The effect of short-chain fluorocarbon and electrolyte on simultaneous dedusting and explosion prevention performance when applied to coal particle with high oil-content

Abstract

The fully mechanized mining faces in underground oil-rich coal mines are exposed to the serious dust pollution and the high risk of dust explosion. Traditional materials cannot effectively realize the removal and inerting of coal particles with high oil content. Thus, this paper innovated new materials to eliminate the occupational disasters and explosion accident in underground coal mines by achieving simultaneous dedusting and explosion prevention of coal particles with high oil content. Compare with traditional materials, the presence of short-chain fluorocarbon surfactants and electrolytes achieved 76.30–84.92% improvement on dedusting rate, a maximum 22 times improvement on MIE, 4.20–8.90% improvement on MIT, and 50% improvement of MEC. Mechanism analysis revealed the better performance is attributed to the optimized wetting and agglomerating behaviour. Kinetic analysis showed that the new materials reduced the heat release and inhibit combustion process. The NaCl outperforms NaHCO3 in achieving better dedusting and explosion suppression performance in most cases for its higher TSI and more efficient explosion prevention mechanisms. Studies also demonstrated that the oil content could moderate the dedusting and explosion prevention performance due to the reduction of static liquid bridge force in terms of the increased proportion of saturated hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons, the reduced concentration of polar functional group, and the corresponding increased contact angle “θ”. The Findings of this paper provide an efficient and environmental-friendly choice for ensuring occupational health and safe production in underground oil-rich coal mines by achieving simultaneous dedusting and explosion prevention. It will also guide the innovation and development of multiple protective materials for coal mine safety protection.