Study on Safety Tunneling Technology of Secondary Outburst Elimination by CO2 Gas Fracturing in High-Outburst Coal Seam

Abstract

The No. 3 coal seam in the Yuxi Coal Mine has a measured maximum gas content of 25.59 m3/t, along with a maximum gas pressure of 2.9 MPa, indicating its high risk to gas and outbursts. To mitigate outburst risks of the coal seam, the 1301 working face has been implemented with gas pre-drainage measures by grid boreholes from underlying roadways. After one year of extraction, it was confirmed that the gas content at all 33 test sites was below 8 m3/t, meeting the outburst prevention standards. However, during subsequent coal tunnel excavation, the gas desorption index K1 value frequently exceeded the standard, resulting in numerous occurrences of abnormal gas emission or small-scale outbursts. To tackle the challenges associated with safe excavation following the first-round regional outburst prevention measures, a research and industrial trial of CO2 gas fracturing (CO2-Frac) technology for secondary outburst prevention and rapid excavation was completed. The results show that the dual-hole and high-pressure (185 MPa) CO2-Frac considerably contributes to outburst prevention. K1 exceedances per hundred meters of tunnel excavations were from an average of 2.54 without CO2-Frac to an average of 0.28 after the new technology was implemented, leading to an eight-fold reduction. Additionally, the monthly excavation footage increased from an average of 81.64 m without CO2-Frac to an average of 162.42 m with CO2-Frac, resulting in a two-fold improvement. The dual-hole and high-pressure CO2-Frac is an advanced technology for safe and efficient excavation for secondary outburst elimination in highly outburst-prone coal seams in the Yuxi Coal Mine, with potential for widespread application in similar coal seam conditions.