Experimental Study on Heat Extraction from Coal Pile by Heat Pipe

Abstract

Coal spontaneous combustion is one of the major disasters in coal storage and coal transportation. Consequently, coal fire prevention and control technology is one of great significance to the safe operation of coal mines. Heat pipe is a passive heat transfer device by phase change method. Thermal energy can be transported from the underground to the surface continuously by the heat pipe effect, so that it is expected to diffuse concentrated heat and reduce the temperature of the coal pile, which is effective for preventing coal spontaneous combustion. The experiment removing thermal energy from the underground coal is carried out in order to identify the feasibility of the heat pipe heat extraction heat from the coal dump. The results out of the present experimental conditions were shown that the application of heat pipes are contributing to extinguishing coal fire as well as for energy recovery utilization purpose.

Optimization of the Parameters for Gravity Heat Pipes in Coal Gangue Hills by Measuring Thermal Power Generation

“…The remaining coal inside these hills can release a substantial amount of heat through slow atmospheric oxidation, resulting in high temperatures within the gangue hills. The internal temperatures can range from 573 K to 1473 K, while the surface temperatures can exceed 373 K [6,[11][12][13][14][15], which severely impacts vegetation growth and has the potential to lead to disasters such as explosions [16][17][18][19]. Therefore, it is urgent to address the problem of effective treatment methods for coal gangue hills.…”

“…Processes 2023, 11, 3040 2 of 19 Heat pipes have found widespread applications as high-efficiency heat exchangers in various industries [20], including electronic component cooling [21], semiconductor fabrication [22], electric vehicle battery cooling [23], plastic injection molding [24], and hot water boiler heat exchange [25]. Different shapes and working fluids are used in the design of heat pipes to meet specific requirements.…”

“…Peng and Jia [17] conducted research on the influence of GHPs on the internal temperature distribution of gangue hills, and they found that this technology holds significant reference value for promoting the treatment of coal gangue hills and for facilitating the recovery and utilization of low-temperature geothermal energy. Zhang [19] conducted experiments to validate the feasibility of extracting heat from underground coal dumps using heat pipes. The experimental results demonstrated that the application of heat pipes was beneficial for extinguishing coal fires and for energy recovery purposes, attributable to the inherent characteristics of GHPs.…”