An Investigation of Longwall Gob Gas Behavior and Control Methods

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has initiated the use of a tracer gas in field studies to characterize geologic and mining factors influencing the migration of longwall gob gas. Three studies have been conducted using sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) at a coal mine in the Northern Appalachian Basin operating in the Pittsburgh Coalbed. Eight underground tracer gas releases and one gob gas venthole release are summarized. The results indicate that the gas flow in the bleeder network and in the interior regions of longwall panel gobs do not strongly interact and that the negative pressure provided by gob gas venthole exhausters is very significant in maintaining this behavior. The data also show that ventilation practices employed in a large multi-panel gob area are functioning in accordance with the intent of the engineering design, a fact which would be difficult to evaluate using conventional mine ventilation measurement methods