A New Idea of Suppressing Coal Spontaneous Combustion in Goaf Using Environment-Friendly Ionic Liquids

In order to reduce the pollution and toxicity of current coal fire fighting materials used in underground mines, this paper proposes that the functional ionic liquid, a kind of green material, may be utilized to suppress the spontaneous fire based on coal´s chemistry structures. According to the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy experiment in low-temperature oxidation of coal, we found that the aliphatics active groups, decreasing with rising temperatures, react with oxygen with stable and unstable oxygen-containing groups produced such as aromatic ketone and aldehyde. If the aliphatics active groups can be destroyed, then the oxidation of coal would be restricted and prevented essentially. According to the active structures of coal, this environment-friendly fire-fighting functional ionic liquid should be hydrophilic and stable in water, and be effective in dissolving active groups and the produced dangerous gases, inhibiting oxidation and conducting reaction heat, thus it can be possible to be applied in suppressing spontaneous combustion in the underground coal mine goaf. Using environment-friendly functional ionic liquid to fight mine spontaneous fire will provide a possible research direction for safety technologies in mining.