A Direct Measurement System to Estimate Gas Content in Coal

Gas content in a coal seam is used in mine safety such as gas emission estimation and the assessment of the risk of outbursts of coal and gas in underground coal mines. A direct measurement system has been developed to estimate the gas content. The main components of the system include an innovative sampling-while-drilling unit for coal sampling, a portable gas desorbing meter for initial gas flow, a desktop fixed surface-based unit for measuring gas flow while the sample is crushed, and computation program for gas content estimation. The system has been successfully applied in some underground coal mines in Huainan. This paper describes the system and its main components.