ABSTRACT
Underground Coal Fire (UCF) is a natural disaster associated with coal mining activities around the world, including in the Xinjiang region of China. It is difficult to quantify the impacts of UCFs on the environment. The present study focused on characterizing the production of typical pollutants from UCFs, which is needed for assessing the impacts of UCFs on the environment. A programmed heating–oxidation experiment was used to study coal oxidation and combustion. A thermogravimetric analysis was also performed to quantify the kinetics of coal oxidation, such as the characteristic temperatures, the reaction activation energy and the frequency factor. In addition, a chemistry simulation tool, FACTSage, was used to study the production of typical pollutants from coal oxidation and combustion under different conditions. Results showed that the main gaseous pollutants were carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and some trace CnHm gases. Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and methane were the main greenhouse gases produced. The results also showed that changes in the reaction rate constant with temperature followed a similar pattern to changes in the oxygen consumption rate and the production rate of carbon monoxide. The reaction temperature affected the distribution of products from coal oxidation to some extent.
