National University of Science and Technology ‘MISIS’, Moscow, Russian Federation:

S. A. Epshtein, Head of Laboratory, Doctor of Engineering Sciences
E. L. Kossovich, Senior Researcher, Ph.D., e.kossovich@misis.ru
V. A. Krasilova, Ph.D. Student, Engineer of the Scientific Project
A. S. Smirnov, Student, Laboratory Assistant, Scientific-Educational Laboratory of Physics and Chemistry of Coals

The processes of mining, processing, transportation and transshipment of coal are accompanied by the release of dust. In accordance with sanitary rules (SanPiN 1.2.3685), coal dust, airborne particles and airborne PM2.5 and PM10 are classified as air pollutants. To calculate emissions of pollutants, including coal dust, from stationary fugitive sources, different methods are used, based on considering of such factors as the characteristics of various equipment used, its productivity, operating time, meteorological conditions, size and dispersion of materials, etc. The coefficients introduced into the calculation, which take into account the fineness of the material, are fixed (constant) for all the coals. This approach does not allow ranking coals according to their “dust capacity”. This is primary due to the lack of reliable methods for quantifying the content of airborne dust in coals and the proportion of PM2.5 and PM10 in it. This paper presents the methodological and instrumental support for the quantitative assessment of the contents of airborne dust in specific coals and its granulometric composition. It is shown that the contents of airborne dust in coals and proportion of PM10 and PM2.5 in t he latter are individual and, in general, do not depend on coal type, rank and petrographic composition. It is shown that the proposed methodological and instrumental support for the quantitative assessment of the contents of airborne dust in coals makes it possible to calculate the coefficients of dispersion of the material that are a part of evaluation of emissions of pollutants into the atmospheric air.
The work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant no. 18-77-10052).

1. Kumar S., Jain M. K. Characterization and morphometric study of household settled dust: A case study in Dhanbad, the coal capital of India. Applied Geochemistry. 2022. Vol. 144. 105398. DOI: 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2022.105398
2. Yu Cheng, Haiming Yu, Sen Xie, Junwei Zhao, Yuxi Ye. Study on the coal dust deposition fraction and site in the upper respiratory tract under different particle sizes and labor intensities. Science of The Total Environment. 2023. Vol. 868. 161617. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161617
3. Lichao Zhang, Gang Zhou, Yu Ma, Bin Jing, Biao Sun et al. Numerical analysis on spatial distribution for concentration and particle size of particulate pollutants in dust environment at fully mechanized coal mining face. Powder Technology. 2021. Vol. 383. pp. 143–158. DOI: 10.1016/j.powtec.2021.01.039
4. Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation. Decree of January 28, 2021 N 2. On the approval of sanitary rules and norms SanPiN 1.2.3685–21 “Hygienic standards and requirements for ensuring the safety and (or) harmlessness of environmental factors for humans”. Available at: https://docs.cntd.ru/document/573500115 (accessed: 31.12.2022).
5. Industry methodology for calculating the amount of waste, captured and emitted into the atmosphere of harmful subst ances by coal mining enterprises. Perm : MNIIEKO TEK, 2003. 117 p.
6. Industry methodology for calculating the amount of waste, captured and emitted into the atmosphere of pollutants during the combustion of coal and technological processes of mining at coal industry enterprises. Perm : MNIIEKO TEK, 2014. 186 p.
7. Methodology for calculating emissions (discharges) for a complex of equipment for open pit mining (based on specific indicators). Lyubertsy : NNTs GP IGD im. A. A. Skochinskogo, 1999. 46 p.
8. Zhaberov S. V. Temporary guidelines for the calculation of emissions of pollutants / dust/ into the atmosphere during storage and reloading of bulk materials at river fleet enterprises. Guidelines. – Belgorod : BTISM, 1992. 35 p.
9. Zhaberov S.V. Guidelines for the calculation of emissions of pollutants / dust / into the atmosphere during storage and reloading of bulk materials at the enterprises of the sea and river fleet. Guidelines. Belgorod : BGTU, 1992. 40 p.
10. Page S. J., Organiscak J. A., Quattro J. Coal proximate analyses correlation with airborne respirable dust. Fuel. 1993. Vol. 72, Iss. 7. pp. 965–970. DOI: 10.1016/0016–2361(93)90293-B
11. Page S. J., Organiscak J. A. Suggestion of a Cause-and-Effect Relationship Among Coal Rank, Airborne Dust, and Incidence of Workers Pneumoconiosis. AIHA Journal. 2000. Vol. 61, No. 6. pp. 785–787.
12. Baafi E. Y., Ramani R. V. Rank and maceral effects on coal dust generation. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences & Geomechanics Abstracts. 1979. Vol. 16, No. 2. pp. 107–115. DOI: 10.1016/0148–9062(79)91447–5
13. Epshtein S. A., Kossovich E. L., Vishnevskaya E. P., Agarkov K. V., Koliukh A. V. Determination of total and fine airborne dust in coals. GIAB. 2020. No. 6. pp. 5–14. DOI: 10.25018/02361493–2020–6-0–5-14
14. Panov G. E. Dust formation kinetics as a function of the principal mechanical properties of coals. Soviet Mining Science. 1967. Vol. 3, Iss. 5. pp. 511–514. DOI: 10.1007/BF024 97948
15. International standard ISO 20905:2004. Coal preparation – Determination of dust/moisture relationship for coal. Geneva : ISO, 2004. 20 p.
16. Hower J. C. Interrelationship of coal grinding properties and coal petrology. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration. 1998. Vol. 15, No. 3. pp. 1–16. DOI: 10.1007/BF03403218
17. Krasilova V. A., Kossovich E. L., Gavrilova D. I., Kozyrev M. M. Laboratory installation for collection and concentration of airborne coal dust. GIAB. 2022. No. 6. pp. 121–130. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2022_6_0_121
18. Krasilo va V. A., Epshtein S. A., Kossovich E. L., Kozyrev M. M., Ionin A. A. Development of method for coal dust particle size distribution characterization by laser diffraction. GIAB. 2022. No. 2. pp. 5–16. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2022_2_0_5
19. Manjunath G. L., Jha B. Nanoscale fracture mechanics of Gondwana coal. International Journal of Coal Geology. 2019. Vol. 204. pp. 102–112. DOI: 10.1016/j.coal.2019.02.007
20. Kossovich E. L., Borodich F. M., Epshtein S. A., Galanov B. A. Indentation of bituminous coals: Fracture, crushing and dust formation. Mechanics of Materials. 2020. Vol. 150. 103570. DOI: 10.1016/j.mechmat.2020.103570
21. Liang Si, Yijun Cao, Guixia Fan, Song Wang. Study on fracture shape distribution characteristics and micromechanical properties of middling coal. AIP Advances. 2020. Vol. 10, No. 7. 075324. DOI: 10.1063/5.0015946