Calamity Hollow Mine Fire Project. (In five parts). 2: Operation of the burnout control system. Report of Investigations/1989

Technical Report · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5905102

Chaiken, R F; Dalverny, L E; Kim, A G

During the period from Janurary to May 1982, the U.S. Bureau of Mines carried out a continuous field test of the Burnout Control process for controlling abandoned mined-land fires. In this process, the rate of burning of an underground mine fire is accelerated through the action of a suction fan, which pulls and collects hot combustion gases from the mine while causing air to flow over the fire. Burnout Control thus controls the emission of heat and fumes from the mine fire, and produces sufficient thermal power to run a small electrical generation plant. Previous reports in the five-part series have described the design, construction, and instrumentation of the Burnout Control system at Calamity Hollow, Allegheny County, PA, and the quenching and excavation process by which the fire was cooled and finally extinguished after this particular experimental field test. The report, which completes the full description of the Calamity Hollow Coal Mine Fire Project, summarizes in detail various aspects of the operational phase of the field test. It includes a chronology of events, a discussion of the technical data, and a summary of results. Despite mechanical and operational problems, the field trial at Calamity Hollow demonstrated that Burnout Control is a viable method of controlling an abandoned mine fire.

• Research Organization: Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5905102
• Report Number(s): PB-89-201453/XAB; BUMINES-RI-9241
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
012033* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Underground Mining-- Mine Environment-- (1987-)
016000 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Health & Safety
ABANDONED SHAFTS
BURNOUT
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COAL MINES
COMBUSTION
COMBUSTION CONTROL
CONTROL
FEDERAL REGION III
FIELD TESTS
FIRES
GAS ANALYSIS
IN-SITU COMBUSTION
IN-SITU PROCESSING
MINE SHAFTS
MINES
NORTH AMERICA
OXIDATION
PENNSYLVANIA
PROCESSING
SHAFT EXCAVATIONS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TESTING
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
USA
VENTILATION