Introduction Coal fires are difficult, persistent and costly problem throughout the world.

Coal fires are associated with mining activities including underground and surface mines operations, coal stockpiles and coal waste piles. It can also occur in un-mined areas along coal seam outcrops. When these fire ignite and are not noticeable then they can burn for decades, growing in size and magnitude causing a host of environmental safety and health hazards that are increasingly realised only when human populations expands. Coal fire affects ground surface subsidence, causes destruction of property and massive loss of energy resources, air pollution. The common destructive capabilities, health hazards and economic losses due to destructive capabilities, health hazards, and economic losses due to coal fires and explosions are very common. For the control and extinguishment of coal fires and explosions, various traditional techniques have been developed and applied. Large coal fire control projects require advance planning and mobilization of multiple pieces of large earth moving equipment, they are cumbersome and time consuming to execute. A relatively new cellular grout fire control technology called thermo cell has been developed by carbon monoxide engineering firm/coal mine fires and explosion are being serious problem for Indian coal industry. Most coal mine explosions occur due to spontaneous combustion. Where coal and oxygen in the presence in ambient temperature interacts liberating heat, which if gets accumulated, will enhance the rate of combustion leading to spontaneous combustion and devastating fires. The following table shows the number of coal mine workers killed during a coal mine explosion:
Year Day Mine Location Type Deaths

2010

04/05

Upper Big Branch Mine, Massey Energy Company

Montcoal, WV

Explosion

29

2007

08/06 08/16

Crandall Canyon Mine, Genwal and Murray Energy Corporation

Huntington, UT

Collapse

6 3

2006

05/20

Darby Mine No. 1, Kentucky Darby LLC

Holmes Mill, KY

Explosion

2006

01/02

Sago Mine, International Mines Corp.

Tallmansville, WV

Explosion

12

2001

09/23

No. 5 Mine, Jim Walter Resources

Tuscaloosa County Brookwood, AL

Explosion

13

1992

12/07

No. 3 Mine, Southmountain Coal Co.

Wise County Norton, VA

Explosion

1989

09/13

William Station No. 9 Mine, Pyro Mining Co.

Union County Sullivan, KY

Explosion

10

1986

02/06

Loveridge No. 22, Consolidation Coal Co.

Marion County Fairview, WV

Suffocation (surface stockpile)

1984

12/19

Wilberg Mine, Emery Mining Corp.

Emery County Orangeville, UT

Fire

27

1983

06/21

McClure No. 1 Mine, Clinchfield Coal Co.

Dickinson County McClure, VA

Explosion

1982

01/20

No. 1 Mine, RFH Coal Co.

Floyd County Craynor, KY

Explosion

1981

12/08

No. 21 Mine, Grundy Mining Co.

Marion County Whitwell, TN

Explosion

13

1981

12/07

No. 11 Mine, Adkins Coal Co.

Knott County Kite, KY

Explosion

1981

04/15

Dutch Creek No. 1, Mid-Continent Resources, Inc.

Pitkin County Redstone, CO

Explosion

15

1980

11/07

Ferrell No. 17, Westmorland Coal Co.

Boone County Uneeda, WV

Explosion

1978

04/04

Moss No.3 Portal A, Clinchfield Coal Co.

Dickinson County Duty, VA

Suffocation (oxygen deficient air)

1977

03/01

Porter Tunnel, Kocher Coal Co.

Schuykill County Tower City, PA

Flood

1976

03/9-11

Scotia Mine, Blue Diamond Coal Co.

Letcher County Oven Fork, KY

Explosion

26

1972

12/16

Itmann No. 3 Mine, Itmann Coal Co.

Wyoming County Itmann, WV

Explosion

1972

07/22

Blacksville No. 1, Consolidation Coal Co.

Monongalia County Blacksville, WV

Fire

1970

12/30

Nos. 15 and 16 Mines, Finley Coal Co.

Leslie County Hyden, KY

Explosion

38

Factors Affecting Coal Mine Blasts

The main reasons for the occurrence of fire due to spontaneous heating in mines are: i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. Thick coal seam Plenty of coal fires left in the goaf Presence of contiguous seams, some of which are burning Shallow depth Proximity of intake and return High pressure differences between the intake and the return High spontaneous combustion susceptibility characteristics of most of the coal

Coal fires can occur in underground and surface mines, in coal stockpiles, natural outcrops where un-mined coal seams are exposed at the surface. Due to mining activities caused by human, or naturally occurring from sources like lightning strikes and forest fire spontaneous ignition can occur. When broken and pulverised coal, oxidizes with exposure to air, then temperature reaches to the ignition point of particular coal due to this reason spontaneous combustion occurs. The development of spontaneous combustion depends on the coal quality, surrounding rock condition because of heat dissipation. It is found that for low quality coal surrounded by high heat retention rock the ignition temperature is 30-40 degree centigrade. After this process, if executed, then the coal fires can burn for decades if they are uncontrolled. Burning of coals creates voids and cracks that are created at the surface of the ground which in turns makes the way for hot gases and smokes to escape out or to exhaust. Advancing of fire creates more fracture on the ground surface among which some of which acts as air intakes in turn creating condition exist on the surface and if the vent gets oxygen then fire continuous to progress leading to ignite the surrounding vegetation, resulting in forest fire. Theory of coal mine fires and explosion: Three elements to propagate the fire involve fuel, oxygen, and heat source. If any of the three constitute fire cannot be continued to burn. There are two main types of coal mine explosions: methane explosions and coal dust explosions. Methane explosion:

Methane explosions occur in mines when a build-up of methane, a by-product of coal, comes into contact with a heat source, and there is not enough air to dilute the gas to levels below its explosion point, Methane, the main component of natural gas, is combustible, and mixtures of about 5% to 15% in air are explosive. When air contains approximately 9.5% of methane (the most dangerous concentration), it reaches the perfect oxidation point, which means that the right amount of fuel is mixing with the right amount of oxygen. This produces water, carbon dioxide and a lot of amount of heat. Methane does not require much heat to ignite the combustion process and therefore methane explosion can accelerate very fast. The heat generated by this process raises the temperature of the air within the mine, which causes it to expand in volume. Since hot air cannot expand easily underground, pressure builds in the mine. If this pressure is high enough, it can cause the air ahead of the combustion zone to compress and cause a shock wave.To avoid methane explosion, the most common method is ventilation in coal mines. Large fans are used to blow air out or draw air into mines. In coal mines, it is required to control the concentration of methane to less than 1%. But there are hard places to ventilate where concentration could get into the explosive range. Coal dust explosion: Mine explosions can also be triggered when fine particles of coal dust come into contact with a source of heat. While methane is easier to ignite, the explosion pressure and heat value of methane is not as high as coal dust. In most cases, dust explosions are first caused by methane explosions. Dust explosion needs a very high concentration of dust suspended in the air. But, the shock wave caused by methane explosions can blow up coal dust within the mine, and the heat generated by the methane reaction can ignite the dust, which greatly intensifies the energy of the explosion. There are other reasons also for the coal mine explosion they are mine-related activities such as cutting and welding, explosives and electrical work, and smoking, which may ignite gases such as methane and hydrogen. surface fires transmitted to Culm banks or coal seams by lightning, forest or bush fires, and burning trash spontaneous combustion induced either by coal fines, oil-soaked rags, lumber, hay, or manure in Culm banks or by exothermic oxidation reactions catalyzed by oxygen circulating through coal seam joints. One such oxidation reaction is FeS2 + (7/2)O2 + H2O FeSOs

The

reaction shows

that moisture is conducive to spontaneous combustion. many

spontaneous fires start in storage facilities including open-air stockpiles, coal bunkers, and silos. The DOE attributes combustion to numerous factors. These include improperly loaded and compacted storage in facilities that promote the diminution of coal into highly combustible fines and also storage for prolonged periods of time, which promotes exothermic oxidation reactions in high-sulfur coals. Spontaneous fires in storage bins have been extinguished by injecting N2 or CO2 into the bins. Water has also been used, but with extreme caution, because of the risk of steam explosions. Prevention, control and extinguishment of coal fire: A new technique by Goodson & Associates, a Lakewood, CO engineering firm has been developed, cellular (foam containing) grout fire control technology called Thermo cell that addresses all three of the fire elements. It is composed of sand, cement, water and a require high proportion of fly ash (a by product of coal combustion), in this air-entraining foam (much like shaving cream) is added. This results in a lightweight grout which is extremely heat resistant and highly flowable, having capability to be applied directly to a red-hot coal fire, without steam explosions. Once in contact with a fire, Thermocell encapsulates burning material,resulting in removing the heat and fuel, and filling void spaces and passages, effectively acting on thesources of oxygen. By directly addressing all threecritical fire propagation elements, with comparativelylittle land disturbance, this relatively new technology surpasses traditional coal fire control methods Fire prevention Coal fires associated with underground and surface coal mining before they get started and become a large problem, there is a need to control and prevent fire. In underground mines where mining has been completed, Thermo cell grout is used during mine closure procedures it acts as a seal in critical entries and sources of air intake. Thermocell seals can be constructed in all mine openings to the surface such as portals, hoist and fan shafts. Thermocell grout can also be used to seal off abandoned sections/gob areas in active coal mines to prevent ventilation. It is also used to prevent coal fires in surface mines and strip pits, particularly in coal seams these are susceptible to spontaneous combustion. During active advancement of mining, Thermocell applied like shotcrete to exposed coal seams can minimize oxygen introduction and the oxidation process.Thermocell grout is also applied to

coal seams along the pit limits, where coal seams may remain exposed for years before formal reclamation procedures are implemented General fire control The Coal Seam Fire could have been prevented if coal fire control measures had previously been applied to the underground fire. Control procedures are implemented for large coal fires where the fire has spread and impacted a substantial surface area. Coal fire control can be approached from two levels of magnitude, basic and advanced control, depending on objectives and on economic and other considerations Basic fire control Basic coal fire control procedures are implemented using Thermocell grout, it slow down the advancement of fire thus preventing forest fires, property damage, health and safety hazards, air pollution, and ground subsidence. The basic control procedures is the capability for the fire or its exhaust gases to ignite surface vegetation in the near future. The approach is considered a passive fire control technique, although two of the critical fire elements (oxygen and heat) are addressed, and the third (fuel) may be affected if the fire is a near-surface outcrop fire. Two Steps for approaching basic fire control are explained. The first step involves using Thermocell grout to seal all surficial openings related to the underground fire. These includes exhausting fractures, air intake fractures, subsidence features, mine shafts, portals. The first step alone is sufficient to slow the progress of the fire and prevent ignition of surface vegetation in the near term. According to the favourable condition, the second step can be implemented to include the construction of a soil seal over the affected area. Soil seal material should be inert, incombustible and placed and compacted in lifts to achieve the highest degree of impermeability possible. Ideally, the soil seal would be constructed to extend a distance beyond the observable affected area, further reducing the sources of intake air that enable the fire to breathe. Over time, environmental effects like erosion can damage the seal and new cracks and subsidence fissures may provide alternate sources of ventilation for the cooling fire. Periodic monitoring of surface seals and the fire site is necessary to prevent this occurrence. There must be some monitoring program for a periodic visual inspection of the soil seals to ensure that new fractures have not formed that may require seal repair. In addition, thermocouples can be installed in deep fractures and vents if they exist and can be grouted into place. The thermocouples will indicate changes in the temperature of the fire in these locations, thereby serving as an indication of the performance of the sealingwork.

Advanced fire control The advanced control approach includes the steps identified for basic control, but additionally includes procedures that quantify the affected area and isolate the fire against further advance into virgin coal resources.Though theseprocedures are effective and can achieve the desired results, they are considered a passive technique for fire control because the fire may continue to burn within a restricted area defined by barriers. To meet the objective of containment implementation of advanced control is done by series of of four steps. 1: An investigation is conducted to gather all information about the fire such as whether the fire is an outcrop (seam) fire or mine associated. Exploration data and mine records are useful for developing fire control plans.Drilling program is conducted at the site to identify the subsurface conditions including overburden type and thickness, coal seam depth and thickness, underground temperatures from thermocouple installations. 2:Applying thermocell grout to seal all surface openings (exhaust and intake fractures, shafts, portals, etc.) as in the basic control approach. This accomplishes the initial control to prevent the spread of the fire to the surface and to begin robbing the fire of ventilation. Because of underground fire established, the containment aspect of advanced controlcan be implemented. Thermocell grout can be used to remotely build barriers at specific locations in mine workings thatwill isolate the fire and reduce ventilation.To accomplish this the materials are injected through cased boreholes drilled into the identified locations. Fire extinguishment Complete extinguishment is the ultimate goal of all coal fire control work, because each fire must be considered individually in terms of site-specific physical and economic constraints but it is not necessarily feasible in all cases. Any attempt forcompletely extinguishing of coal fire should be preceded by drilling program to determine the limits of the fires progression underground and to determine the feasibility of extinguishment. Thermocouples are also used to determine the underground fire temperature zone. After the extinguishment of the the fire happens from economic and geologic perspectives, the second phase of control and

extinguishment procedures can be implemented. The second phase It consists of sealing all surface openings to start the process of controlling the fire through oxygen deprivation. Thermocell grout is applied to seal exhaust fractures, intake openings, subsidence features and mine openings as described above.

The third and primary phase Thermocell technology consists of a direct assault on the fire by drilling borings into the fire zone. Steel casing is installed in the borings and then Thermocell grout is injected directly into the red-hot burn zone. Thermocouples are installed in some of the borings to monitor the underground temperatures before and after grout has filled the superheated cavities. Borings are grouted from the bottom of the burn zone to the surface by withdrawing the casing in increments of a few feet as line pressure increases, thereby resulting in grout injection into all voids and fractures that exist in the profile of the hole. Thermocell grout maintains flowability in the presence of great heat, thus facilitating penetration and filling for substantial distances laterally from the boring. This third phase directly addresses all three of the critical fire propagation elements as follows. Thermocell encapsulates burning material, thereby removing the heat and fuel, and fills the void space and passages, effectively precluding the sources of oxygen.The fire extinguishment process is completed with phase four, the construction of a soil seal over critical fire areas to further limit the potential for the fire to develop new sources of ventilation. Conclusions Thermocell technology can be used to mitigate coal fires from the perspectives of prevention, control and extinguishment. Thermocell technology substantially minimizes risks associated with traditional fire control and extinguishment techniques while using portable, less costly equipment capable of efficiently applying the Thermocell grout. Thermocell technology can be applied to coal fires from a passive approach for fire prevention and control or from an active approach by direct application into the burning zone for extinguishment. Thermocell grout can be used to address all three critical phases.