Air Leakage Characteristics of Gas Boreholes in Deep Coal Seams and Application of Short-Hole Grouting and Plugging

Abstract

Drilling for gas extraction is widely used as the main approach to manage gas in mines. However, gas leakage during borehole extraction reduces the root cause of the effectiveness of gas extraction. Given that forming a normal hole in the prominent coal seam of the Qingdong Coal Mine is impossible and that air leakage leads to difficulties in prepumping gas in the coal seam, we selected coal seam 3# as the object of this study. First, qualitative analysis determined that the air leakage channel restricted effective gas extraction. Second, short-hole grouting and plugging were proposed to increase the concentration and efficiency of gas extraction from the coal wall, forming a barrier by blocking the fissure network in the plastic zone of the surrounding rock of the coal roadway and preventing the air inside the roadway from penetrating into the coal seam and gas extraction drill holes. Finally, evaluation of the gas extraction efficiency between the grouting test and comparison areas indicated that the initial gas extraction concentration of a single hole could reach 89% when the depth of the selected blocking hole was 15 m. Grouting slowly decreased the gas extraction concentration from 72 to 25%, which effectively improved the speed at which the gas content was reduced in the coal body. The study findings provide a field basis for similar mines to improve their gas extraction efficiency and extend their extraction time.