Effect of maceral content on tendency of spontaneous coal combustion using the R70 method

Spontaneous coal combustion (SCC) is one of the significant hazardous phenomena in underground coal mines. The tendency of spontaneous coal combustion is an intrinsic property, due to the presence of the maceral content. Unlike its importance, this matter has not been discussed in detail among the researchers. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the effect of this parameter on SCC. Maceral content is defined by the original vegetation from which coal is formed. The present study examines the role of maceral content on SCC, based on 51 coal samples with different maceral contents. These samples were collected from several Iranian underground coal fields, and the R70 test was carried out on each coal sample. By examining the results and comparing the R70 values, it was found that with an increase in the vitrinite and liptinite contents and a decrease in the inertinite content, the coal samples showed to have more tendency of spontaneous combustion.