Effect of moisture on microwave ignition of bituminous coal

The interaction between water and microwave is of vital importance to reveal the microwave ignition mechanism of water-bearing coal. This study used two group of bituminous coal after drying and water saturation treatment, for experimental testing and contrastive analysis. During the experiment, permeability of coal samples was obtained based on nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) test, then different power of microwaves were applied to coal samples, and the occurrence of hot spots within coal samples was regarded as a sign of microwave ignition. Microwave ignition of water-saturated coal is mainly affected by microwave power and coal permeability. The pore water in low permeability coal is conducive to microwave ignition, while the pore water in high permeability coal will prolong the ignition time. There is a permeability threshold, above which the average ignition time of water-saturated coal samples is longer than that of dry coal samples, but below which the opposite is true. These insights can be used to evaluate the safety of microwave technology when applied to coal engineering.