Study on spontaneous combustion and environmental pollution in a coal storage yard

Abstract

Abstract In coal fired power plants, Bituminous coal grade C is received through wagons from coal mines, unloaded, and separated as sized coal and coal dust. Coal is stored in stockpiles of around 22000 square metres that have been specified for coal storage. The size of each stockpile is 15’ in length, 10’ in width, and 10’ in height and the temperature in the locality is around 38 °C, with summer temperatures reaching 42 °C. Spontaneous combustion occurred more than 90 times in a six month time. More than 75% of the area always has coal-stock since the industries are far away from the coal mines and more than 50 big furnaces use the coal gas as fuel. Raw coal and coal dust have higher sulphur content, a very low onset temperature, and the highest volatile matter content. Hence, it undergoes spontaneous combustion easily. The fixed carbon of sized coal is higher, and therefore its susceptibility to unstructured burning is lesser contrast with two new trials since it will have a higher calorific value. The quality of coal has the highest impact, while low-grade coal is most responsible for spontaneous combustion, and high-grade coal is the least susceptible to warming. The main indicators are physical symptoms such as odor, smoke, or heat sensation. The polluted environments contain CO, CO2, CH4, C2H4, and C2H6.