Research Institute for Brown Coal (Czechia)

Since the 80s of the 20th century, as a result of the reduction in demand for coke, economic crises and the availability of coking coal, the operations of coke plants in Europe have been ending. Furthermore, the pressure for using renewable energy sources continues to increase, including the production of fuels. In most cases, the current solution is to add biocomponents to fuels produced in the classical way from oil. There are considerations about reusing these coke batteries, this time for the production of liquid fuels. Therefore, this work is devoted to the processing of biomaterials mixed with brown coal by the pyrolytic process. Extracted rapeseed meal, sunflower seed husks and dry distillery grain with solubles (DDGS) were selected as biomaterials. They are waste material from various productions, but these materials also show good energy potential. The brown coal came from the ČSA quarry, which is characterized by a low content of sulfur and ash and also improves the properties of liquid pyrolysis products, because it reduces polarity of organic phase, which enables easier separation of the aqueous and liquid phases of the product. Pyrolysis experiments were carried out in two different pyrolysis devices - i) in a micropyrolysis unit (sample loading: in the order of mg, heating rate: 100 °C s-1, fast removal of pyrolysis products); ii) in the pilot unit (sample weight: approx. 10 kg, heating rate: 5.2 °C min-1 and slower removal of pyrolysis products, cuboid shape of the pyrolysis retort simulating a coke oven battery). On the basis of mass balances and characteristics of micropyrolysis products, the pyrolysis temperature for pilot experiments was set at 650 °C. Behind the pyrolysis retort of the pilot unit, a thermic-catalytic reactor (catalyst: sulfurized aluminosilicate based on Ni-W) was connected in order to improve the quality of volatile pyrolysis products. The highest yields of organic phases of liquid products came from co-pyrolysis of coal and DDGS and coal with rapeseed meal. However, the characteristics of organic phases determined as the most advantageous material for the pyrolytic processing the rapeseed meal (specifically a higher proportion of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, a lower proportion of hydrocarbons with heteroatoms and a higher proportion of light fractions). The most beneficial pyrolysis mixture contained 35 % of rapeseed meal and the temperature in the catalytic part of the thermic-catalytic reactor was 300 °C.

The handbook is a result of TEXMIN research project, implemented under the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) programme, which has investigated the impact of future climate change on working and abandoned mining facilities, and to the surrounding environment and populations. It has also provided advice, and specially developed software tools, to help interested parties manage those risks and minimise their impact. This handbook has been prepared to make these important results available to those who are responsible for aspects of mine operation, mine closure and rehabilitation, and the management of those areas in the vicinity of working or abandoned mines. Part A of the handbook provides basic information to put the remainder of the handbook into context. Included here are a review of the impact of historic extreme weather events on working or abandoned mines, an overview of climate change, computer modelling of climate change, and the impacts of future extreme weather events on mining. Part B covers tools, methods and mitigation strategies for eliminating or minimising the impact of extreme weather events on working and abandoned mines and the areas in close proximity to them. This includes the following topics: surface waters emanating from mines or associated structures, mine water, gas emissions from mines, stability of the surface and mine structures, abandoned mine rehabilitation methods, and an innovative software-based integrated risk management tool that has been developed. Part C provides a selection of case studies which illustrate how the tools, methods and mitigation strategies discussed in Part B have been applied at a range of sites throughout Europe. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This is 2nd edition of Handbook, revised and supplemented.

The Research Institute for Brown Coal j. s. c. (VUHU) has been involved in the research project of the EU Research Fund of Coal and Steel - The impact of extreme weather events on mining operations for four years. The project is focused on assessing the impact of climate change on mining activities in major European coal basins. Other participants are scientific teams from Poland, Great Britain, Spain, Germany and Greece. This is the last year of the project solving, so this paper summarizes the results of the solution for the Czech Republic. The first part of the paper summarizes the knowledge of the historical development of the climate, including significant climatic disasters. Attempts to reconstruct the paleoclimate in the Tertiary based on the evaluation of preserved geological phenomena are also briefly evaluated here. The next part of the paper evaluates the development of temperature and precipitation in the wider area of the Most Basin, including the forecast for the future and the impact of climate change on mining and reclamation. Therefore, the greatest attention is paid to the proposed adaptation strategies. All laboratory analyses carried out as part of this research were carried out by VUHU testing laboratories accredited by CIA according to CSN EN 150-IEC 17025 on the basis of internal methodological procedures based on relevant standards.

<p>The handbook is a result of TEXMIN research project, implemented under the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) programme, which has investigated the impact of future climate change on working and abandoned mining facilities, and to the surrounding environment and populations. It has also provided advice, and specially developed software tools, to help interested parties manage those risks and minimise their impact. This handbook has been prepared to make these important results available to those who are responsible for aspects of mine operation, mine closure and rehabilitation, and the management of those areas in the vicinity of working or abandoned mines.</p>\n\n<p>Part A of the handbook provides basic information to put the remainder of the handbook into context. Included here are a review of the impact of historic extreme weather events on working or abandoned mines, an overview of climate change, computer modelling of climate change, and the impacts of future extreme weather events on mining.</p>\n\n<p>Part B covers tools, methods and mitigation strategies for eliminating or minimising the impact of extreme weather events on working and abandoned mines and the areas in close proximity to them. This includes the following topics: surface waters emanating from mines or associated structures, mine water, gas emissions from mines, stability of the surface and mine structures, abandoned mine rehabilitation methods, and an innovative software-based integrated risk management tool that has been developed.</p>\n\n<p>Part C provides a selection of case studies which illustrate how the tools, methods and mitigation strategies discussed in Part B have been applied at a range of sites throughout Europe.</p>\n\n<p>-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-</p>\n\n<p>This publication was created within the project TEXMIN (The impact of extreme weather events on mining operations) co-financed by the European Union (EU) within the scope of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) under Grant Agreement 847250 and co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.</p>

Almost all post-exploitation open pit mines in the world are shaped as a final water reservoir. One of the main hazards is the slope stability of lake banks. To develop a reliability methodology for assessing the long-term stability of flooded open-pit lake, a back analysis was conducted using 2D and 3D large-scale numerical models of Lake Most, which is one of the largest mining lakes in Europe (Czech Republic). The large-scale numerical model was built, based on the site observations, large scale LiDAR data, in situ characterisation tests, and statistical analysis of geotechnical data, on DTMs defining the complex geology of the site and on numerous piezometric levels to build the water table. Local and global safety factor (SF) were calculated using the strength reduction method. The results highlighted the reliability of the methodology to combine the geometric model with the geological model to create a large-scale numerical model, to identify local and potentially instable zones, and to highlight the role of a weak contact layer. The calculation of 3D SF has shown a very good correlation between the lowest SF and the ground movement observations noted by the Czech authorities.

A network of vertical static pendulums (tiltmeters) has been in operation in Central Europe since July 2007. Hundred and eighty three seismic events of magnitude 7 and greater have occurred worldwide (EMSC) during the ten-year period. Several kinds of tilt anomalies were recognised within days up to months before the mainshocks. The most typical anomaly was a sudden tilting, parallel with the geologic structure, where the pendulum was installed. Based on the observations, we are proposing an asperity model, explaining the generation of so called “stress waves” before the mainshocks. Such stress waves of very low frequency (i.e. periods of days up to the first months) could be detected anywhere on the globe, especially on active geological structures, parallel with the fault, where a mainshock can happen. The observations suggest that we could estimate that part of the global fault system, which generates the detected stress wave, and which reaches the critical state. The estimation can be performed according to the amplitude of the stress wave, compared with stress waves detected on other structures of different orientations. According to the length of the stress wave (its period) and the tilt amplitude, it could be possible to estimate the magnitude of the mainshock.

Direct coal liquefaction (DCL) seems to be a suitable way to convert low rank coals into liquid fuels, especially when problematic wastes are used together with this feedstock. It is also a solution to become energy independent for many countries which have significant coal resources and limited access to crude oil. The aim of this research was to investigate DCL process by the co-processing of brown coal with model-, petroleum- and waste-derived solvents. The brown coal with and without W, Fe and Mo metals supported on its surface was tested. Thirteen DCL tests with added hydrogen pressure were carried out in the autoclave. These tests were classified in two groups. First group covered reactions using model and petroleum-derived solvents (tetralin, 1-methylnaphthalene, light cycle oil (LCO), hydrotreated LCO, C9+ fraction and decalin) with non-impregnated brown coal. Then, LCO was chosen as solvent for carrying out three tests using the metals supported on coal. Finally, waste tires pyrolysis oil was used as a waste-derived solvent for other three tests with molybdenum supported on coal. For tests using LCO, the total amount of direct liquid and n-heptane soluble products was 20 wt% higher using metal covered brown coal in comparison to unmodified one. The test with the brown coal impregnated by 1% of molybdenum resulted in the best efficiency, thus this type of coal was chosen as a catalytic feedstock for the tests with waste tires pyrolysis oil.

This paper briefly assesses the conclusions from the long-term research of soil properties of the banks and shore of Lake Most. This paper mainly deals with the long-term development of the soil parameters of the anthropogenic soil profile and, to a lesser extent, the assessment of soil habitats with a typical flora. The experience gained will aid in the planning of further hydrological reclamation.

The aims of this study were to summarize current knowledge of a large runout prehistoric landslide, critically review all of the existing data and, in particular, gather new data in order to estimate the age of the accumulation and reveal the movement mechanism. The reconstruction of a large rockslide-rock avalanche in the NW part of the Czech Republic was supported by the analysis and interpretation of 216 boreholes and by GIS analysis of the original 1950s pre-mining surface using digitized old military topographic maps. For the age estimation, we used the Schmidt hammer test. The total volume of the quaternary deposit was calculated to be between 25.4 and 27.4 mil m3, occupying an area of 778,000 m2 and consisting of six to eight generations of colluvial sediments. Three main landslide events were identified based on extensive Schmidt hammer sampling, and the approximate age was established using a regression equation assembled by Engel (2007). All three of the documented events occurred around the time of significant climate change. The oldest event occurred due to the Oldest Dryas warming, the largest event probably occurred at the end of the Younger Dryas (11,700 yBP), and the youngest of the documented events was purely of a Holocene age, with the highest landslide frequency being during the Atlantic temperature fluctuations (approximately 8200 yBP). The slope deformation occurred on a fault slope with a relative height of over 400 m and in tectonically weakened rocks. Sediments in the Most Basin were weakened from meltwater during rapid warming periods, which allowed mobilization of rockslide deposits and runout of up to 1000 m from the mountain foothills.