The thesis starts by defining technological change, productivity and safety. Different definitions are discussed and their merits compared. A brief history of coal mining, together with a description of the state of the mining industry at present is given. Technological innovations recently adopted by the industry are discussed. The concept of productivity in relation to the coal industry of the U.K., and the deficiencies of the present measurement technique, are fully explained. Safety in the coal mining industry of the U.K. is investigated. A brief history is given, together with a full discussion of the consequences and costs of accidents. The concept of technical productivity is introduced and its relation to total productivity explained. The total productivity concept is then applied to longwall coal faces. A multi-variable non-linear model is devised which represents mean total productivity of all longwall faces to an accuracy of about J7G. The model is tested and a forecasting method suggested. Total productivity components are analysed and values for the productivity of various inputs during the period 1958-1980 given. Similarly, a model for representing safety, based on costs, is introduced, tested for accuracy and its components analysed. By applying marginal analysis to the total productivity and safety models, the influence of technological change on productivity and safety are quantified. It is concluded that a new method for measuring productivity should be adopted, in which case total productivity would be the most realistic and comprehensive choice. The models introduced can serve as useful tools in planning and forecasting, as well as being used to measure productivity and safety. Since this work has been in progress, work at the NCB has also led to consideration of improved measures of productivity.

This paper examines an overview of the economic and environmental aspects of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) as a viable option to the above ground Surface Coal Gasification (SCG). In addition, some highlights, hurdles and opportunities from early investment to successful commercial application of some worldwide UCG projects will be discussed. Global energy demands have prompted continual crude oil consumption at an astronomical pace. As such, the most advanced economies are looking for local and bountiful resources to challenge crude oil's dependence for which coal provides the best alternative so far. In the U.S, the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Energy Transportation Laboratory (NETL) along with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) continue to support pilot programs that develop improved methods for clean coal technologies to produce coal derived fuels competitive with crude oil fuels at about $30 per barrel. Lignite, the softest of the four types of coal, is the best candidate for underground coal gasification due to its abundance, high volatility and water to carbon content in its rock formation. The biggest challenge of modern humans is to find a balance of energy consumption, availability of resources, production costs and environmental conservation. Additionally, UCG has environmental benefits that include mitigating CO₂ emissions through Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and reduced overall surface pollutants, making it the preferred choice over SCG. / text

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The prime objective of a current research project at the University of Natal is to develop a novel autothermal fluidised bed coal gasifier which is capable of efficiently producing synthesis quality gas (rich in hydrogen and carbon monoxide) from discard of duff coal resources using air and steam as the reactant gases. The development of this gasifier was initially motivated to utilise the ever increasing supply of discard coal in South Africa which represents a significant potential source of energy and currently poses severe environmental pollution hazards caused by spontaneous combustion and wind erosion of the discard coal dumps. Recently, however, the gasifier has been considered for the conversion of more general coal resources in an Integrated Coal Gasification Combined Cycle process (IGCC) for the production of electricity. The knowledge of the kinetics of steam gasification of local coal resources is of vital importance to the design of this gasifier. However, no such kinetic data are available of which the author is aware. This thesis presents the following contributions to the overall knowledge of the gasifier (a) The development of a micro reactor to measure the rate of reaction of the steam gasification of coal-char at temperatures of up to l000oC and pressures up to 5 bar absolute; (b) Kinetic studies using the microreactor on the steam gasification of coal-chars derived from Bosjesspruit and Transvaal Navigation coal samples. The following principal results were obtained with Bosjesspruit coal-char : The rate of steam-char gasification is very sensitive to variations in the temperature of reaction in the range 840°C to 920°C. Neither the rate of steam-char gasification nor the product gas composition are affected by the steam partial pressure in the range 1.8 to 4.8 bar absolute; The concentrations of the H2 and CH4 components of the product gas stream rapidly approached their respective equilibrium compositions, whereas the concentrations of CO and CO2 gradually approach their respective equilibrium compositions during gasification at a rate which is typical of the stoichiometry of the Boudouard reaction. The average product gas composition is independent of the temperature of reaction in the range 840°C to 920°C and is approximately 49% H2, 32% CO, 17% CO2 and 2% CH4 on a molar basis; The steam gasification kinetic data are well described by a fundamental Arrhenius-type volumetric reaction model at (c) temperatures of up to 920°C. The value of the activation energy for the reaction is 146 kJ/gmol, which indicates that the gasification kinetics are controlled by the rates of the chemical reactions (ie. C + H2O = CO + H2 and C + CO2 = 2CO) at temperatures up to 920o C; There are no major differences between the kinetics measured for Bosjesspruit coal-char and those reported in the literature for foreign coal-chars. The experimental results obtained for the steam gasification of char derived from Transvaal Navigation coal show that the concentrations of both the Hz and the CH4 in the product gas stream rapidly attain their respective equilibrium values and remain approximately constant throughout gasification, whereas the concentrations of CO and CO2 gradually approach their respective equilibrium values during the course of gasification and almost attain equilibrium concentrations as the conversion of carbon nears completion. The rate of steam gasification of this char is therefore also controlled by the rate of the Boudouard reaction. The mathematical development of a steady-state, one-dimensional compartment model of the gasifier. The model is also presented in the form of a Fortran 77 computer program which is designed to run on a personal computer. The program is capable of simultaneously solving the overall material and energy balances of the gasifier to a tolerance of l% within 15 minutes when using a microprocessor which operates at 10 Mhz. (d) The gasifier simulation program is currently being used in the design of a pilot scale gasifier which is intended to demonstrate the capability of the process on a continous basis of operation. (e) Experimentation on the air-steam gasification of Bosjesspruit coal using a mini-pilot scale gasifier. These experiments have successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the production of a gas stream which is rich in hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The composition of the product gas stream compares well with the predictions of the simulation model of the gasifier. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1990.

Permeability is that physical property of a porous medium that controls the flow of fluids through that medium. The flow of methane and water may be induced by the excavation of a mine opening in methane-bearing strata. Methane flow into a mine opening constitutes one of the biggest hazards in the coal mining industry. It is poisonous to humans and can ignite at concentrations as low as 5 % per volume and create explosions in the presence of coal dust from mining. If the flow of methane and/or water into the mine opening becomes blocked by an impervious layer, excessive pressures may develop, particularly in the roof strata of the mined seam, which can lead to roof falls. In order to characterize the flow of methane and water into and around the openings in a mine, that was plagued by roof falls suspected of being the result of excessive fluid pressure build-up, a large scale laboratory investigation of the permeability of the roof sediments of the working coal seam in the area was undertaken. The permeability was measured under atmospheric conditions by means of a modified Ohle permeameter, and under triaxial conditions with the aid of a modified Hoek cell. The permeability of the sediments towards methane and water was measured. Nitrogen was used as a control because it is much less reactive than methane towards the sediments used in this project. It was found that the permeability decreases with increasing gas pressure, in the case of gas being the permeating fluid, and increased with increasing water pressure, in the case of water being the permeating fluid. In some instances anomalous plots of permeability versus reciprocal mean gas pressure were obtained. These were attributed to the effects of methane adsorption or the Klinkenberg effect, and a possible method to determine which of the two processes is dominant is discussed. To characterize the flow in the roof strata of the coal seam being mined, the permeability was correlated to fades type. The different fades types were numbered from 1 to 14 with increasing grain size for ease of correlation. Due to the variable nature of the sediments, even in a fades type, no single permeability could be obtained for a fades type. Instead permeability ranges were obtained for each fades type. The definition of the lower and upper limits for each range were found to be dependant on the number of tests done on samples for that fades type. Nonetheless a relationship of increasing permeability with increasing grain size was found in the coarser grained fades (facies type 8 and higher). For the fIner grained fades types the permeability was found to decrease with increase in grain size. A graph could be constructed for use in predicting possible hazardous zones by identifying the fades type and then reading the permeability range that can be expected off the graph. Due to the variable nature of the sediments, the graph is, at this time, only applicable to the areas where the samples were obtained. A permeability prediction graph for all localities would be an ideal but is beyond the scope of this project. Such a graph, and the methods discussed have a wide range of applications in the coal mining and methane gas exploitation industries. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1994.

In power generation from solid fuel such as coal-fired power plants, combustion efficiency can be monitored by the loss on ignition (LOI) of the pulverised fuel. It is the role of the pulveriser-classifier combination to ensure pulverised fuel delivered to the burners is within the specified limits of fineness and mass flow deviation required to keep the LOI at an acceptable level. However, government imposed limits on emissions have spurred the conversion of many coal fired power plants to convert to the use of Low NOx Burners. To maintain good LOI or combustion efficiency, the limits of fineness and mass flow deviation or inter-outlet fuel distribution have become narrower. A lot of existing pulveriser units cannot operate efficiently within these limits hence retrofits of short term solutions such as orifice balancing and classifier maintenance has been applied. The work performed in this thesis relates to an investigation into coal classifier devices that function to control fineness and inter pipe balancing upstream of the burner and downstream of the pulverisers. A cold flow model of a static classifier was developed to investigate the flow characteristics so that design optimisations can be made. Dynamic similarity was achieved by designing a 1/3 scale model with air as the continuous phase and glass cenospheres of a similar size distribution as pulverised fuel, to simulate the coal dust. The rig was operated in positive pressure with air at room temperature and discharge to atmosphere. The Stokes number similarity (0.11-prototype vs. 0.08-model) was the most important dimensionless parameter to conserve as Reynolds number becomes independent of separation efficiency and pressure drop at high industrial values such as 2 x 10 4 Hoffman, 2008). Air-fuel ratio was also compromised and an assumption of dilute flow was made to qualify this. However, the effect of air fuel ratio was ascertained by its inclusion as an experimental variable. Experiments were conducted at air flow rates of 1.41-1.71kg/s and air fuel ratios of 4.8-10 with classifier vane angle adjustment (30°- 60°) and inlet swirl umbers (S) of 0.49 – 1. Radial profiles of tangential, axial and radial velocity were obtained at several cross sections to determine the airflow pattern and establish links with the separation performance and outlet flow balance. Results show a proportional relationship between cone vane angle and cut size or particle fineness. Models can be derived from the data so that reliable predictions of fineness and outlet fuel balance can be used in power stations and replace simplistic and process simulator models that fail to correctly predict performance. It was found that swirl intensity is more significant a parameter in obtaining balanced flow at the classifier outlets than uniform air flow distribution in the mill. However the latter is important in obtaining high grade efficiencies and cut size. The study concludes that the static classifier can be further improved and retrofit-able solutions can be applied to problems of outlet flow imbalance and poor fineness at the mill outlets.

The coalburg seam coal is an example of difficult to float bituminous coal. Laboratory tests conducted on coalburg flotation feed sample revealed recovery values around 28% with 15% product ash when using fuel oil as collector under natural pH conditions. A detailed study showed that increasing pH from natural value of 5.6 to 7.5 provided a significant improvement in recovery of approximately 32 absolute percentage points. The improvement is believed to be result of the release of humic acids from the surface and the dispersion of clay particles thereby leaving a more hydrophobic surface. Based on the tests conducted with various commercially available collectors, oleic acid was selected as a model collector for oxidized coals. Conventional flotation tests found an increase in combustible recovery of 10 absolute percentage points above the pH improvement using 4:1 blend of fuel oil and oleic acid. The problem of higher ash in conventional cell product due to entrainment was minimized by the use of wash water in a flotation column. A flotation concentrate containing less than 7.5% ash was produced while recovering around 75% of the combustible material. Further testing using fatty acids-fuel oil blend also showed evidence of a near 200% increase in flotation rate.

Coal has been used as a fuel for electricity generation for centuries. Inexpensive electricity from coal has been a key component in building large industrial economies such as USA and China. But in recent decades the negative aspects of coal, mainly carbon dioxide emissions, has changed the view on the fuel. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a solution to be able to continue using coal as an energy source, while limiting carbon emissions. One of the drawbacks of CCS is the energy need associated with the capture process, the energy penalty. This study aims to gather and analyze the energy penalties for the most developed types of carbon capture technologies. It also aims to model how the implementation of CCS would affect the future coal consumption. The results show that the range of energy penalties for a given type of technology is wide. Despite obtaining the energy penalty with the same simulation software, the energy penalty for post- combustion with MEA can range between 10.7% and 39.1%. Comparing mean energy penalties show that pre-combustion capture is the most efficient capture method (18.4% ± 4.4%) followed by oxy- fuel (21.6% ± 5.5%) and post-combustion (24.7% ± 7.9%). Further on, CCS implementation scenarios were compared and used as a starting point for coal consumption calculations. Three pathways were constructed in order to investigate how different distributions of technologies would affect the amount of needed coal. The pathways describe a implementation with only the most efficient technology, the least efficient and a middle option. The results suggest that a large scale implementation of CCS on coal power plant will have a significant impact on the global coal consumption. Under certain assumptions it takes up to 35 % more coal to deliver the same amount electricity with CCS in comparison without CCS. It is also found that certain implementation scenarios will struggle to produce the amount of coal that is needed to power the plants. A sensitivity analysis was performed to examine the impact of assumptions made on for instance plant efficiencies. The analysis shows that optimistic assumptions on development in plant efficiency and deploying only the best technology, uses less coal than a development without CCS and with current plant efficiencies.