupted the free radical chain reaction.

KEYWORDS:

• Coal spontaneous combustion
• coal mine safety
• antioxidant
• foamed gel
• inhibition mechanism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

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Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 51974015, 51474017]; the Key Laboratory of Mining Disaster Prevention and Control (Shandong University of Science and Technology) [grant number SMDPC202101]; the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities FRF-IC-19-013,FRF-IC-20-01 [grant numbers FRF-IC-20-01, FRF-IC-19-013]; the National Key Research and Development Program of China [grant number 2018YFC0810601]; the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities FRF-IC-19-013,FRF-IC-20-01 (China University of Mining and Technology) [grant number 2017CXNL02, 2020CXNL10]. The Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province [grant number BK20180655]; the State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Gas Geology and Gas Control (Henan Polytechnic University) [grant number WS2018B03]; and the Work Safety Key Lab on Prevention and Control of Gas and Roof Disasters for Southern Coal Mines of China (Hunan University of Science and Technology) [grant number E21724].