• Energy Research

Underground coal gasification is an alternative method for mining coal from thin and ultra-thin seams, which enables conversion of solid fossil fuels into combustible gases at the site of coal occurrence. At the same time, in the case when the coal seam thickness is critically small for the effective course of thermochemical reactions, it is necessary to intensify the gasification process. This paper studies one of the possible methods to intensify the process of underground coal gasification due to the influence of magnetic fields on the injected blast supplied into the gas generator gasification channel. Research tests conducted on a bench setup confirm the effectiveness of injected blast activation in a magnetic field by creating magnetic field inhomogeneity by placing permanent magnets and a discrete solid magnetized phase in a special device. For the first time, the dependence of changing growth of carbon participation during the solid fuel gasification process on changing magnetic field strength in the range of 0-600 E has been determined. It has been proven that the injected blast magnetization can significantly intensify the underground gasification process by increasing the carbon participation share in the fuel, which may be of practical importance for increasing the yield of combustible components.

The paper represents the analysis, which has helped to establish the usage of gas hydrate technologies in the methane conversion. This gas could be obtained in different ways. Possibilities and sources for the gas obtaining have been demonstrated. Use of other environmentally friendly sources to support operation in such systems in terms of joint energy complex has been considered. The necessary kinetic connections to provide operational sustainability of all the constituents have been given. The approach helps evaluate quantitatively the priority of its physicochemical transformations to obtain gas hydrates artificially. It is possible to transport methane at considerable distances when it is solidified. Actually, in this case there is no necessity to build costly compressor stations and pipelines for its transportation to consumers. The approach is extremely important for mining regions as it helps prolong the operating period and working out of the abandoned and off-balance coal reserves. In this case, it is proposed to apply special gasification technologies tending to maximum methane recovery. The proposed solutions give the possibility to define the trends of our further research. They will be highlighted in the following authors’ studies.

Topical issues concerning the possibilities of effective energy generation on the basis of Ukrainian mining enterprises have been highlighted. Attention is drawn to one of the most challenging tendencies of nontraditional energy sources development in the process of wind-driven powerplant use. The plants consume energy of technogenic air flows. Operation schemes and engineering solutions as for the possibilities to involve nontraditional sources of energy resulting from operation of technogenic objects and industrial structures of enterprises (i.e. stopes, mine dumps, industrial facilities etc.) in power balance of a mining enterprise have been demonstrated. Energy efficiency of the wind-driven powerplants in the context of different operation schemes aimed at utilization of energy of technogenic air flows has been analyzed. Output of a wind-driven system as a component of technological segment of a mining enterprise making it possible to meet 20 to 44% of its power demand has been determined. The objective of the paper is to substantiate process solutions as well as technical and engineering ones as for the obtaining nontraditional energy sources basing upon introduction of wind-driven power plants.

This paper contains the research conducted within the grant No. 0120U102084 (financed by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine), and Dubrovnik International ESEE Mining School (project in the framework of EIT Raw Materials).

The paper represents the creation of the software simulation system, which reproduce the basic processes of mining and near production. It presents the consideration of such systems for both traditional and non-traditional mineral extraction systems. The principles of using computer recognition of processes are also presented in other processes of carbon-containing raw materials transition, as well as power production and waste utilization of mining production. These systems considerably expand the manageability of a rather complicated mining enterprise. The main purpose of such research is the simulation reproduction of all technological processors associated with the activity of mining enterprises on the display of the dispatch center. For this purpose, is used so-called UML-diagrams, which allows to simulate mining and near mining processes. Results of this investigation were included to the Roman Dychkovskyi thesis of the scientific degree of the Doctor of the Technique Sciences “Scientific Principles of Technologies Combination for Coal Mining in Weakly Metamorphoses Rockmass”.

The paper represents analysis, which have helped to determine tendencies of usage secondary and renewable resources by means of their utilization within the closed ecological complex while implementing integrated cogeneration systems belonging to various sources. Both the current state and prospects of secondary and renewable resources use within the closed complex of a mining enterprise have been considered. Relying upon philosophical approaches as for the formation of a viewpoint concerning responsibility of the modern society to future generations, tendencies to form energy production and energy consumption on the basis of alternative radical technologies have been proposed. The authors have put forward tendencies to change coal mining and coal use while generating the raw material from the abandoned and out-of-balance reserves. Chances to use cogeneration systems by various energy sources have been considered. Formation of the unified power and chemical system to improve economic and ecologic expediency of the proposed measures is the key tendency of energy perfection as well as minimization of impact on the underground mine environment and on the surface to prolong activities of dying mining territories and to reduce social tension.

The paper presents an experimental study on the formation process of burden surface texture on the blast furnace throat and its influence on the radial distribution of gas flow. The study was performed with the application of blast furnaces equipped with a bell-type charging device using radio-isotope means for the control of burden surface texture (profile) and burden surface level, i.e., gamma locators for burden surface texture. The study was carried out under the conditions of an operating blast furnace in an iron and steel plant using a unique GEOTAPS system for automated control of geometric and temperature parameters of burden material surface on the blast furnace throat. The influence of the surface texture on the gas flow distribution was also investigated. The possibility of a self-stabilization effect for burden surface texture and gas flow in an operating blast furnace under suitable conditions was experimentally proven. As a result of the experimental study performed, four ways of energy-saving technology implementation were determined for the control of blast furnace melting based on the data on the burden surface texture and previously unknown regularities of surface layer formation of burden material on the throat of an operating blast furnace with a bell-type charging device. The main idea of the paper is the development of automated control for the radial distribution of burden material and gas flow using actual or predicted surface texture parameters as important intermediate factors that both describe the process and have a significant simultaneous influence on it.