Relationship of Iron and Sulfur Inclusions in Fossil Coals with Their Tendency to Gas-Dynamic Phenomena

Abstract

X-ray fluorescence analysis was used to study the composition of mineral inclusions in outburst-prone coal bed. A relationship between the presence of iron-containing compounds and sulfur in coals with their tendency to gas-dynamic phenomena was revealed. It was found that coal outbursts from the Pechora and Donets basins contained several times more iron than coals from non-hazardous zones of in the same coal bed. The predominance of iron over sulfur in outburst coal relative to a stoichiometric ratio between them in pyrite and, similarly, the predominance of sulfur content in coals from the zones of bed unprone to outbursts were determined.