oa HYDROUS PYROLYSIS IN THE SIMULATION OF COAL WASTE SELF-HEATING

Coal wastes are produced in large amounts at various stages of coal exploitation. These rocks require special dump sites designed to store them for many years. If sufficiently large volumes of coal waste are accumulated, self-heating driven by their oxidation may occur. This process generates toxic compounds contaminating the atmosphere, water, and soil. Self-heating is a highly variable process since it depends on numerous factors. Hydropyrolysis experiments simulate well natural self-heating of coal wastes occurring in the presence of water. Pyrolysates show composition analogous to that of self-heating products what allow to predict types of contaminants formed in the process.