Having grown up in West Virginia, it is more than well known that most of the state relies on the coal industry. Even though I didn’t grow up in a coal mining town, my hometown is tucked between many regions in the state that rely heavily on this business. Mining, as many people know, is an incredibly dangerous job, with explosions and other disasters occurring quite frequently all over the world. With these occurrences being such a great likelihood in West Virginia, I found it quite fascinating to come across an article about how coal mine explosions are very similar to volcanic eruptions.

Recent research from Peking University in Beijing, China and the University of Michigan has found that decompression is the linking factor in both of these natural disasters. The idea of similarity between the two came from geology professor, Youxue Zhang, after he read an article about how an outburst of coal ejects fragmented coal particles and gas. This, he thought, resembled what happens when a volcano erupts. In the process of a volcanic eruption, concentrations of dissolved gas in the magma are very high, and when it is exposed from the removal of overlying rock, the gas bubbles expand very quickly. The pressure in the bubbles becomes so great that they expand to the point of explosion, causing, the surrounding magma to shatter into pieces in an explosion.

The key factor in this type of explosion is when overlying rock is removed and the magma becomes exposed. This is the same case for coal mine explosions. When a coal seam is exposed, carbon dioxide and methane gases expand to the breaking point until, finally, the stress causes the coal to fragment in a great explosion.  To test the similarity, Zhang used a shock tube apparatus to simulate coal outbursts, and ultimately, found out that high gas pressure is, in fact, the driving factor in coal explosions that emulates volcanic eruptions. 

With an ever increasing demand for coal, its mining is continuously increasing.  And with this increase in mining comes an increase in coal mine explosions.  It is a worldwide phenomenon and can cause mass devestation in the affected area.  For instance, my home state of West Virginia was greatly affected by the recent Sago Mine disaster that wrought grief on the community and many families. This study helps to pinpoint the underlying mechanisms behind the explosions, and hopefully the information can be used to develop better and safer techniques for the removal of overlaying rock and coal extraction. The more disaster we can prevent, the better, and this research in this area definitely holds the key to unlocking even more pertinent information that can help save lives and further mass destruction of our resources.

Source: http://sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091001081219.htm

Advertisement