DEPARTMENT OF PETROLEUM AND MINING ENGINEERING MILITARY INSTITUTE

OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Course title: Mine ventilation and environmental engineering sessional

Date: 2nd October, 2021

Introduction:

Mining is one of the most challenging industries when it comes to protecting the health and
safety of workers. In case of underground mining, ventilation is must to safeguard the health of
workers and mine environment. As there are several hazardous gases produced from various
mining operation. The main gaseous components in mine environments are-the flammable gas
like methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO) etc. To minimize the risks of exposure to hazardous
gases and to ensure the safety of miners, it is essential and very important to use gas analyzers
and 24h online monitoring detectors.

Three types of sensors are used to in the analyzer to detect hydrocarbon, humidity and carbon
monoxide. The sensors are specially characterized during manufacturing to measure a wide
range of hydrocarbon gases, including methane (CH4) and propane (C3H8) over a wide,
selective range, up-to 0-100% volume. The sensors are available in Platinum and Standard
Series. The Platinum Series sensors contain all the necessary optics, electronics and firmware to
provide a linearized, temperature-compensated output. The Standard Series provide a 'raw' signal
output which require the user to provide their own drive electronics and software to derive the
gas concentration, apply linearization and temperature compensation.

Background:

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth surface
and subsurface. During the process of underground mining, workers have to enter and work in
confined spaces. This is hazardous due to the dangers created by toxic gases which occurs in
mine gas and is released from the extraction of coal. Mine Gas is a natural product, produced
during the geochemical conversion of organic substances to Coal (during carbonization). The
main constituents of mine gas are Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide and Methane. If blasting
operations are used in the mine, then Carbon Monoxide (CO) can occur in large quantities. In
addition, Hydrogen Sulphide can be present. Mine gas is present both as liberated gas, in
fissures, and as absorbed gas on the inner surface of the coal. During mining operations the mine
gas is released, which is a hazard due to its flammability. When it mixes with the air it could
cause a fire and explosive risk.
Gas sensing is essential within the mining industry because ventilation with fresh air from the
surface is used to dilute the methane concentration and reduce the risk of explosion.Monitoring
of the methane content of the stale air exiting the mine allows the amount of ventilation to be
controlled.
 Figure-1: Analyzer
Sensors and readings:

Figure-2: HC402
Figure-3: CO400

Figure-4: HM400
 Figure-5: Readings from HM400

Figure-6: Readings from HC402

Data Interpretation:

Room= Free air

Store= Closed air

1. Hydrocarbon detection (HC402): Room:

Store:
CH4 = 1ppm H2 = 2 ppm C3H8 = 1ppm
.
 2. Humidity detection (HM400):

Room:
Humidity = 47%
Dew temperature = 14.7 o C
Hydrostatic pressure, Po =1002.8mmHg
Room temperature, T = 27.4o C

Store:
Humidity= 47.5%
Dew temperature =15.3 o C
Hydrostatic pressure, Po = 1002.7mmHg
Room temperature, T = 27.5o C

3. Carbon monoxide

detection: Room: 0 ppm

Store:0 ppm

Data Table:

Parameter Room Store

CH4(ppm) 1 1

H2(ppm) 1 2

C3H8(ppm) 1 1

Humidity(%) 47 47.5

Temperature (oC) 27.4 27.5

Hydrostatic pressure (mmhg) 1002.7 1002.8

Dew temperature (oC) 14.7 15.3

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
CH4(ppm) H2(ppm) C3H8(ppm) Humidity(%)

Room Store

Discussion:
The air in mines can be contaminated by the presence of other gases such as Carbon monoxide,
hydrogen sulfide, methane, and excess of carbon dioxide.The response speed for gas detectors
in mines is much more important because saving seconds on response times can also mean
saving lives. Building on its years of design experience, safe gas detectors can detect O 2, H2S,
combustible gas, CO at the same time, are equipped with the internal pump, which will get the
gas from outside into the detectors, it’s much quicker, faster response. What’s more, it can be
connected with a tube, to help you detect the inside gas level before people come in the mine
area.
The flammable gas is the most common hazardous gas in mines – especially in coal mines,
where large pockets may be present. Methane, one of the combustible gas which is lighter than
air, tends to rise to the ceiling of a mine or tunnel leaving it virtually undetectable to the senses.
Methane can cause injury or death by asphyxiation, when it is in high concentrations, or by
exploding when ignited by a flame or spark. The sensors inside the analyzer can detect various
combustible gas, dew factor, humidity, temperature and can display accurate data.
The air in the mine workings is nearly saturated, with RH commonly ranging from 90% to
100%. The moisture content of the air (X) can be determined if we know the dry-bulb
temperature of the air, the barometric pressure (P), and the pressure applied by the water vapor
(e).

From this experiment, it is seen that, the amount of H 2 is higher in closed area which is store
room than the open area whereas the amount of methane and ethane remains unchanged in both
the area. The humidity, temperature, dew point temperature and hydrostatic pressure are more in
closed area than the open area which gives us a insight of real mining environment where ythese
parameters are also higher than open surface air.

For mine ventilation, detecting the amount of hydrocarbon is important for the safety of the
mine. By using these sensors with the help of analyzer, the perfect mine environment can be
known and the necessary steps to safeguard the mine environment can be taken.
Conclusion:
Above mentioned sensors lets us check the gas presence inside the mining area.As different
types of gases can be health hazards and cause fire inside the mine. It’s the vital job for an
mining engineer to cross check everything if the ventilation system is working fine or not. So,
presence of gases can be easily detected through these sensors.