ON THE INFLUENCE OF THE FORMS OF THE CONNECTION OF METHANE WITH THE COAL MATRIX ON THE GAS DYNAMIC PHENOMENA ARISING IN THE UNDERGROUND DEVELOPMENT OF COAL SEAMS

With the increase in the depth of mining, the probability of gas-dynamic phenomena, including sudden releases of coal and gas, increases. Despite the fact that the first sudden release of coal and gas was registered more than 150 years ago, and sudden coal and gas emissions occur in virtually all coal-mining countries, there is currently no full understanding of the mechanism and causes of sudden emissions. Redistribution of stresses in the marginalzone, local fracturing and disturbance of parts of the coal seam are necessary, but not sufficient conditions for the occurrence of sudden emissions of coal and gas. According to many scientists, the gas factor is the determining factor in the occurrence of a sudden release of coal and gas. Decades of studies of sorbed methane and methane occupying the free space of the pores and cracks in the coal seam allow us to give an exhaustive explanation of the sources of anomalously high amounts of gas, as well as the reasons for the rapid transition of methane to the gaseous state with sudden releases of coal and gas. It can be assumed that methane is found in the coal seam in the form of inclusion compounds: gas hydrates and intercalated graphite compounds.