Modernization of the industrial complex from the perspective of the concept of production cycle (A case study of Kuznetsk coal use)

An economic-geographical analysis is made of the main current problems with the development of Kuzbass implying a strict dependence of the economy on world prices and demand for coal, a high transportation component in the price of Kuznetsk coal, and on the irrational structure of the region’s coal sector. From the perspective of the market economy, N. N. Kolosovskii’s concept of energy-production cycles is rethought, the notion of the “coal production cycle” is formulated, and a generalized scheme of this cycle is presented. This study revealed the territorial limits of Kuznetsk coal exports and use which formed the basis for determining the near concentrated consumption of coals including Kemerovo oblast and neighboring regions of Western Siberia. For this zone the proposals were developed for a modernization of the structure of coal production cycle including recommendations for the extraction of coal and associated components, their alternative exports and primary and downstream processing. Attention is focused on the economic-geographical substantiation of the specific location of enterprises for downstream processing of Kuznetsk coals including the facilities for coking, semicoking, generator and subsurface gasification, hydrogenization as well as transportation of coal via the Kuzbass–Ural coal pipeline.     

Quantitative evaluation of coal as source rocks

Gas generated and expelled from coals often results in economic gas accumulations. As a consequence, it is important to consider the theoretical aspects of these processes and to develop methods that can be used to assess coal as a potential source rock. On the basis of results of modeling hydrocarbon generation, expulsion, and retention in coals, two comprehensive indexes are proposed for assessing the quality and the nature of coal as a potential source rock. Theoretical charts of the two indexes are used to assess coals as potential source rocks in the Turpan-Hami Basin in northwestern China.     

Wellsite,Laboratory, and Mathematical Techniques for Determining Sorbed Gas Content of Coals and Gas Shales Utilizing Well Cuttings

Drill cuttings can be used for desorption analyses but with more uncertainty than desorption analyses done with cores. Drill cuttings are not recommended to take the place of core, but in some circumstances, desorption work with cuttings can provide a timely and economic supplement to that of cores. The mixed lithologic nature of drill cuttings is primarily the source of uncertainty in their analysis for gas content, for it is unclear how to apportion the gas generated from both the coal and the dark-colored shale that is mixed in usually with the coal. In the Western Interior Basin Coal Basin in eastern Kansas (Pennsylvanian-age coals), dark-colored shales with normal (∼100 API units) gamma-ray levels seem to give off minimal amounts of gas on the order of less than five standard cubic feet per ton (scf/ton). In some cuttings analyses this rule of thumb for gas content of the shale is adequate for inferring the gas content of coals, but shales with high-gamma-ray values (>150 API units) may yield several times this amount of gas. The uncertainty in desorption analysis of drill cuttings can be depicted graphically on a diagram identified as a “lithologic component sensitivity analysis diagram.” Comparison of cuttings desorption results from nearby wells on this diagram, can sometimes yield an unique solution for the gas content of both a dark shale and coal mixed in a cuttings sample. A mathematical solution, based on equating the dry, ash-free gas-contents of the admixed coal and dark-colored shale, also yields results that are correlative to data from nearby cores.     

Competing Perceptions of the Rural Idyll: responses to threats from coal seam gas development in Gloucester,NSW, Australia

Threats to rural livelihoods and rural landscapes have increased over time as developed nations in particular look for cheaper and more locally based alternatives to traditional energy sources to drive national economies. In New South Wales, through the expansion of coal mines and coal seam gas (CSG), small towns such as Gloucester on the edge of the Upper Hunter are faced with competing visions which seek to redefine their future. Powerful and competing discourses over land use threaten not only the sustainability of the region but the integrity of its sense of place, centred on community, rurality, agricultural production and confrontation of risk from mining. The different discourses of local groups such as ‘tree-changers’, established residents and farmers conflict with those of external organisations such as the State government and mining/CSG companies which envisage Gloucester as a ‘balanced’ space of co-existence and position it as a new node in the carbon supply chain.     

Nano-mechanical Properties and Pore-Scale Characterization of Different Rank Coals

Characterization of coal micro-structure and the associated rock mechanical properties are of key importance for coal seam exploration, coal bed methane development, enhanced coal bed methane production and CO₂ storage in deep coal seams. Considerable knowledge exists about coal chemical properties, but less is known about the nanoscale to the micro-scale structure of coals and how they change with coal strength across coal ranks. Thus, in this study, 3D X-ray micro-computed tomography (with a voxel size of 3.43 µm) and nano-indentation tests were conducted on coal samples of different ranks from peat to anthracite. The micro-structure of peats showed a well-developed pore system with meso- and micro-pores. The meso-pores essentially disappear with increasing rank, whereas the micro-pores persist and then increase past the bituminous rank. The micro-fracture system develops past the peat stage and by sub-bituminous ranks and changes into larger and mature fracture systems at higher ranks. The nano-indentation modulus showed the increasing trend from low- to high-rank coal with a perfect linear relationship with vitrinite reflectance and is highly correlated with carbon content as expected.

     

浅谈绿色开采鄂尔多斯煤炭资源

鄂尔多斯的煤炭资源经过多年的开采,给国家经济建设作出了巨大贡献,同时也对生态环境产生了较大影响。本文针对鄂尔多斯地区主要生态环境问题,根据目前煤炭开采技术现状,提出适合鄂尔多斯地区的保水开采技术途径,将矿井水、瓦斯、矸石进行资源化利用。从而实现煤炭开采与生态环境协调发展,促进鄂尔多斯地区煤炭资源合理开发利用。     

Sequence stratigraphy of a Paleogene coal bearing rim syncline: interplay of salt dynamics and sea‐level changes,Schöningen,Germany

Salt rim synclines contain important hydrocarbon and coal resources in central Europe. The Schöningen salt rim syncline is filled with >300 m of Early to Middle Eocene unconsolidated clastics with interbedded lignitic coal seams that are mined at the surface. In this study, 357 lithologic logs are integrated with measured outcrop sections and paleo‐botanical data to interpret the depositional environments and sequence stratigraphic framework of the rim syncline fill. As salt withdrew, it generated an elongate mini‐basin that mimicked an incised valley. The sustained accommodation and slow broadening of the syncline affected the stratigraphic architecture and contributed to the preservation of coal units. The clastic units in the syncline filled in seven depositional stages: (1) tidally influenced fluvial estuarine channels; (2) mixed tide‐ and wave‐ dominated estuaries; (3) prograding wave dominate deltas; (4) transgressive shoreline deposits; (5) braided fluvial channels; (6) estuaries; and (7) prograding tide‐dominated channels. The succession defines four 3rd order sequences and several higher order sequences that are possibly related to Milankovitch cycles. The higher order sequences are dominantly characterized by stacked transgressive cycles of thick, lowstand coals overlain by estuarine sands. The nearly continuous warm and wet Eocene climate was conducive to continuous peat production with a climatic overprint recorded in the mire type: ombrotrophic mires developed in wetter times and rheotrophic mires developed in relatively drier conditions pointing to the presence of orbitally controlled seasonality. Both mire types were impacted by the interplay of subsidence and base‐level. The continuous dropping of the mires below base‐level via subsidence protected the mires against erosion and may account for the absence of coals outside of the rim synclines in the region.     

Geomorphology of coal seam fires

Coal fires occur in underground natural coal seams, in exposed surface seams, and in coal storage or waste piles. The fires ignite through spontaneous combustion or natural or anthropogenic causes. They are reported from China, India, USA, South Africa, Australia, and Russia, as well as many other countries. Coal fires lead to loss of a valuable resource (coal), the emission of greenhouse-relevant and toxic gases, and vegetation deterioration. A dangerous aspect of the fires is the threat to local mines, industries, and settlements through the volume loss underground. Surface collapse in coal fire areas is common. Thus, coal fires are significantly affecting the evolution of the landscape. Based on more than a decade of experience with in situ mapping of coal fire areas worldwide, a general classification system for coal fires is presented. Furthermore, coal seam fire geomorphology is explained in detail. The major landforms associated with, and induced by, these fires are presented. The landforms include manifestations resulting from bedrock surface fracturing, such as fissures, cracks, funnels, vents, and sponges. Further manifestations resulting from surface bedrock subsidence include sinkholes, trenches, depressions, partial surface subsidence, large surface subsidence, and slides. Additional geomorphologic coal fire manifestations include exposed ash layers, pyrometamorphic rocks, and fumarolic minerals. The origin, evolution, and possible future development of these features are explained, and examples from in situ surveys, as well as from high-resolution satellite data analyses, are presented. The geomorphology of coal fires has not been presented in a systematic manner. Knowledge of coal fire geomorphology enables the detection of underground coal fires based on distinct surface manifestations. Furthermore, it allows judgments about the safety of coal fire-affected terrain. Additionally, geomorphologic features are indicators of the burning stage of fires. Finally, coal fire geomorphology helps to explain landscape features whose occurrence would otherwise not be understood. Although coal fire-induced thermal anomalies and gas release are also indications of coal fire activity, as addressed by many investigators, no assessment is complete without sound geomorphologic mapping of the fire-induced geomorphologic features.     

Examining the influence of settlement morphology and separation zones policies on the availability of shallow coal resources in the United Kingdom

In 2013, demand for coal in the UK was 60 million tonnes. Of this, 12.7 million tonnes (21%) came from indigenous sources; the majority of which was from surface mining (8.6 million tonnes). Many planning applications for surface mining of coal and the coal extraction that follows, are often a source of conflict with the communities who live within shallow coalfield areas. Policies which enforce a gap, or ‘separation zone’, between communities and surface coal mining operations exist in Wales and Scotland, but do not exist in England. This paper examines the effect of applying separation zones on the availability of shallow coal resources within two study areas; one within the South Wales Coalfield, the other within the Midlands Coalfield (comprising the Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and North Derbyshire Coalfield areas). Density profiles and a shape-index algorithm are used to compare and contrast settlement morphology (i.e. shape or footprint) and distribution to determine whether they have a bearing on the areal extent of any potential separation zone applied. The implications on the availability of shallow coal resources of applying different separation zone distances around settlements within these two areas are explored. Results reveal that although the settlement morphology is important in determining the area of the separation zone, and has greatest influence in the South Wales Coalfield, the area of coal resource sterilised by the application of separation zones is greatest in the Midlands Coalfield due to it having a higher proportion of urban development situated on the surface extent of the shallow coal resource.     

中国煤矿安全生产水平空间差异与影响因素

基于2001—2019年分省百万吨死亡率,利用泰尔指数、变异系数和地理探测器等对中国煤矿安全生产水平空间差异程度及其驱动因素展开定量化研究,为及时获取区域煤矿安全态势、提升煤矿事故精准预警与防范提供支持。结果显示：① 依据百万吨死亡率可将中国煤矿安全生产水平分为南方区（川云渝贵湘鄂桂赣粤苏浙闽）、东北区（黑吉辽）、西北区（青新甘）、华北区（京冀鲁豫皖）和中北区（晋陕蒙宁）5个区域,各区煤矿安全水平依次升高。② 煤矿安全水平总体差异经历了总体稳定且差异均衡期（2001—2007年）、总体及差异波动上升期（2008—2015年）、总体稳定但区间差异加大期（2016—2019年）3个发展阶段后仍保持缓慢增长态势,区内差异开始缩减但区间差异持续扩大。③ 影响五大区安全水平的因素各异,采掘环境对东北区、西北区和南方区影响大;供需情况和企业管理类指标的变化更易引起东北区、华北区和中北区安全水平变动;监察执法类指标对中北区以外的各区均具有较高的影响力;各区百万吨死亡率对经济环境均产生响应,但指标的影响系数处于中等水平。④ 监察执法、供需情况和经济环境类指标与其他类别指标普遍具有较强的非线性增强效应,通过调整监察执法类指标更易对安全水平变动产生效果。     

The Upper Pennsylvanian Pittsburgh Coal Bed: Resources and Mine Models

The U.S. Geological Survey recently completed a digital coal resource assessment model of the Upper Pennsylvanian Pittsburgh coal bed, which indicates that after subtracting mined-out coal, 16 billion short tons (14 billion tonnes) remain of the original 34 billion short tons (31 billion tonnes) of coal. When technical, environmental, and social restrictions are applied to the remaining Pittsburgh coal model, only 12 billion short tons (11 billion tonnes) are available for mining. Our assessment models estimate that up to 0.61 billion short tons (0.55 billion tonnes), 2.7 billion short tons (2.4 billion tonnes), and 8.5 billion short tons (7.7 billion tonnes) could be available for surface mining, continuous mining, and longwall mining, respectively. This analysis is an example of a second-generation regional coal availability study designed to model recoverability characteristics for all the major coal beds in the United States.     

大巴山区地层中氟的分布规律

对大巴山区内主要分布的早古生代地层中氟的分布规律进行了研究,结果表明:大巴山区地史时期形成的各单元地层岩石中普遍富氟。下寒武统鲁家坪组碳质板岩、黑色页岩、磷块岩中平均氟含量普遍超过800mg/kg,下志留统大贵坪组碳板岩氟含量也明显较高(1500mg/kg以上),这些地层分布区是大巴山区的氟富集区;奥陶系、中志留统及下志留统除大贵坪组外的各组地层氟含量也一般高于地壳平均含氟量;而震旦系、下寒武统箭竹坝组及中上寒武统地层氟含量一般低于500mg/kg,是大巴山区的相对低氟区。大巴山区早古生代石煤中氟含量普遍高于中国腐植煤的平均含氟量,其中紫阳蒿坪下志留统大贵坪组的石煤氟含量最高;其次是下寒武统石煤;中、上寒武统及奥陶系石煤含氟量最低。     

An analysis of 200-year-long changes in a landscape affected by large-scale surface coal mining: History,present and future

We have investigated almost 200 years of landscape transformations in a traditional brown coal mining region in northwest Bohemia, Czech Republic. The investigation was focused on the central part of the North Bohemian Basin including 44 cadastral areas representing a total area of 228.48 km². Within this area, an analysis of land use in six different time periods (1845, 1954, 1975, 1989, 2010, 2050) was performed. The analysis therefore includes the transitory period of a boom and slow-down of surface coal mining and also provides a unique comparison with the planned future condition of the landscape after the year 2050, when the mines have been closed down and the landscape restored. Practically all available geographic data resources on land use have been used – the stable cadastre, topographic maps, current landscape mapping and aerial photographs. We differentiated twelve land-use categories. Both Friedman test and detrended correspondence analysis show significant differences in the representation of individual land-use categories and characteristics of the landscape before and during mining operations and after their discontinuance and revitalisation of spoil tips and in residual pits. For a long period of time, agricultural landscape was changed into an industrial one. The basin part of the studied territory almost completely lacks eco-stabilising features that could be used as a basis for planning of a new landscape. This is because the original landscape had been intensively used for agriculture previously, and almost one half of the territory was over-exploited and other areas were affected by operation facilities and coal processing industrial plants. With the growing number of reclamation projects, the diversity of the landscape has been increasing, as well as the proportion of ecologically valuable elements (mostly forests and water bodies), whose total area could exceed 70% of the landscape's surface in the future, approximating its characteristics to a natural landscape with a high degree of ecological stability.     

Coal resources, new air quality standards,and sustainability

According to the National Research Council’s Committee on Earth Resources the stated goal of the “sustainability” paradigm is that the economic activity that maintains current well-being not make future generations worse off, either through environmental degradation or resource depletion. Coal is not “running out” in the United States but the effects of economic deregulation of electricity generation, new air quality standards (Phase II of the 1990 Clear Air Act Amendments), and continued restructuring of the coal mining industry will likely stretch lowsulfur coal supplies in the next decade. The paper discusses these forces and then presents summary coal quality data in the form of grade-cumulative tonnage relationships for major U.S. producing areas to show where future low-sulfur coal supplies are likely to come from. The final section considers the potential magnitude of additional demand for low-sulfur coal, alternative compliance strategies, and implications in terms of maintaining economic efficiency and in terms of the “sustainability paradigm.”     

内蒙古巴彦宝力格煤田赛汉塔拉组中煤层煤质特征分析

论述了内蒙古巴彦宝力格煤田赛汉塔拉组中煤层煤质特征及用途。本区煤属中灰、低硫、低磷、特低氯、低～中热值,各煤层煤类以长焰煤为主,有少量褐煤。煤中有害成分低,发热量较高,是良好的民用及动力用煤。用于火力发电,各种工业锅炉使用,也可在建材工业,化学工业中做焙烧材料。     

Geologic Coal Assessment: The Interface with Economics

Geologic resource assessments describe the location, general characteristics, and estimated volumes of resources, whether in situ or technically recoverable. Such compilations are only an initial step in economic resource evaluation. This paper identifies, by examples from the Illinois and Appalachian basins, the salient features of a geologic assessment that assure its usefulness to downstream economic analysis. Assessments should be in sufficient detail to allocate resources to production units (mines or wells). Coal assessments should include the spatial distribution of coal bed characteristics and the ability to allocate parts of the resource to specific mining technologies. For coal bed gas assessment, the production well recoveries and well deliverability characteristics must be preserved and the risk structure should be specified so dryholes and noncommercial well costs are recovered by commercially successful wells.     

煤矿地区国土总体规划的初步研究

本文通过制定总体规划方案应重点协调的六个关系的探讨,对煤矿地区国上总体规划进行了初步研究。     

中国沿海港口煤炭运输的空间分异格局及演化

煤炭是支撑和保障国家经济发展和社会进步的战略性资源,煤炭运输一直是中国综合运输体系的重要组成部分,而港口是煤炭运输网络中的关键集散中转节点。本文以中国沿海港口为研究对象,以1973-2013年为时间尺度,刻画沿海港口煤炭运输的空间分异格局及演化,重点分析港口煤炭下水与接卸的空间格局演变,归纳总结主要特征和发展规律;然后,采用数理模型和指标,评价港口煤炭下水与接卸的空间集聚水平及变化;最后分析港口煤炭运输的专业化职能及空间分异格局,揭示煤炭下水港和接卸港的空间关系及演变规律。研究发现,中国沿海港口的煤炭运输格局由“南进北出”模式演变为“全进北出”模式,但接卸职能突出的港口仍然集中在长江以南地区,煤炭下水港集中于渤海西岸,而环渤海地区的丹东、大连、烟台、青岛等港口由传统的煤炭下水港演变为接卸港。本研究有助于丰富交通地理和能源地理的理论研究,并为中国沿海港口煤炭运输体系的布局优化提供指导。     

黑山煤田构造控煤作用与赋煤规律

在分析黑山煤田区域构造背景和勘查资料的基础上,论述了构造运动对煤层赋存的控制作用,并以三种控煤构造组合形式揭示了本区的基本赋煤规律。聚煤期同沉积构造控制着含煤性在空间上的变化;印支期NWW向褶皱对煤层的赋存起着关键的控制作用;喜山晚期张性和走滑断层,破坏了煤层的连续性,并控制了煤田东、西部残留煤系的埋藏深度。逆冲——褶皱和断裂——单斜式控煤构造组合中,逆断层上盘煤层抬升而利于勘查开采,但规模有限;褶皱——断裂式控煤构造组合中,复式向斜之次级背斜区,煤系上覆地层受剥蚀,煤层埋藏较浅,为主要的有利勘查区。     

Uncertain and treacherous: The cannel coal industry in Kentucky

The mining of cannel coal was a small, but prestigious, component of the coal production of Kentucky in the 1800's and early 1900's. Cannel coal was retorted into liquid fuel, gasified as an enricher of municipal gas supplies, and distilled as a feedstock for the production of chemicals. Each peak in usage was subsequently tempered by a discovery of cheaper sources of liquid hydrocarbons.Four mining areas in Kentucky, three in eastern Kentucky and one in western Kentucky, will be discussed. The Breckenridge deposit in western Kentucky was developed as early as 1837 and came to prominence in the 1850's and, to a lesser extent, in the 1880's. The Johnson County deposits were developed in the 1880's and continued in production through the 1920's. The Bell County cannels were developed in the 1890's. Although highly praised for their quality, they had a brief mining history because of the limited extent of the reserves. The most prolific cannel field, Morgan County, was opened in 1901 and continued to be a large producer, albeit with some low-production years, through the 1950's, with minor production as late as 1987.The production of cannel, as with any mineral commodity, was at the mercy of market demands and available transportation. Cannel coal, more than banded bituminous coal, occurs in relatively limited areas, leading to the rapid exhaustion of commercial deposits as well as failed attempts to develop deposits that did not attain commercial size.