Page 178 - Advances In Productive, Safe, and Responsible Coal Mining

158 Advances in Productive, Safe, and Responsible Coal Mining

expected as a result of policies and regulations dealing with mercury, particulate
matter, and carbon emissions, just to name a few. The industry needs to prepare in
advance to comply, and decreasing the amount of OSD produced is always a viable
option for reducing costs and environmental impacts of coal mining.

9.2 Experimental modeling of an OSD control procedure

9.2.1 Sample collection
This section summarizes a study [2] conducted at five Illinois coal mines where chan-
nel samples were collected from 13 mechanized mining units. Each sample included
roof and floor strata and coal from three horizons within the seam (i.e., top 3.0in.
(0.08m), bottom 3.0in. (0.08m), and the rest of the coal seam) as shown in
Fig. 9.2. At a few locations where a rock parting was present, a sample of the same
was also obtained. Four of the 13units sampled were in the Illinois No. 5 seam; nine of
the 13units sampled were in the Illinois No. 6 seam. In total, 57 channel samples were
collected.
Samples were collected according to the procedure described in USGS Circular
735 [5]. First, a fresh face of coal was exposed on the pillar by chipping with a chisel
and hammer. Then, a longwall hammer was used to cut a 5in. (0.13m) wide by 3in.

Immediate roof
Coal—Top 3

Coal seam

Coal—Bottom 3
Immediate floor

Fig. 9.2 Channel sample horizons [2].