This article discusses processes of rock-mass geothermal and geomechanical energy transfer on the nanolevel and describes different mechanisms of potential energy absorption, distribution and usage by the molecular structure of the coal substance. We show that mechanical and thermal energies in the molecular structure of the coal substance are transformed into quantum-mechanical energy which feeds the structural transformations and generation processes in the substance. At the nanolevel, the energy inflow transforms the atomic-molecular structure, changes the physical and chemical properties of the coal and may cause fluid (including methane) emission. The availability of a general solution for energetic problems of different hierarchical levels is evidence of the possibility of using a fractal approach for researching the energy re-distribution in the system.
A new DeteRmInAtIOn methOD FOR COAL metAmORPhISm DeGRee Purpose. Development and approbation of a new method for determining the degree of coal metamorphism by the index of gray shade intensity of macerals for microphotographs of lump sections of coal samples. methodology. Optical spectroscopy using a videooptical complex: MBI-11, HB 200, followed by digital com puter processing (Scope photo software) of microphotographs of coal substance samples upon lump sections. Findings. A new method is proposed for determining the degree of coal substance metamorphism, the essence of which is the use of optical microscopy of lump sections of coal samples, followed by digital processing of the obtained data. The method was tested on coal samples of various ranks-from longflame to anthracite. To characterize the degree of coal metamorphism, a new index of the gray shade intensity of macerals was applied on the photographic images of the lump sections of coal samples microscopically. Correlation of the proposed index with the classical ones of the degree of coal metamorphism-vitrinite reflectance is shown. Originality. For the first time, a digital processing of photographic images of the lump sections of coal samples using a new index of gray shade intensity of macerals was applied to characterize the degree of coal metamorphism. Practical value. The proposed method can be used for practical application in order to assess the degree of coal metamorphism. This method differs by its operability and simplicity from the currently widely used one for determin ing the degree of coal metamorphism by vitrinite reflectance. The method can also be applied to assess the recover ability of coals and calculation of their maceral composition.
The molecular structure of coal is estimated by 13 parameters of infrared spectra, electron paramagnetic resonance, volatile yield and ash content. A new criterion of hydrophobicity is applied, which has shown its informativeness in analyzing the molecular structure of coals of various ranks. It is more sensitive to changes in coal rank than the standard index of volatile yield. The coalification process leads to a significant increase in this index due to the water release and other hydroxyl-containing compounds from the substance of coal. Two-way analysis of variance showed that the influence of the metamorphism factor is significant for 9 molecular parameters. The strongest effects are manifested in the sorption capacity, the criterion of hydrophobicity and the number of paramagnetic centers. The stratigraphic factor does not have a significant impact on one of the molecular parameters. Factor analysis by the method of principal components of the molecular structure of coal showed that the most significant independent factors are metamorphism and sedimentation conditions, the latter ones include independent processes: accumulation of mineral components, decomposition of biomass and geochemical environment during the sedimentation period.
The research of redistribution and realization of energy at different scale-hierarchical levels at the Donbas coalrock massif based on the parameters of faultings and gas-dynamic phenomena has been conducted. It is proved that the energy transfer, incoming by impulses in post-inversion time of the geological development in Donbas, occurs throughout the whole structure of coal, due to the formation of energy connection between individual elements of the molecular structure. This process is accompanied by transition of free energy into a bound state with increase in ordering of the molecular structure and aromaticity of the coal substance (local increase in the degree of catagenetic transformations). The conditions of energy accumulation and realization depend on the peculiarities of molecular processes occurring in dislocations of different types. Less energy is accumulated in tensile zones than in compression zones, which is confirmed by the intensity of coal and gas outbursts. It has been established that the energy entering the multifractal geological environment in Donbas from external sources is also redistributed fractionally by the system, causing the formation of multiscale discrete inhomogeneities, which provides the massif with specific properties and ability to self-organization. A fractal model of the structure of the coalrock massif is proposed.
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