Proceedings of The 7th International Mine Ventilation
Congress
June 17-22, 2001, Cracow, Poland
ISBN 83-913109-1-4
Chapter 117
THE HISTORICAL VERIFICATION OF THE USAGE OF NITROGEN
IN MINE FIRES
Alois Adamus
Associate Professor, Institute of Safety Engineering
VSB-Technical University Ostrava
Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
ABSTRACT
The use of nitrogen for fighting underground fires was based on the experience with the use of carbon dioxide.
Many countries have used nitrogen successfully in their mining industry. For more then last 50 years, nitrogen has
been used most widely in the mining industries of Czech Republic, later in France, Germany, Great Britain, Soviet
Union and Bulgaria. An important role has been played by India, Poland, Slovakia, South Africa, USA, Australia,
Romania and some other countries with a modern coal mining industry. The paper reviews historical information
connected with the first use of nitrogen in several countries. Discussion dwells on the historical verification of the
presented data.
KEYWORDS
Nitrogen, inertization, pure nitrogen, liquid nitrogen, nitrogen gas, underground fire, fighting fire, spontaneous
heating, suppression of spontaneous heating, historical verification, deep mines, mining industry
INTRODUCTION
Probably the earliest recorded case of inertisation of the
atmosphere in a deep mine was at the Clackmannan mine,
about 7 miles from Stirling in Scotland in the 1850s as
described by Walker (1908) and mentioned by Morris
(1987). A mixture of steam, CO2, N2 and SO2 was made
by forcing air through a coke furnace with a spray of
water. That inertisation continued for more than three
weeks until, after a month, the fire was extinguished.
Many cases of inertisation before and after 1900 are
described by Morris (1987) and Walters (1997). The first
occasion when pure nitrogen was used for the inertisation
of an underground fire was on the 8th of August 1949.
This was at the Doubrava Mine in the OKB (OstravaKarvina Coal Basin) in the Czech part of the Upper
Silesian Coalfield. Since then many countries have used
nitrogen for the fighting, suppression and prevention of
underground fires. Adamus (1995) at the 7th US Mine
Ventilation Symposium first published this use of
inertisation of a mine atmosphere abroad. In Great
Britain pure nitrogen was first used at Roslin Colliery in
May 1953. The use of nitrogen for fighting underground
fires has since been tried in Germany, France, the former
Soviet Union States, India, Poland, Slovakia, Romania,
South Africa, USA, Australia and other countries which
have a modern coal industry.
THE DOUBRAVA MINE, CZECH REPUBLIC 1949
In the Czech Republic, the first time nitrogen was
used for fighting a mine fire was in the Ostrava-Karvina
Coal Basin after a methane explosion at the Doubrava
mine. The incident occurred at a longwall face in the
Hubert seam on February 12th, 1949. The explosion
was followed by a fire, which was further complicated
by other methane and coal dust explosions that occurred
during sealing off the next day. It was necessary to seal
all four of the mineshafts on the surface, two downcast
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE 7TH INTERNATIONAL MINE VENTILATION CONGRESS
and two upcast. The shafts were sealed with airtight
plugs covered with clay and a layer of sand. The Czech
patent method for fighting fires with nitrogen, registered
in the Czech Republic by Mr. Wild from the "Moravia
nitrogen plant Ostrava-Marianske hory", was used at the
Doubrava mine when of Mr. Artur Kanczucky was the
mine director, who chose this method for returning the
mine to production. A cryogenic nitrogen generator
manufactured by Linde, from the "Moravia nitrogen
plant Ostrava-Marinske hory", was sited in the
compressor hall of the Doubrava mine. The nitrogen
plant was driven by 2.5-3.0MPa of air pressure.
Nitrogen gas was intermittently injected into the mine
from August 8th, 1949 to September 12th, 1950; the
mine was then re-opened. The total quantity of nitrogen
used during this time was 5.057 million m3 at a
concentration of 99.5% of N2. Daily averages reached
16000-17000 m3 of nitrogen gas (10-11m3 min-1) with
an output temperature + 9°C. The nitrogen gas was
delivered to the shaft by a pipeline, with a diameter of
100 mm, and by drill rods with diameters of 100 mm
down the shaft to a level of 540 m.
GREAT BRITAIN
At Roslin Colliery cylinders of pure nitrogen were
transported underground for fighting a spontaneous
combustion in May 1953 (Clarke, 1959). The cylinders
of nitrogen were discharged through the sampling pipes
of the sealed fire.
Nitrogen inertisation was also used at Fernhill
colliery (Vaughan-Thomas, T., 1964). On the 24th of
July 1962 methane was ignited by shotfiring and set
coal on fire in the North main heading. The fire spread
and the decision to seal off the heading was made on
the 25th of July. The nitrogen plant was transported to
Fernhill Colliery by three lorries on the 9th of August
1964. By midnight of the 9th/10th August the plant
was fully assembled and the first liquid nitrogen gas
discharged from a British Oxygen Company Ltd. road
tanker of 78,000 cu. ft capacity into the evaporators.
The nitrogen plants consisted of two evaporators with
normal rates of nitrogen flow of 30,000 cu.ft/hr. The
nitrogen injection was started at 12.25 a.m. on the 10th
of August with an oxygen percentage of 15.38 in the
fire area. Within 24 hours, after 590,000 cu. ft. of
nitrogen had been pumped in, the oxygen percentage
had dropped to 10 and after a further 36 hours, when a
total 1.87 million cu. ft of gaseous nitrogen had been
evaporated, the oxygen percentage was 7.37. Due to
the concentration changes of gases inside the fire area
it was calculated that the volume of sealed off roadway
inside the stopping was 400,000 cu. ft. disregarding
leakage. The rate of nitrogen flow varied from 20,000
to 44,000 cu. ft/hr. A new two yard long sandbag
stopping 95 yards back from the face of the heading
was constructed between the 25th and 27th of
November after unsuccessful re-opening of the fire
area. Nitrogen was injected into the fire area from the
10th of August 1962 to the 9th of December 1962 with
some short breaks. On the 9th of December, the
nitrogen flow rate was cut to 4,000 cu.ft/hr. and
continued up to the 11th of December 1962, when the
flow was stopped. In supplying the nitrogen to
Fernhill, the British Oxygen Company Ltd. tankers
delivered 85 million cu.ft. of gaseous nitrogen.
Experience of the use of nitrogen gained at Fernhill
colliery was used later on many occasions in Great
Britain. On the 3rd of October 1980, nitrogen was
injected into the waste of 15´s heavy-duty face at Daw
Mill Colliery to control a spontaneous combustion
heating. This was the first time in a British coalmine
that nitrogen had been used on a longwall mechanised
face for this purpose (Harris, 1981). More then 3
million m3 of nitrogen gas were injected into the
underground fire area.
At Fryston colliery, North Yorkshire, nitrogen was
used for fighting a spontaneous heating which occurred
at a longwall face (Wastell, 1983). The spontaneous
combustion was extinguished with nitrogen being
injected through a 120mm borehole from surface to a
depth of more than 500 m. Liquid nitrogen was
transported to the site in 14,000 m3 capacity tankers and
converted to gas by a diesel-fired vaporiser. Through
the borehole were injected intermittently 765,180 m3 of
nitrogen gas over a seven-month period with flow rates
in the range 2.5-50 m3 min-1.
In the period between 1981 and 1984, nitrogen was
used in British mines eleven times with flow rates of
nitrogen gas in the range 3-25m3 min-1, twice for the
inertisation of sealed areas, 8 times for suppression of
spontaneous combustion in wastes and once for
methane control on an advance-retreat panel (Jolene,
1984). Between 1980 and 1990 nitrogen has been
injected in over 40 different sites, covering the country
from Scotland to Warwickshire. In the financial year
1990/91 nitrogen was injected at seven collieries
(Spedding, 1991). In the period 1979–1990 the total
nitrogen consumption at Daw mill Colliery was 38.1
million m3 of nitrogen gas (Bains, 1991).
GERMANY
Equipment for nitrogen inertisation had been
developed over a number of years and by the end of
1974 was available for use. The first large injection
took place on the 6th of December 1974 at Osterfeld
Colliery (Kugler, 1975). The nitrogen flow rate reached
60 m3 min-1 to guard against the danger of an explosion
during salvage operations in a section of the mine in
which a heating had developed. The colliery steam
plant evaporated the liquid nitrogen; the total
consumption of nitrogen gas after 6 days inertisation
reached 154,000 m3. The next use of nitrogen
THE HISTORICAL VERIFICATION OF THE USAGE OF NITROGEN
inertisation was for dealing with a heating at the
Schlagel colliery in August 1975. During 36 days
700,000 m3 of nitrogen gas evaporated by oil, electricity
and colliery steam were injected.
In the period between 1974-1979 109.19 million m3 of
nitrogen gas were consumed in 41 cases of inertisation
(Both, 1981). The largest use of nitrogen in this period
was at the Westfalen Colliery, where 13.0 million m3 of
nitrogen were injected during 81 days. It was the first
manless operation of underground inertisation in
Germany. The literature (Both, 1990) introduces a listing
of 104 cases of inertisation in the period 1974-1986 with
total nitrogen consumption of 330 million m3. Nine of
these examples of inertisation lasted for more than 1 year.
The highest annual consumption of 46.414 million m3 of
nitrogen was in 1978.
FRANCE
Nitrogen flushing equipment was developed at a time
when the sub-level mining method employed in France
required a high degree of spontaneous combustion
control. Longwall sub-level caving uses expensive
equipment and the loss of production caused by sealing
off due to heatings could not be sustained. The first
inertisation of the waste at a producing longwall face
occurred on the face S5 in the second North seam at
Rozelay Colliery in the Blanzy coalfield (Benech,
1977). This retreat longwall face was 95 m long with a
seam section of 9 m, a 3 m face in the upper coal, was
mined with a daily advance of 1.0 m. After 480 m of
advance, abnormally high levels of CO were detected.
Trials of nitrogen injection started on 23 rd of April
1976 and a nitrogen flow rate in the range from 40 to
150 m3h-1 was sustained. The nitrogen flushing was not
completely successful, and the face had to be sealed off
at the end of May 1976, but the use of the nitrogen
flushing enabled the recovery of the face equipment
These results seemed sufficiently encouraging for the
consideration of the use of continuous injection of
nitrogen into the wastes of sub-level caving faces as a
systematic and preventive measure.
The second case of nitrogen flushing at Rozelay
Colliery started on 13th of June 1976 in the face S 61 as
a preventative measure after 25m of advance of the face.
Nitrogen was injected at rates between 100 and 500m3h-1
dependant on the CO levels. Subsequently, from the
20th of September the blind ends of the main and
tailgates were sealed systematically by stoppings and
foam was injected behind them. The combination of
nitrogen flushing and sealing off of blind ends with
isofoam kept the face running. Nitrogen was injected
from a fixed installation on the surface supplied by the
Societe Union-Carbide and in July 1976 consisted of
2 liquid nitrogen tanks of 37,000 litres capacity,
subsequently increased to 3 × 37,000 litres, and
1 atmospheric evaporator of 500m3h-1, subsequently
increased to 4 × 500 m3h-1.
843
A methane fire on a longwall face was extinguished
by nitrogen at the Sainte-Fontaine Colliery in May 1982
(Froger, 1985). Flames appeared above the support
canopies in a fault zone and the mine was evacuated. A
light barrier was built in the tailgate of the face and
nitrogen was used to avoid the risk of an explosion
during sealing. The flow rate of nitrogen started at a
level of 3000 m3h-1 and reached 17,500 m3h-1 after 12
hours when the water seal was finished in the tailgate.
Due to the nitrogen inertisation the face was opened
again after one week without damage to equipment.
The use of nitrogen in France rose in the 1980s. The
maximum annual consumption of evaporated nitrogen
in H.B.L. (Houilleres du Bassin de Lorrain), reached
16.4 million m3 of nitrogen gas in 1982 and 9.9 million
m3 in 1983 in Blanzy (Casadamont, 1986). A special
nitrogen pipeline, Azoduct, was built by H.B.L. in 1986.
The Azoduct connected the chemical plant Air Liquide
40km from Richemont with the mines La Houve,
Vouters, Reumaux, and Simon and supplied them with
nitrogen gas with a purity of 99.8% and flow rates in a
range up to 10,000 m3h-1. The consumption averages
between 20-25 million m3 per year. The greatest annual
consumption of 42.24 million m3 was in 1989 due to the
fighting of an underground fire (Dupond, 1990). In the
French coalfield nitrogen is primarily used for the
control of spontaneous combustion. The flow rate of
nitrogen is usually 2,000 m3h-1 per face when 10ppm of
CO occurs.
THE FORMER SOVIET UNION STATES
The theory of the inertisation of mine fires was
described by Sucharevskij (1952), who recommended
the use of nitrogen, and three cases of inertisation by
carbon dioxide in the Donetsk Coal Basin are described.
Kessarijskij (1969) wrote that nitrogen mobile
evaporators units AGU-2M and AGU-6 were used in
Russian mines in the 1960 s. A mobile liquid tank and
evaporator unit AGU-2M is described in the mines
rescue handbook (Glavkov, 1988) as standard
equipment with an output of 345 m3h-1 of nitrogen gas
and a 1440 kg liquid nitrogen tank.
At the No.29 mine of the coal producer Vorkutaugol
in Siberia there occurred an underground fire in June
1968 (Osipov, 1970). The fire occurred after blasting
and the sealed district had a volume of approximately
100,000 m3. Four nitrogen units of the type AGU-2M
were required for inertisation. The injection started on
the 29th of September 1968. 179,400 m3 of nitrogen
gas were injected during a period of 164 hours with
flow rates in the range of 11-32 m3 min-1. After
inertisation, the fire area was sealed for 8 months and
then re-opened.
Liquid nitrogen has been used in the Kuzbas coalfield
since 1980 (Sudilovskij, 1989), of which 6,450 tonnes
of nitrogen was consumed there in 1987. Of that total,
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2,600 tonnes was used for prevention and 3,850 tonnes
for fighting of open fires. The nitrogen was used
initially for the creation of a three-phase inert foam that
was injected into wastes. The three-phase inert foam
was injected into 50-60 wastes from 307 longwall faces
that had been worked in seams with a risk of
spontaneous combustion. An annual consumption of
more than 54,000 tonnes was expected there by the end
of the 1980 s.
BULGARIA
Four seams of brown coal with high liability to
spontaneous combustion are extracted at the Babino
Colliery in the Bobov Dol Coal Basin. The heating
incubation period is 25–30 days. After a difficult
situation with an underground fire in 1981-82 nitrogen
inertisation has been accepted as one of the spontaneous
combustion measures. The first experiment in nitrogen
inertisation in Bulgarian mining was at the Babino Mine
in 1984 (Michailov, 1999).
Following that, a liquid nitrogen plant was built at the
cryogenic station near the Bobov Dol Colliery and
started production in 1986. The nitrogen station is
equipped with Russian cryogenic units. Three units of
type AK-1.5 and one unit of type AzKzKAAZ. The
liquid nitrogen produced is stored in eight tanks of 49t
capacity each and 15 tanks of 20t capacity . The liquid
nitrogen can be evaporated throughout 15 atmospheric
evaporators with a capacity of 2,500 m3h-1 nitrogen gas.
The nitrogen station supplies nitrogen gas to the Babino
mine through a pipeline with a length of 3100 m. The
total flow rate of nitrogen gas is usually 2,000–
3,000 m3h-1 under prevention conditions, for fighting
underground fires more than 580,000 m3 of nitrogen gas
is provided. In 1995, the total production of the Babino
mine was 541,940 t of brown coal and the consumption
of nitrogen gas was 23,515,000 m3 (Stojkov, 1996). The
specific consumption of nitrogen at the Babino mine
was 43.4 m3t-1 in 1995 and 40.2 m3t-1 in 1996. The total
consumption of nitrogen gas in Babino mine in between
1986-1996 was 43,807 million m3 and was used 54% for
the control of heating in the wastes of producing faces
and 46% in sealed areas (Michailov, 1996).
INDIA
French nitrogen flushing equipment was proposed as
the means for prevention of heatings for mining of the
Salma seam in the Eastern Coalfield by Garg (1978).
The first trials at Laikdih Colliery in March 1981 used
one inert gas generator of 500 m3h-1 capacity based on
combustion technology. Toward the end of 1984, the
Indian Oxygen Company became interested in liquid
nitrogen technology. In 1985-86 Indian Oxygen
installed an evaporation plant at Londa Colliery and
delivered a total quantity of 94,000 m3 of nitrogen
spread over a period of about 8 months, an average of
less than 400 m3day-1 (Garg, 1987). Carbon molecular
sieves based on P.S.A. (Pressure Swing Adsorbtion)
technology were installed at the same mine in July
1986.
Large-scale use of liquid nitrogen was made in 1986 at
Godavarikhani No. 9 Incline of Singareni Collieries
Company Limited for combating a blazing underground
waste fire (Ramaswamy, 1988). A total quantity of about
462,350 litres of liquid nitrogen was used during the
period from the 11th of April to the 4th of July1986. The
liquid nitrogen was transported to the colliery by a mobile
tanker of 8,400 litre capacity and then directly injected
underground through seven bore-holes to the level of
330 m below surface. The sealed mine was opened within
55 days of the closure, full ventilation established within
93 days and production restored within 109 days.
POLAND
The use of spraying of liquid nitrogen for fighting of
underground fires was investigated in the 1970s by the
Central Mining Institute in Katowice. The theory and
three practical applications of liquid nitrogen for
fighting underground fires in the Upper Silesian
Coalfield are described by Paczkowski (1977). The first
application - spontaneous combustion occurred in a
sealed waste of seam No. 215 in the Ziemowit mine.
The injection of liquid nitrogen under pressure through
a stopping commenced on the 4th of December1976.
8,100 litres of liquid nitrogen were injected into a sealed
area and the concentration of CO disappeared. The
second - at the Zabrze mine, the spontaneous
combustion created a danger for two shafts, the area had
been sealed and a spray nozzle was located behind a
stopping. The fire was extinguished after the spraying
of 70,000 litres of liquid nitrogen between the 7th–15th
December 1976. The third - at the Czerwone Zaglebie
mine on a longwall face a fire occurred that was
extinguished by the spraying of 10,800 litres of liquid
nitrogen between the 19th and 22nd February 1977.
Due to the research mentioned above and practical
trials, liquid nitrogen spraying equipment of the type
"AGU" has been developed.
A permanent nitrogen evaporator station system has
been tried initially at the Sosnica mine. The evaporator
station, based on a warm water heating circuit, was set
up in 1982 on the surface of the mine (Bradecki, 1987a).
The energy source was a mine boiler plant and the flow
rate of the nitrogen gas was 15 m3min-1. The actual time
of operation was 7.5 hours in combination with a liquid
nitrogen tank of 8 tonne capacity. The liquid nitrogen
was supplied to the site by a mobile tanker with a
capacity of 12 tonnes. This evaporator station has been
in operation many times. For example, in 1983 nitrogen
gas was injected to the wastes of seams No. 405/2 and
406/2 for the suppression of heatings. Over a period of
THE HISTORICAL VERIFICATION OF THE USAGE OF NITROGEN
845
55 days 370,000 m3 of nitrogen gas was injected. Later,
a mobile air evaporator unit type "APA" was developed.
OTHER COUNTRIES
CZECH REPUBLIC
The knowledge obtained from the use of nitrogen at
the Doubrava mine was used with success by mines
rescue teams in the Ostrava-Karvina Basin (OKB).
Three pressure bottle trailers containing 630 m3 each
were manufactured and delivered to the Central Mines
Rescue Station at the OKB in 1957. Pressure bottle
trailers of 945 m3 capacity were bought later. Nitrogen
gas transported by pressure trailers was used for
suppression of heating and inertisation of balancing
chambers (permeate chambers). The liquid nitrogen has
been in the Czech Republic since end of 1970 s. In 1984
a mobile evaporator type MOD 200, which produces
200 m3 min-1 of nitrogen gas, was manufactured for the
Central Mines Rescue Station in Most. The evaporator
is supplied with liquefied nitrogen by a mobile tanker.
A similar mobile evaporator was manufactured for the
Central Mines Rescue Station in Kladno in 1989.
Progress in the use of nitrogen inertisation continued
in 1988 by building of eight evaporation stations: three
at the mines in OKB, three in the North Bohemia Coal
Basin and two in the Kladno Coal Basin. They were
equipped with a 15-20 m3 liquid nitrogen storage tank
and 15-20 m3 min-1 nitrogen air evaporators. The first
equipment based on molecular sieves, PSA system, type
CMS 600 manufactured in Germany by the INGA
company, which produces 10 m3 min-1 of 98%
concentrated nitrogen gas, was purchased in 1989.
The consumption of nitrogen has been steadily rising
in the OKB. For this reason a central nitrogen pipeline
connecting the OKB mines and the Nova Hut Ostrava
steelworks, utilising the nitrogen produced as a byproduct of the production of oxygen, was constructed.
The central nitrogen pipeline of the OKB was opened in
April of 1993 and is the main source of nitrogen in the
OKB today.
The central nitrogen pipeline produces nitrogen with a
concentration of 99%. In December 1997 two Generon
type polymer membrane units were installed by Messer
at the start of the pipeline, which supports the
prevention mode of the pipeline by adding 2000m3h-1 of
nitrogen. Output of the central nitrogen pipeline during
prevention mode is up to 7000m3h-1 of nitrogen gas
continuously, for the control of spontaneous
combustion. When in the suppression mode, the
pipeline provides 300 m3min-1 of nitrogen gas for a
period of up to10 hours with a maximum input pressure
of 1,6MPa. The total length of the pipeline on the
surface is 45 km.
Total consumption of nitrogen in the Czech mines in
the years 1949-2000 reached 482 mil.m3 (67.7 mil. in
2000). More details in (Adamus, 1995, 2000).
The rapid evaporation method of liquid nitrogen
spraying was developed in the National Research
Institute for Pollution and Resources of Japan in the
1980s (Komai, 1989). The system consists of liquid
nitrogen, an air evaporator and a special spraying
nozzle. In the nozzle is mixed liquid nitrogen with a
flow of nitrogen gas, one nozzle provided about
50 m3min-1of nitrogen gas. Seven experiments were
conducted in the model gallery.
In the USA, a research report about inertisation was
written at the Michigan Technological University in
1974 in which the theory and practice of inertization of
mines fires are discussed (Greuer, 1974). The U.S.
Bureau of Mines published a new method for the
extinguishing of abandoned mines land (Anon., 1992).
Specially designed injection equipment produces a
pumpable slurry of liquid nitrogen and solid particles of
carbon dioxide. A jet pump is used to move the slurry
through the delivery lines into an injection probe.
Walters (1997) describes the use of nitrogen for the
fighting of underground fires in South African mines.
The collieries inject liquid nitrogen directly into coal
heatings from the surface. They use a special
manufactured copper pipe, contained inside a steel pipe
inside a borehole. Five cases of the fighting of
underground fires are mentioned, the largest of which
was at the Springfield Colliery, where 1200 tonnes of
liquid nitrogen were used.
In Australia, nitrogen was used to extinguish waste
fires at Liddell, Ulan and Munmorah collieries in the
Hunter Valley in New South Wales in the 1980s.
Nitrogen has also been used in Moura Colliery in
Queensland which is now closed after its large mine fire
of 1994 (Saghafi, 1999).
In Romania nitrogen was used for the first time at the
Dalja and Vulcan Mines in the Petrosani coal basin in
1979-1980. At the Dalja Mine there were two stages in
the process of turning inert a volume of 40,000 m3. The
first stage was a shock phase with a nitrogen discharge
rate of 35-40 m3 min-1 lasting between 1 and 1.5 days.
The second stage was a maintenance phase consisting of
the infusion of nitrogen at a discharge rate of 12 m3 min-1
for 20=21 days. The latest research on nitrogen
inertisation was completed between 1995 and 1996, but
nitrogen equipment has not been permanently
established. Nitrogen is not used in the Romanian coal
industry at this time (Jurca, 1999).
In the Slovak Republic liquid nitrogen has been used
since the 1980s. The underground fire was
extinguished by liquid nitrogen at the gallery nr. 24
150-05 in the Cigel mine in August 1980. The value of
the closed area was 2400 m3. The liquid nitrogen was
used in total quantity of 4000 litres (Makarius, 1984).
Today the liquid nitrogen equipment, made by Ferox
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE 7TH INTERNATIONAL MINE VENTILATION CONGRESS
Decin, is used for the control of spontaneous heating
and fighting of sealed fires at the Upper Nitra
Collieries. A mobile evaporator type MOD 200,
described above, which includes a mobile tank type
TN 15 with a capacity of 15 m3 of liquid nitrogen, is
available for use.
DISCUSSION
Basing on the information mentioned above it is
possible to write a brief preliminary list of a historical
trend of the nitrogen inertization in mines:
 Czech Republic – Doubrava Colliery, 1949,
(Adamus, 1995),
 Great Britain - Roslin Colliery, 1953,
(Clarke, 1959),
 Russia - Vorkutaugol, June 1968,
(Osipov, 1970),
 Germany - Osterfeld Colliery, December 1974,
(Kugler, 1975),
 France – Rozelay Colliery, April 1976,
(Benech, 1977),
 Poland – Ziemowit Colliery, December 1976
(Paczkowski, 1977)
 Romania - Petrosani, 1979-80
(Jurca, 1999)
 Slovakia, Cigel Colliery, August 1980,
(Makarius, 1984)
 Bulgaria – Babino Colliery, 1984
(Michailov, 1999)
 India - Lodna Colliery, 1985,
(Garg, 1987)
 Australia - Hunter Valey, 1980s
(Saghafi, 1999)
The list of the historical trend of the nitrogen
inertization in mines is not complete. There are missing
details from the USA, Japan, South Africa and other
countries. The information is not complete from some
countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Australia
and others. The author asks for an international Internet
discussion. The objectives are to continue this historical
verification and to complete more information about
nitrogen inertization in mines. The Internet address for
the discussion is: www.vsb.cz/nitrogen
.
REFERENCES
Adamus, A., Hajek, L., Posta, V. (1995), A Review of
Experience on The Use of Nitrogen in Czech
Coalmines.
Proceedings of the 7th US Mine
Ventilation Symposium, Lexington, June 1995,
pp 237-241
Adamus, A (2000), Experience of the Use of Nitrogen
and Foam Technology in the Czech Coal Mines.
Proceedings of the First International Mine
Environment and Ventilation Symposium, Dhanbad,
December 2000, appendix, n. 68, pp 1-4
Anon. (1992), Cryogenics Freeze the Fire from Waste
Banks. Coal, December 1992, p 43
Bains, A.S. (1991), Experience with Nitrogen to Control
Spontaneous Combustion at Daw Mill Colliery. A
paper presented to The Nitrogen Appreciation
Seminar, 22nd November–12th December 1991, BCC
Midland and Wales Group
Benech, M. (1977), Experiences d´injection d´azote
dans les arriere-tailles a soutirage. Industrie Minerale,
Juillet 1977, pp 363-371
Both, W. (1981), Fighting Mine Fires with Nitrogen in
the German Coal Industry. The Mining Engineer,
May 1981, pp 797-804
Both, W., Linberg, B. (1990), Grubenbrandbekampfug
mit Inertgas im Betreuungsbereich der Hauptstelle fur
das Grubenrettungsween Essen von 1974 bis 1989.
Gluckauf 126, 1990, nr. 5/6, pp 255-257
Bradecki, W., Matuszewski, K., Nowak, H. (1987), The
Use of Nitrogen Gas in Suppression of Spontaneous
Heating in Wastes at the Mine Sosnica. Preglad
Gorniczy, nr. 7/8, 1987, pp 3-10
Casadamont, M.B. (1986), L´utilisation de l´azote dans
les travaux du fond. Publications Techniques des
Charbonnages de France, No. 3, 1986, pp 1-15
Clarke, W., (1959), Spontaneous Heating at Roslin
Colliery. Min. Proc. Nat. Assoc. Colly Mgrs, Vol. 56,
1959, pp 213-221
Dupond, P.M. (1990), Utisation de l´azote. Houilleres
du Bassine de Lorraine, Octobre 1990
Froger, C.E. (1985), Fire fighting expertise in French
underground mines. Proceedings of 2nd US Mine
Ventilation Symposium, Reno, Nevada, September
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