Methane utilization as a resource-saving method inthe coal industry

Risks of partial or total loss of ecosystems and species due to climate change are currently increasing. Russia is the world’s fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gases, which have a detrimental effect on ecosystems. The fuel and energy complex is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases; in this regard, it is precisely the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in this area has the utmost significance.In addition, methane as one of the greenhouse gases is harmful not only for the ecosystem but also for industrial safety, and this is also a sphere of state regulation.Since methane, based on its forecast volumes, may well be mined as an independent mineral product, it is necessary to develop a rational method for its use, since today everything that is mined is emitted into the atmosphere.The report analyzes how coal mining companies are currently using coal-seam methane. The volumes of methane in coal seams in the Russian Federation and in coal basins are analyzed. The world experience in the extraction of coalbed methane as a separate mineral product is investigated. A project is proposed for the rational use of methane as a separate mineral product.The main purpose of the article is to show that resource-saving measures for the use of methane can have not only environmental but also economic effect.A financial model of the project is proposed, which allowed to prove the economic efficiency of the project for the use of methane as a fuel. The article is based on the case method, the method for constructing financial models, the method for assessing risks, the method for analyzing information, etc.

Prospects and possibilities of using ash and slag wastes of power enterprises of Primorsky Krai as technogenic mineral raw materials

The results of an investigation of ash and slag wastes (ASW) of enterprises of the energy sector of Primorsky Krai are presented. The averaged contents of the main elements and mineral complexes in Primorsky Krai are given. It is shown that the mineral composition of the ASW data makes it possible to separate the primary raw materials into fractions with different compositions. A scheme is proposed for dividing the initial ash extractors into separate mineral fractions by the particle size and by their physical properties. The predominant concentration of gold, platinum, rare earth elements (REE) and a number of other valuable components in the heavy non-magnetic fraction isolated from the primary ASW was detected. Almost complete absence of gold, noble metals and REE in underburning of coal, magnetic and micro-dispersed fractions of ASW has been demonstrated. A device was offered for complex processing of ash and slag wastes of enterprises of the power industry of Primorsky Krai, which makes it possible to divide the initial ASW into mineral fractions, being raw materials for various industries.

The Relevance of Proton Induced X-Ray Analysis to the Study of Separate Mineral Phases

The sensitivity of proton induced X-ray analysis (PIXE) as a multi-element, non-destructive technique has been exhaustively reviewed recently. This follows the pioneering work of Johansson et al. in this field, in which sensitivities of 10-12g were announced. Between the dates of these two references (1970 and 1976 respectively), numerous papers have been published on the use of this technique and on the optimization of experimental conditions (choice of incident particle and energy in particular). The wide range of analytical applications reported at the Lund conference showed conclusively that PIXE has established itself as a viable and powerful analytical method.

XVI. Account of the Native Hydrate of Magnesia, discovered by Dr Hibbert in Shetland

The Native Hydrate of Magnesia was first discovered, and ranked as a separate Mineral, by the late Dr Bruce of New York. It was found only at Hoboken in New Jersey, traversing serpentine in every direction, in veins from a few lines to two inches in thickness. Its specific gravity was 2.13, and it yielded upon analysis 70 parts of pure magnesia, and 30 of water.In the year 1813, I received some fragments of this rare mineral from our late eminent countryman Dr John Murray, and though it exhibited no traces of a crystalline structure, I found it to be a regularly crystallised mineral, with one axis of double refraction perpendicular to the laminæ. The connection between the primitive form of minerals and their number of axes of double refraction, which I observed at a subsequent period, enabled me to determine that the Native Hydrate of Magnesia belonged either to the Rhomboidal or the Pyramidal system of Mohs.