ABSTRACT
In view of energy independence support, the use of degassed coalmine methane has good prospects in Ukraine. This conditions the development of pipeline systems working all year round on the coal mine surface. The firedamp, or methane-air mixture (further MAM), at the output of vacuum-air pumps of mine-gas-drainage plants contains suspended moisture and has one hundred percent relative humidity. On cooling MAM, there occurs condensation of water vapour which MAM contains. With negative values of the free-air temperature, the condensation product transforms directly into ice which narrows the inner dimension till their complete clogging. As freeze protection, thermal insulation of gas-drainage pipelines is applied. However, the issue of using thermal insulation in order to avoid overspending must be solved with reference to a thermal design considering the MAM thermodynamic properties and the environment, remoteness
of vacuum-pump stations from consumers, and other factors. Nevertheless, at the present time there are no methods which allow doing such calculations.
