Methane emission control in coal longwalls with multi-entry development

The study focuses on methane safety in coal longwalls with multi-entry development. A key risk factor in such process flow diagrams is instability of ventilation. The analysis of causes of accidents in mines highlights the essentiality of updating the regulatory framework of ventilation design for gassy mines with regard to separate methane dilution per methanesources and isolated gas withdrawal, as well as the gas emission prediction standards. The calculation basis for the air flow rate in a longwall should be gas content forecast by the actual intensity of methane emission sources. The lack of the correct procedures of gas emission prediction governs the insufficient accuracy of ventilation designs, which increases the probability of local gas accumulation in longwalls. The established software systems commonly used in mine ventilation designs lack optimization algorithms for ventilation of production faces within the longwall network. It is shown that the current guidelines on longwall ventilation design need updating based on the investigations of the gas balance dynamics and ventilation flow distribution in multi-entry development. The aim of such investigations is creation of design methods for complex ventilation diagrams for longwalls in gassy mines to ensure airflow stability at longwall faces and to minimize gas accumulation risks at the preserved high productivity of mining equipment. 

Barsegian E. A. Methane emission control in coal longwalls with multi-entry development. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2026;(11):156-168. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2026_11_0_156.

E.A. Barsegian, Graduate Student, NUST MISIS, 119049, Moscow, Russia, e-mail: barsegian.ea@misis.ru, ORCID: 0009-0005-0209-7971.

1. Kachurin N. M., Ermakov A. Yu., Senkus Val. V. Aerogazodinamika ochistnykh i podgotovitel'nykh uchastkov pri otrabotke moshchnykh pologikh plastov [Aerogasodynamics of longwall faces and development sections during extraction of thick flat-lying seams], Kemerovo, Kuzbassvuzizdat, 2017, 288 p.

2. Zolotukhin V. A., Shirshev L. G., Borisov A. V. Improving safety of mining operations in methane-coal conditions based on accident analysis. Occupational Safety in Industry. 2018, no. 6, pp. 45—51. [In Russ].

3. Semin M. A., Grishin E. L., Levin L. Yu., Zaitsev A. V. Automated ventilation control in mines and underground workings: Problems, current experience, and directions for improvement. Journal of Mining Institute. 2020, vol. 246, pp. 623—632. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.31897/PMI.2020.6.4.

4. Kaledinа N. O., Meshcheryakov D. A., Malashkina V. A. Methane emission from the floor as a factor in the formation of local accumulations in the production faces of coal mines. Occupational Safety in Industry. 2026, no. 2, pp. 29—36. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.24000/0409-2961-2026-2-29-36.

5. Borisov A. V., Shirshev L. G., Kabanov E. I., Myakov V. V. Analysis of the causes of the accident at the Listvyazhnaya mine (Kemerovo Region) in 2021 and proposals for improving safety in the coal industry. Gornyi Zhurnal. 2022, no. 7, pp. 43—50. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.17580/gzh.2022.07.07.

6. Nedashkovskaya P. A., Ivanov D. S. Legal and organizational aspects of management responsibility for accidents at hazardous production facilities (case study of the Listvyazhnaya mine). Safety in technosphere. 2025, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 112—121. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.32334/2413-3845-2025-14-2-112-121.

7. Biswal P. K., Parida D., Mishra G., Sahoo A. K. Study of air flow pattern in mine model gallery and its validation using CFD modeling. WSN. 2019, vol. 130, pp. 1—24.

8. Bobin V. A., Bobina E. V. Mathematical modeling of gas emission processes in coal mines. Journal of Mining Sciences. 2020, no. 3, pp. 88—97. [In Russ].

9. Kuznetsov V. P. Modelirovanie gazovydeleniya v ugol'nykh shakhtakh [Modeling of gas emission in coal mines], Ekaterinburg, 2017, 156 p.

10. Babenko A. G., Lapin S. E. The multifunctional mine gas-analytical system «Mikon 1R» as a basis for constructing control and management systems for coal mines. Mining Equipment and Electromechanics. 2019, no. 4, pp. 32—38. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.26730/1816-4528-2019-4-32-38.

11. Dziurzyński W., Pałka T., Krach A., Wasilewski S. Methodology for determining methane distribution in a longwall district. Archives of Mining Sciences. 2019, vol. 64, no. 3, pp. 467—485. DOI: 10.24425/ams.2019.129363.

12. Zolotykh S. S. Preliminary degasification of coal seams as a factor in improving safety at Kuzbass mines. Russian Mining Industry Journal. 2019, no. 5, pp. 18—22. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.30686/1609-9192-2019-5-18-22.

13. Tailakov O. V., Makeev M. P., Utkaev E. A., Zastrelov D. N. Semi-empirical model of gas emission from a coal seam based on the study of reservoir properties of the coal-rock mass. Gornyi Zhurnal. 2024, no. 6, pp. 78—85. [In Russ].

14. Molochkov A. K. Methods for improving safety in coal mines: Ventilation and degassing. Moscow: Nedra, 1992, 256 p.

15. Liu Y., Guo H. Ventilation design optimization for multi-branch coal mining workings under high methane conditions. Safety Science. 2018, vol. 110, pp. 212—221.

16. Karacan C. Ö., Martín-Fernández J. A., Ruppert L. F., Olea R. A. Insights on the characteristics and sources of gas from an underground coal mine using compositional data analysis. International Journal of Coal Geology. 2021, vol. 241, article 103767. DOI: 10.1016/j.coal.2021.103767.

17. Li X., Zhang H., Wang J. Numerical simulation of methane distribution in multi-entry coal mines. International Journal of Mining Science and Technology. 2016, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 805—811.

18. Kaledina N. O., Chechel K. N. Analysis of the gas balance of the exhaust area in ensuring aerological security. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2021, no. 10-1, pp. 5—16. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2021_101_0_5.

19. Meyer Varicon C. F. Advancing the technology of methane monitoring on a continuous miner. Journal of the Mine Ventilation Society of South Africa. 2018, vol. 71, no. 3, pp. 12—20.

20. Puchkov L. A. Aerodinamika podzemnykh vyrabotannykh prostranstv [Aerodynamics of underground mined-out spaces], Moscow, Izd-vo MGGU, 1993, 266 p.

21. Li Juanjuan, Hu Mingshun, Ding Enjie, Kong Wei, Pan Dongming, Chen Shenen Multi-parameter numerical simulation of dynamic monitoring of rock deformation in deep mining. International Journal of Mining Science and Technology. 2016, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 851—855. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijm. st.2016.05.044.