Macrocharacteristics and the inhibiting effect of coal spontaneous combustion with various treatment durations of ionic liquids

Abstract

To investigate the inhibiting effect of two ionic liquids (ILs) on coal spontaneous combustion (CSC), coal samples were treated for various durations, and thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry (TG–DSC) experiments were conducted at multiple heating rates. The thermokinetic characteristics were determined using the Starink and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa methods. By controlling the treatment duration, this study discovered that the CSC-inhibiting effect of ILs containing different anions changed with treatment duration. The same variations were obtained from TG–derivative TG–DSC curves and exothermicity results, but the tendencies obtained for the different ILs were different. The duration of treatment with the different ILs was optimised in accordance with the strongest CSC-inhibiting ability, and the tendencies obtained from the analysis could be verified mutually. Finally, the obtained variations were revalidated through kinetic analysis, and the results proved that 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide ([BMIM][I]) treatment for 180 days had the optimal CSC-inhibiting effect.