Resources, Conservation and Recycling 54 (2010) 1331–1340

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Resources, Conservation and Recycling

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/resconrec

Recycling utilization patterns of coal mining waste in China

Liu Haibin a , Liu Zhenling b,∗
a
School of Management, China University of Mining & Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
b
School of Management, Henan University of Technology, Lian Hua Street, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: With the fast development of Chinese economy in recent years, China has become the largest coal produc-
Received 1 August 2009 tion and consumption country in the world. Correspondingly, it has produced large quantities of mining
Received in revised form 1 May 2010 waste including coal gangue, coal sludge, fly-ash, coal mine drainage and coal-bed methane (CBM) that
Accepted 15 May 2010
are hazardous to the soil, air, and water. Based on the theory and practice of sustainable development
and recycling economy, the paper will discuss and analyze the mining waste management in Jincheng
Keywords:
Anthracite Mining Group, Shanxi Province, where they have found the paths to realize the mining waste
Coal mining waste
reusing and recycling in colliery. They had established many green industrial chains in the mining waste
Comprehensive utilization
Recycling economy
treatment: the gangue piles turned into man-made eco-park, gangue used for power generation, fly-ash
Industrial chains used in the building material, the coal mining water reused and recycled in closed pipelines, the CBM
extracted for home-burning and electricity generation, etc. The coal mining waste has been converted
into wealth and played more and more important roles in many fields. The practice indicated that these
patterns can be applied in other coal mines.
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction billion tons of coal mining wastes stockpiled at 1700 waste dumps
which occupied 15,000 ha lands (Bian et al., 2009). If the gangue is
Coal mining waste has become the primary pollution sources exposed to the air and piled on land, it will produce serious pollu-
in China. Due to the fast economy development in recent years tions into the environment. The physical, chemical, or biological
and the consequently soaring demand for coal to generate elec- changes help it produce spontaneous combustion and pollution
tricity, China has become the largest coal producer and consumer leaching (Ma et al., 2008). The hazardous is as follows.
in the world. In 2008, China had produced 2716 Mtons raw coal,
accounting for approximately 40% of the total production in the • Natural calamity, such as landslide and debris flow due to improp-
world and overtaken the United States as the world’s biggest pro- erly piled gangue.
ducer of carbon dioxide. As coal mining waste is part of the raw • Poison releasing, natural weathering and rainwater drenching
coal, the more coal production, the more waste to be dealth with. causing the poisonous into the soil and underground water.
The coal mining waste are coal gangue, coal slime, fly-ash, coal mine • Spontaneous combustion, the poisonous gas emitting into the
drainage, coal-bed methane (CBM). If the waste is disposed improp- atmosphere.
erly, it would threaten the environment and bring about serious • Acid rain formation near the gangue mountain.
pollutions, finally become the constraints to economy develop- • Noxious substance polluting the groundwater.
ment (Skarzynska, 1995; Bell et al., 2000; McKinnon, 2002; Bian
and Zhang, 2006). Coal sludge and fly-ash are another solid industrial waste in
In China, about 95% of total coal production is from underground coal mine. Coal sludge is produced in the coal washing process,
coal mines. The average production of coal mining wastes is about which contains carcinogenic chemicals and toxic heavy metals that
15% of coal production, which varies from 10 to 15% with the change are present in coal, such as arsenic, mercury, chromium, cadmium,
of geological and mining conditions. Therefore, it is estimated that boron, selenium, and nickel. Although the coal sludge is one of the
the annual production of coal mining wastes is about 315 million coal mining wastes, it can be burnt in special condition as it has low
tons for underground coal mining since 2007, which accounts for calorific value. Coal fly-ash is the leavings after the coal burning in
a quarter of the total industrial solid wastes. There are about 4.5 the power plant. The annual production of fly-ash is more than 150
million tons. As it is very small and light, it is very easy to fly with
wind. If not scientifically treated, it is easy to pollute the environ-
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 371 6775 6950; fax: +86 371 6775 6390. ment of the mining area by polluting the water, atmosphere, soil
E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Zhenling). and occupying land. The traditional treatment may cause:

0921-3449/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2010.05.005
1332 L. Haibin, L. Zhenling / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 54 (2010) 1331–1340

Table 1
Chemical composition of the fly-ash and coal gangue.

SiO2 Al2 O3 Fe2 O3 CaO MgO Other Ignition loss

Flay ash 50.6 27.2 7.0 2.8 1.2 2.1 8.2

Coal gangue 53.16 15.53 7.43 4.14 0.97 – 16.3

Note: The coal gangue data comes from Jincheng, Shanxi Province. The fly-ash data is the national average. See The High-tech Research Process of Industrial Solid Waste in
China in International Workshop on Sustainable Development and Concrete Technology.

• potential toxicant that pollutes the groundwater and soil, green industrial chains of coal mining wastes are studied. Finally,
• occasionally piles up occupying land and contaminating soil, the conclusion is summarized.
• contaminating atmospheres in large area contributing to its
long-distance transportation that may cause serious regional
2. Traditional treatments
environmental pollution,
• the air-suspended particles, which is much harmful to people’s
2.1. Coal gangue
health.

Fly-ash and coal gangue are the two main industrial solid waste
In coal mining process, a large amount of water is required for in China. The chemical compositions (shown in Table 1) were SiO2 ,
de-dusting. However, much coal reservation are buried in the semi- Al2 O3 , Fe2 O3 and some impurities. As the coal gangue is main solid
arid or arid regions where water resource is in highly shortage waste for coal mining, one of the most common approaches to
in many coal mines in China, for example, the Shanxi Province, waste rock is to stack construction that encapsulate the most pyrite
the West of Neimenggu province. The water mixed with the coal rich rocks in the core of a waste rock stack (Lottermoser, 2003;
dust, along with the gushing underground water, forms the mine Williams et al., 2003). For some high carbon coal gangue, it is gen-
drainage. As estimated by the statistical bureau, the coal mining erally mixed with other coal for mine-mouth power generation,
wastewater sums to about 2.2 billion, averaging 4 m3 water per and it has indicated its techno-economic feasibility of mine-mouth
ton coal production (China and GAoEP, 2002). If untreated, the power plants (Chugh and Patwardhan, 2004). Mostly, by differ-
water combining with heavy metal ions such as iron and mercury ent processing methods, the reuse of the coal gangue is used as
ions would definitely pollute the groundwater. Nevertheless, it will input material for traditional constructing material, e.g. cement,
waste the cherish water resource. Thus, it is of importance for the and new building material, such as, calcined products with high coal
coal mine to recycle the mine drainage. gangue, non-load-bearing hollow brick, and load bearing hollow
The coal-bed methane (CBM) or gas is flammable gas which is brick, and lightweight aggregate that are replace for clay (Xiaoyan
accompanied with the coal resource. As it is flammable, it is a kind and Changsheng, 2007). In addition, coal gangue has been accepted
of valuable and clean energy. However, it is also a killer to the min- in many places as alternative aggregates in embankment, road,
ers and threats to safety production due to its possible explosions pavement, foundation and building construction, pyrites extrac-
underground. In the coal mining production, the general principle tion, zeolites production, etc. (Xiaowang, 2009; Sun and Li, 2008).
for the coal and gas outburst mines is to extract gas before mining.
As a kind of greenhouse gas, the effectively utilizing of CBM become
2.2. Fly-ash
important in the recycling economy.
It is generally argued that coal mining can have serious adverse
Coal is mainly combusted for electricity generation in power
environmental and related impacts, including interference with
plants, and coal ash is primarily solid waste after burned. Tradi-
groundwater quantity and quality, land subsidence, impacts on
tionally, the majority of coal ash has been dumped in cone heaps
river flows and consequential impact on other land-uses, issues
and has the potential to pollute air, soil and water environments
associated with mining wastes disposal, creation of geological haz-
and landscapes through dust generation (Xiaojun, 2007; Bian et al.,
ards, visible and esthetic issues, damage to infrastructure and
2009). Although some of them are recycled utilized which is in civil
potential ecological havoc (Skarzynska, 1995; Bell et al., 2000;
construction materials, there is a limit to the demand for coal ash
McKinnon, 2002; Bian and Zhang, 2006). Of these wide range of
by construction industries. In Finland, Kikuchi (1999) summarized
issues, the disposal of mining wastes itself has received relatively
three ways to treat the coal ash: (1) alkali treatment can transform
less attention, especially considering the nature of the disposal
coal ash to zeolite; (2) potassium silicate fertilizer is produced from
methods, the opportunities for utilization of the mining wastes and
coal ash and has a higher receptivity in the soil than that of con-
the potential size of their impact on environment if not managed
ventional fertilizers; (3) emission of sulfur dioxide is controlled by
correctly (Szczepanska, 1999). However, the proper treat method
flue gas desulfurization using coal ash (Kikuchi, 1999).
for the coal mining waste is welcome for the sustainable develop-
ment, which can bring about great economic benefits. Therefore,
the coal mine wastes have already been one of the major threats to 2.3. Coal mine water and coal-bed methane
environment and how to scientifically treat has become an urgent
problem for coal mines. There are many problems existed in the treatment of coal mines
In recent years, recycling economy has become the focus of in China, such as, part wastewater treated adequately, insuffi-
the academic study, and with more sophisticated techniques of cient treatment capacity, improper colliery design, poor quality of
waste control and use applied into the waste treatment, construct- treated water, etc. (Ke and Liyun, 2010). Traditionally, the reuse
ing green industry chains based on recycling economy maybe a of coal mine water can be divided into four kinds: industrial pro-
solution to the problem. duction (fire extinguishment, dust proof, explosion protection and
The content of the research is arranged as follows. Section 2 is to so on with low quality water), environmental purification (garden
review the traditional treatments on the mine wastes. Next section forestation, spring, road sprinkle), life living (deeply treated water
is to introduce the general theory of the recycling economy and for drinking, boothing), agricultural water for irrigation (Kurbiel
the meaning for the coal mine to develop recycling economy. Then, et al., 1996; Dharmappa et al., 2000; Viadero and Tierney, 2003;
taking the Shanxi Jincheng coal group as example, the recycling Lambert et al., 2004).
 L. Haibin, L. Zhenling / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 54 (2010) 1331–1340 1333

Due to the uneconomic extraction of the coal-bed methane, it 3.2. Why do the coal mines need the recycling economy?
is previously extracted by ventilation gas into air directly with-
out treatment and development which resulted in wasting the The major underlying forces that are helping to carry out recycle
resources, greenhouse effect, pneumoconiosis (Tang et al., 2007; economy in coal mining areas are:
Islam and Hayashi, 2008; Hemza et al., 2009; Myers, 2009). Thus, it
is necessary to develop the resources and prevent and reduce the (1) It is favorable for coal mines to realize an overall planning
mine disasters (Xueyu, 2010). and coordinative development. The recycling economy requires
that all industries associated with the coal mining have an over-
all planning, the industrial and product structure are regulated,
the coal exploitation scale and order, the equipment and envi-
3. Recycling economy theory and practice in coal mines
ronment protection have a predestined schemes. This can lead
to a coordinate development and maximizing benefits.
3.1. Concept of recycling economy
(2) The limitation and exhaustibility of coal resource determines
the comprehensive exploitation and utilization of coal. The
The so-called recycle economy, in essence, is a kind of eco-
middling coal in coal washing, coal sludge and gangue are all
logical economy, which requires the ecologic law, instead the
low calorific value, but they can be mixed combusted in elec-
traditional mechanism, to guide the economic activities of the
tricity generation; the coal drainage could be recycled and used
human society. Compared to the traditional economy, the great
for coal washing, daily life and agricultural irrigation; the IGCC
difference of recycling economy lies in the production pro-
(integrated gasification comprehensive circulation) technology
cess, in which the traditional economic chain follows “natural
brings coal combustion gases to drive the generators and steam
resource → product → pollutant”, one-way flow, linear economy,
turbine generator; the fly-ash of power plant, slag, etc. used for
characterized by high intension exploitation, low level utilization,
producing construction material, land reclaiming, backfill and
high emission; while in the recycling economy, the production
so on.
chain is “resource → products → renewable resources”, a feedback
(3) Releasing the pressure on the railway transportation and sav-
flow, characterized by low intension exploitation, high level uti-
ing the transportation capacity. If the coal mine practice the
lization, low emission. In the traditional economy, people exploit
recycling economy, more coal are converted into electricity
the natural resources, then manufacture industrial products, and
transmitted to remote region rather than the raw coal trans-
discharge the waste or pollutant into the water, atmosphere and
ported. The conversion not only increases the added value of the
soil. These activity converting resources into waste ceaselessly is
products, but also reduces the transporting outward amount.
primarily the condition so as to achieve a quantitatively economy
The most important is to relieve the contradiction between
growth. On the contrast, in recycling economy, the economic activ-
mining and transportation, which is realistic and practical to
ity is environmental friendly and harmonious with the nature. All
be resolved.
of the materials and energy should be utilized reasonably and sus-
(4) It is favorable for the sustainable development of coal mining
tainable in order to lower the impact of the economic activities on
area. The coal mining intensity must be consistent with the coal
the natural environment to the smallest extent.
resource conservation. Under the total output controlling, the
How to realize the recycling economy? The “3R” principle and
recycling economy helps the mines to optimize the industrial
the waste avoidance are two guiding principles applied in practic-
and products structure, to make appropriate scale of opera-
ing the strategic idea of recycle economy. “3Rs” is an acronym which
tion, to improve the utilization efficiency of resources, to make
stands for Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Reduce requires fewer input
resources advantages turn into the economic advantage. These
of raw material and energy in the production process, and this is the
benefits not only improve the economic benefits of the coal
most effective of the three Rs and the place to begin. Reusing keeps
mining enterprise, but also promote the development of other
new resources from being used for a while longer, and old resources
industries.
from entering the waste stream. Furthermore, reusing requires that
the manufactures and packages could be used repeatedly. More-
In short, the world has entered an era of diversified energy
over, manufacturers are required to extend product life period as
and chemical materials. Thus, different countries or regions choose
long as possible, calling for a boycott of disposable supplies. Recy-
practical, feasible coal processing and utilizing technology based
cling is the “R” that has caught on the best, and it requires that the
on their own needs of energy resources and their economic
products could be recycled rather than disposed into trash. Tak-
development level. Development of the recycling has become
ing the idea of recycle economy into consideration, the producers
important solution to the coal mining wastes treatment and energy
should be responsible for resolving the waste products (Fig. 1).
savings.

3.3. General patterns of recycling economy in coal mine

In recent years, the recycle economy theory has been applied

into many coal mines in China, where different mines designs dif-
ferent mode in accordance to diverse resource and environmental
characteristics. These coal development modes include coal-
electricity development, coal-electricity-coke comprehensively
development, coal-electricity-high-energy consumption indus-
tries, coal-gasification (fluidization) synthetically development,
coal-electricity-roads (railway building)-ports, etc. After analyz-
ing the practical activities of recycling economy in different coal
mine areas and the relationship between the coal exploitation
with its related industries development, we can find that the recy-
cling economy in coal mines should regard the coal mining and
Fig. 1. The flow of product in recycling economy. coal washing industries as the core of coal mining recycling. The
1334 L. Haibin, L. Zhenling / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 54 (2010) 1331–1340

Fig. 2. The general mode of recycling economy in coal mines.

development mode should be constructed by carefully selecting Based on the present status and prospective market environment,
the electricity generation, coal transportation, coal coking, and it has chosen three industries, coal and the CBM, coal and electricity
coal-chemical industry, high-energy consumption industry, envi- generation, coal-chemical industry as primary area in the “Twelfth
ronmental protection industry. The general mode that the coal Five-Year Plan” (2011–2015).
mining area develops recycle economy can be expressed as Fig. 2.
Fig. 2 shows that the coal mining industrial chain can be
extended to downstream industries. Developing recycle economy 4.1.2. Natural resource
should pay attention to the resource characteristic of the mining (1) Coal resource
areas, the geographic settings, the regional ecological environment, The JCAMG has a reservation of coal resources at about
national macroeconomic environment and relevant policies and 54,000 Mtons by the end of 2004. Of which: the geological
so on. Only by optimizing the combinations, a proper developing maintenance reserves of nearly 25,000 Mtons; and predicted
mode can be selected in the special colliery. resources for nearly 40,000 Mtons, among which, under
−1200 m has an amount of 19,961 Mtons, while −1200 m to
∼−1700 m has about 9350 Mtons.
4. Green industrial chains: patterns in Jincheng colliery Among the geological maintenance reservation of
25,000 Mtons, operating wells and constructing wells takes up
4.1. Brief description reserves to 15,000 Mtons, untapped reserves in the exploration
(precisely surveyed reserves) has amount to 58.66 Mtons,
4.1.1. Enterprise’s overview prospecting for further investigation of reserves around
Shanxi Jincheng Anthracite Mining Group (JCAMG) is an impor- 618.70 Mtons, the census reserves is 9908.77 Mtons.
tant coal mining enterprises in China. It is one of the 520 In the predicted resource, 19961.2 Mtons, of shallower than
distinguished enterprises in China and one of the 10 leading com- −1200 m, the operating wells and wells under construction of
panies in Shanxi Province, which is the maximum coal production the JCAMG use 2600 Mtons. The total coal resource of operating
province in China. It is as well one of the important enterprises wells and wells under construction takes up 9600 Mtons.
as an important production base of high-quality anthracite and (2) Water resource
has registered capital 4052 million Yuan RMB, 25 subsidiaries, Shanxi is located in the North China Plateau, a varied topog-
18 branch companies and 18 shareholding companies, more than raphy and dry climate region. It is extremely shortage in water
50,000 employees. The JCAMG ranks the seventh of “top 100 coal for this province. The total amount of the annual average water
mining enterprises in China” released by China Coal Industry Asso- resources is 12.38 billion m3 , the province’s water resources
ciation. Moreover, it is an important part of Jindong coal base, one of per capita is only 381 m3 , is 1/7 of the national average level,
the 13 national planning large-scale coal bases. By the end of 2005, far below the internationally recognized extremely scarce in
the production capacity approved has reached to 30.60 Mtons/a, water bottom line, 500 m3 per capita. In Shanxi Province, there
the raw coal production to 30.60 Mtons in 2005. has been continually ultra-intensively, large-scale exploitation
The JCAMG has formed a multi-industries production config- of coal resources, which had lead to the severe destruction on
uration, since the group restructured in 2000. Its production can the water resource. The water resource in the JCAMG ranks
be divided into four sections, coal mining, railway and port build- in the middle and upper level among all coal mines in Shanxi
ing, coal equipment manufacturing and other non-coal industries. Province, but still belongs to dry area. Sooner or later, the water
 L. Haibin, L. Zhenling / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 54 (2010) 1331–1340 1335

resource would become the constraints of the development of

the JCAMG.
(3) The CBM resource
The west colliery of the JCAMG riches in the CBM (gas)
resources, in addition, the coal-bed methane is not only high
permeability, but also strong in high gas saturation, gas occur-
rence of high stress, fracture seam, good drawn admissibility.
The west colliery of the JCAMG owns totally 13 mining wells
that are operating, under construction or in planning. The
total mining area has 3728.6 km, Nos. 2 and 3 coal seams of
coal resources reserves 25,000 Mtons, No. 3 coal seams CBM
reserves of about 600,000 Mm3 , the average ton of the CBM
resources is 23.65 m3 . These show a good prospect for future
development.

4.2. Green industrial chains Fig. 3. The industrial chains of recycling economy.

4.2.1. Recycling economy patterns

In order to reach its great goals, that is to build the colliery of
the JCAMG to be the largest anthracite coal base in China, the base reused, and become the input for other industry. Now, the JCAMG
of the CBM exploitation and utilization, coal-electricity and coal- has built a benign interactive development mode combining recy-
chemical industries base, the JCAMG stresses on the formation of cling economy industry chains and ecological environment. The
its core competitiveness and the harmonious development with pattern of recycling economy is as shown in Fig. 3.
the environment by taking the recycling economy as its strategy.
According to the idea of recycling economy, the industrial chains 4.2.2. Coal gangue
include two parts. The comprehensive development and utilization of coal gangue
The first one is core chains of recycling economy. It includes not only can control the sources of pollution, but also can turn the
the exploitation of coal&CBM, coal washing, coal-electricity, coal- waste into valuable treasure, and get enormous economic bene-
chemical industry, mining water, harbors, road and other related fits. In the colliery of the JCAMG, the comprehensive utilization of
industries, in order to continuously improve the Group’s competi- coal gangue includes electricity generation, coverage, landfill, and
tiveness. forestation, as shown in Fig. 4.
The second one is extended chains. It includes the mining Power generating. Coal gangue used to power generating is an
equipment manufacturing, logistics, brick and cement producing, important way to dispose the solid waste, which mainly makes use
construction and other related industries, constantly enhances the of calorific value at 3350–6280 kJ/kg of waste rock, using sophisti-
harmonious development of the environment. cated technology of the 75 tons/h Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler,
In the two industrial chains, the waste, gangue, coal water, mixed fuel coal gangue with slime for power generation. This tech-
sludge, fly-ash and the CBM, are not thrown away or discarded nology has solved the difficult problem of different low calorie fuels
discretionarily, but integrated into the whole chains, recycled and mixed together. According to statistics, no less than 560,000 tons

Fig. 4. The comprehensive utilization of the coal gangue.

1336 L. Haibin, L. Zhenling / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 54 (2010) 1331–1340

of gangue is burnt in gangue power plants every year, equivalent of 2007, more than 3 million tons coal gangue disappeared, about
to 80,000 tons of standard coal. 70 ha land emerged. The total investment was 34.8 million Yuan
As for the gangue unsuitable for power generating, the utiliza- RMB, the planned 490 families had moved back to the area, each
tion of coal gangue includes coverage, forestation and landfill. How household with a construction area of 160–200 m2 , courtyard area
to cover the gangue? Usually, the gangue unfit for burning is piled of 70–100 m2 . This project was identified as one of the top 10 Tech-
up near the mouth of the coal well and forms a coal gangue moun- nological Demonstration Projects of Sustainable Development in
tain as the gangue dumps higher and higher. Coverage it to put the Shanxi Province.
loess or mud onto the waste rock mountain so as to reduce the As for the coal gangue mountain left over in initial stage of the
ventilation (the oxygen), prevent from the spontaneous combus- well construction, they also invested great number money in deal-
tion and its expansion, prepare for field building up and afforesting. ing with from the governance, greening and making landscape. In
After the coverage with the soil on the gangue mountain, the next the early gangue mountain, the ring road was built, pavilion with
step is to create the condition for the afforesting by consolidat- ancient style founded, more than 20 species of bush planted, the
ing the land, such as tamping surrounded the mountain, step-style corner of the subside area was transformed into a man-made lake,
preparation. Then, by improving the environment for plant growth covering 14,670 m2 , a pavilion and bridge built inside the lake, fish
or being reclaimed in accordance with site conditions, the plants, in water, willow on the lakeside, a garden of 8000 m2 and a leisure
such as the locust tree, hippophae, Rosa, etc. can be planted that fitness plaza entertainment of 16,000 m2 . The colliery district has
can keep the soil from erosion and gangue from spontaneous burn- become a beautiful landscape matched together with mountain
ing. After afforesting, the atmosphere pollution, dust, poisonous and trees, flowers, the environment elegant beautiful scenery, so
materials, can be avoided effectively, the atmosphere and water that the waste rock pile into an ecological park, creating significant
quality can be improved dramatically. Landfill can be divided into environmental protection, land reclamation, economic and social
two methods as the conventional landfill and sanitary landfill. Con- benefits. Just like conservative estimates of profitability indicate
ventional landfill method is to fill gangue directly in the pond, lake, potential to provide a return on investment in the range of 20–25%.
ditch or low-lying areas collapsed on the site and waste not to make A 40% return on investment is projected if the Coal Industrial Park
any deal. This discharge is very simple and cheap, but easy to pol- includes production and captive use of process steam (Chugh and
lute the environment caused by the secondary pollution. Sanitary Patwardhan, 2004).
landfill is the world’s most commonly used in solid waste treat-
ment technology. It is on the site scientifically selected, to use the 4.2.3. Coal sludge and fly-ash
necessary protective means and reasonable landfill structure, try Coal sludge or slime is the tailed coal after mechanical dewater-
to mitigate and eliminate the solid waste pollution on the envi- ing of coal in the coal washing process. It can flow with the water,
ronment. Sanitary landfill can effectively control the leaching of but air-dried quickly to ash and fly with the wind. As discussed
water diffusion; reduce the pollution on groundwater, plant trees above, if the coal sludge cant treat properly, it would pollution
and grass, restore the ecological environment at the top layer of and waste the resources, thus it has been a hot “potato” in the
impermeable or reclamation. waste comprehensive utilization. In the Jincheng colliery, it has
In the colliery of the JCAMG, the comprehensive utilization of the found the path to reduce the waste and turn it into resource. Tak-
coal gangue has made great positive impacts. Suppose that every ing the Chengzhuang coal mine as example, it has produced about
1000 m3 of coal gangue takes up 40 m2 , the total gangue discarded 180,000 tons sludge every year. The mine has built a slime burn-
by the coal mines, more than 500,000 m3 annually in the JCAMG, ing power plant that can convert the slime into electrical energy,
would occupy more than 2 ha new land, which would be a heavy burning the coal sludge 180,000 tons per year, and generating
burden for the mines. Through the analysis on the chemical, sulfur, 180 million kWh, earning profit 40 million Yuan RMB annually.
harmful trace, radioactivity and leaching, etc., they are confirmed The project not only effectively supplement power supply for coal
that these indexes do not exceed the national standard and the mine, creating significant economic benefits, but also make full
gangue can be used to reclamation and fill land. Coal mining sub- use of waste heat of power generation to supply the mine office
sidence area gradually expanded, with an average depth of 4.3 m and staff conducted a focus on residential heating, heating up an
collapsed, the biggest sinking depth of 8 m. Therefore, they com- area of 1,000,000 m2 , equivalent to 10 large-scale heating boiler
bine the solid waste emission with the subsidence area reclamation room, eliminating the heating boiler soot pollution, annual sav-
governance in the practice. On the one hand, they has bought the ings of more than 10 million tons of coal-fired heating boilers and
relevant machinery and equipments, take out the topsoil in the sub- 100 million operation and maintenance costs. This waste treatment
siding area, dump the gangue into the subsiding area, refilling the solves the problem of the slime storage, sale, transport, erosion, pol-
soil or loess with the gangue, compacting layer by layer, covering lution and other problems and set up a good example for the slime
the cultivating soil on the top layer. This approach can enhance the utilization.
density of filling waste, reduce wastewater permeability and water The coal after burnt in the boiler will become the soot emitted
content in the gangues, so as to prevent the leaching of heavy met- into the air and fly-ash left in the hearth. Before the recycling econ-
als and other harmful substances leaking into the groundwater. At omy implemented, the ash was transported outside subside area
present, land subsidence has control over 2000 acres, 6000 acres are by cars. Because the fly-ash is small, light, easy to disperse with the
being implemented under the governance and planning treatment. wind, it can cause a certain amount of pollution. In order to treat the
On the other hand, the refilling areas are tidied through filling by waste scientifically, the Jincheng colliery launched a project of fly-
layers, roller compacted, and their bearing capacity of the weight ash replacing the loess defending and extinguishing fire grouting
of building is improved. As a result, the base is so solid that it can underground. The fly-ash is easy to dehydrate and pile up, which
be industrial construction land for developing non-coal industries. overcome the defects of loess in mud flow impedance, difficulty in
The chemical plants, construction and installation company, fly- piled up. After the fly-ash slurry infused into the loose body, it can
ash brick factory, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) station, training soon dehydrate and pile up, blocking the hole, which bring about
base and so on are built one by one in these refilling area. A large great benefits, saving the soil resource, get high-quality fireproof-
number of surplus staff is re-employed in these companies. In addi- ing materials. In addition, the fly-ash is added into the cement and
tion, they also implement an eco-environmental reengineering that other solidifying material using in the lane reconstruction in the
is to reclamation the land using coal gangue, village reconstruc- well, which is solid, stable, labor-and-time-saving, cost-saving and
tion in the subsidence area. The results indicate that by the end improve the ability in fireproofing.
 L. Haibin, L. Zhenling / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 54 (2010) 1331–1340 1337

There is another way to utilize the fly-ash, which is to add into

material producing the colored brick. In order to reduce the pollu-
tion of the fly-ash to the maximum extent, the Jincheng colliery
launched a project of blocks molding colored brick. The project
produced more than 500,000 colored bricks annually, achieved rev-
enues of 1.5 million Yuan, 300,000 Yuan of profits, and created more
than 20 jobs. The colored bricks can be used in the road surface
beautifying, landscaping, building architecture, which ended the
history of brick making only with the clay. Supposing that every col-
ored brick replacing 1.5 kg clay, the project could save the clay more
than 10,000 tons which not only beautify the environment, save the
Fig. 5. The comprehensive utilization of the fly-ash.
fund, but also improve economic efficiency, save the valuable land
resources.

Fig. 6. The reuse and recycle of the coal mining water.

1338 L. Haibin, L. Zhenling / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 54 (2010) 1331–1340

Fig. 7. The comprehensive extraction and utilization CBM.

Besides the above ways of fly-ash utilization, there are other Diversion in Shanxi Province along the water pollutant discharge
ways to reuse the waste: filling it in the mined-out area, grouting standards”
separated strata zone in overburden in wells, surface subsidence The black water outflow from the coal washing plants is a hard
mitigation, producing aluminum with the high-aluminum fly-ash problem to deal with for the colliery. They constructed a coal sludge
(Fig. 5). water filtration plant that can recycle all the black water in closed
circulation pipes. Meanwhile, the slime can be retrieved and pro-
vided to the self-supporting power plant for electricity generation
4.2.4. Coal mining water
or sold externally. The treatment stopped the out-drainage into the
Due to the shortage of water in Jincheng colliery, it is of impor-
farmland causing the pollution to the living environment and river
tance to reuse the coal mining drainage in wells, life sewage in
valley of surrounding area, created significant economic, environ-
living area, sewage in hospitals and coal washing water. The coal
ment and social benefits (Fig. 6).
mining drainage can be reused in life and industrial production
after treated and the life sewage be used to garden irrigation, sup-
plementary water in the coal washing plant and the power plants. 4.2.5. Coal-bed methane
Taking the Chengzhuang coal mine as example, they invested The coal-bed methane (CBM) is gas that is company with the coal
4.38 million Yuan RMB to construct a coal mining drainage treat- berried underground. The CBM is not only a waste gas in coal min-
ment stations in 2003. Then, invested 7 million Yuan to reconstruct ing, but also a valuable natural resource. Extracted the CBM before
the stations and enhance the coal mining water treatment capaci- mining and utilized in industrial production or living burning is
ties in 2006. Now, the treated water is used in recycle cooling water conforming to the requirement of the recycling economy. Jincheng
in the self-supporting power plant, supplementary water for the colliery has established a base of the comprehensive utilization of
coal washing plant, fire protection water, and underground well the CBM, which sets up a good example for other coal mines. At
production water, which recycle the wastewater and reuse the rel- present, its CBM extraction wells group have become the largest
atively valuable water resource, saving the water resource more scale in China, the CBM compression and liquefaction capacity is
than 2 million cubic meters every year. To further conserve water the largest in Asia. The CBM has been widely used many industries,
and reduce the consumption of underground fresh water, they also such as civil usage, industrial production, power generating, car
invested 5.3 million Yuan in 2007 to improve the water treatment fuel, etc. The recycling economy industrial chains mode is shown
capacity that can reuse all the waste mining water underground as Fig. 7.
and implementation of zero emission. At the same time, they recon-
struct the water resource establishment including green spraying, (1) Extraction overview
irrigation water and man-made lakes, such as landscape ornamen- In Jincheng colliery, the principle for the CBM extraction is
tal water attractions, reusing all the remaining mining water. A “extracting firstly on the ground, combining with the extraction
great amount of money initially spending on the water resource underground”. The ground extraction is to establish the CBM
exploitation and well fresh water lifting is saved, directly economic wells in the coal fields before coal mine well and the under-
benefit over 1.4 million Yuan RMB. ground extraction is to gather the CBM by the 1000 m digger
In order to improve the life sewage treatment capacity in col- in module type. In the “Twelve Five-year” period (2011–2015),
liery, the Chengzhuang mine invested 8.5 million Yuan to build the JCAMG plans to construct 2000 the CBM extraction wells
a sewage treatment plants handling 10,000 m3 wastewater per at Fanzhuang, Zhenzhuang, Shizhuang and Dongda four mines
day. The life sewage is treated through coagulation-sedimentation and layout the extraction modules, forming the ground and
processes, the technology selection reasonable; after depth treat- underground extraction. In the process of the extraction, the
ment, the water quality meets the “National Integrated Wastewater large-diameter, high-volume pipes, large-diameter holes, high
Discharge Standard” level standard, reducing pollutants (COD) negative pressure extraction apparatus were used, totally six
emissions near 400 tons every year. As for the hospital wastewater, mobile CBM pumps gathering 60–70 m3 /min was equipped
they built a hospital wastewater treatment station with capacity of with in the gassy outburst mines in 2007, which solved the
100 m3 that “swallowed up” 80 wastewater drained daily by hospi- problem of the local outburst sites in mines. By the end of 2007,
tal and “digest” it into clear water meeting the “South–North Water the JCAMG had exploited annually the CBM 0.8 billion m3 and
 L. Haibin, L. Zhenling / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 54 (2010) 1331–1340 1339

Table 2
The CBM resources in Jincheng coal mines (unit: 109 m3 ).

Regions Subtotal −1000 m and above −1000 to ∼−1500 m Under −1500 m

Xieli 1096.04 64.5 732.44 299.05

Panji, Gugou 1311.2 276.61 885.6 158.72
Zhangji 257.4 127.37 130.17
Guqiao 471.3 230.31 241.42
Panbei, Zhuji 531.41 173.45 359.96
Zhangou 560.1 375.4 184.85
Shangyao 1232.46 1232.46
Xinji 467.77 158.07 309.7
Total 5928.25 1395.61 2842.41 1690.23

established a CBM driving power plant, Shihe plant, an Asia’s Meanwhile, the utilization pattern of coal mining waste has
largest CBM power plant (Table 2). the comprehensiveness and the diffusion quality, in which the
(2) The CBM utilization resources and material recycling patterns deserved learning.

The CBM utilization mainly include three ways: provide to

Acknowledgements
the surrounding cities and provinces for living, input into the
“West–East” gas pipeline to the east, local power generation. There
The authors would like to thank the National Natural Science
are additionally other technical schedules.
Foundation of China (Grant No. 70773111) and the Ph.D. Programs
Wind emission coal-bed methane (gas) reduction technique. As
Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (No. 109032) for their
wind emission gas concentration is generally less than 1%, it is
financial support. We are also grateful for the helpful comments
difficult to achieve stable combustion oxidation, only when the
provided by two anonymous reviewers.
ambient temperature maintained at 1000 ◦ C or above oxidation
can be effectively broken down into carbon dioxide and water.
There are two solutions, one is to keep the temperature above References
1000 ◦ C, and another is to burn at relatively low temperature com-
bustion oxidation stability by using the catalysts to reduce the Bell F, Stacey T, et al. Mining subsidence and its effect on the environment: some
activation energy of the methane. By collecting the carbon diox- differing examples. Environmental Geology 2000;40:135–52.
Bian Z, Dong J, et al. The impact of disposal and treatment of coal mining wastes on
ide combusted by the wind emission gas, it can be converted into environment and farmland. Environmental Geology 2009;58(3):625–34.
dry ice or compressed for sale, which also can achieve social and Bian Z, Zhang Y. Land use changes in Xuzhou coal mining are. Acta Geopraphica
economic benefits. At present, the gas flow of air for combustion Sinica 2006;61:349–58 (in Chinese).
China and GAoEP. Environmental quality standards for surface water, GB3838-2002;
technologies and reactor technology can reduce the wind emission 2002.
gas emitted directly to the atmosphere, which has good application Chugh YP, Patwardhan A. Mine-mouth power and process steam generation
prospects. using fine coal waste fuel. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2004;40(3):
225–43.
Low concentration gas purification technology. As for the low
Dharmappa HB, Wingrove K, et al. Wastewater and stormwater minimisation in a
concentration gas, the general technology is to purify and convert coal mine. Journal of Cleaner Production 2000;8(1):23–34.
it into high concentration gas because the latter can be used in Hemza P, Sivek M, et al. Factors influencing the methane content of coal beds of
many industrial fields. The purified gas not only can be used as the Czech part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Czech Republic. International
Journal of Coal Geology 2009;79(1–2):29–39.
vehicle fuel, supplying for the Jincheng, ChangZhi, Linfen, Yuncheng Islam MR, Hayashi D. Geology and coal bed methane resource potential of the Gond-
and Taiyuan and other cities, but also be taken as one of the gas wana Barapukuria Coal Basin, Dinajpur, Bangladesh. International Journal of Coal
resource bases for the “West–East” gas pipelines. Furthermore, Geology 2008;75(3):127–43.
Ke C, Liyun R. Research on comprehensive utilization of coal mine water in Shendong
the gas can be liquefied and transported long distance to remote coal mining area. Shanxi Architecture 2010;36(2):208–12.
area. Kikuchi R. Application of coal ash to environmental improvement: transformation
In addition, the CBM is also a high-quality raw chemical material into zeolite, potassium fertilizer, and FGD absorbent. Resources, Conservation
and Recycling 1999;27(4):333–46.
for synthetic methanol, synthetic ammonia and acetylene. It can Kurbiel J, Balcerzak W, et al. Selection of the best desalination technology for
produce the carbon black applied to tire rubber industry, plastics highly saline drainage water from coal mines in southern Poland. Desalination
production, printing ink, battery, alloy, smelting, and so on. 1996;106(1–3):415–8.
Lambert DC, McDonough KM, et al. Long-term changes in quality of discharge
In a word, they have found the paths to both ensure the safety water from abandoned underground coal mines in Uniontown Syncline, Fayette
production and promote the economy growth of the company County, PA, USA. Water Research 2004;38(2):277–88.
through large scale extraction and comprehensive utilization. Lottermoser B. Mine wastes: characterization, treatment and environmental
impacts. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: Springer; 2003.
Ma C, Li X, et al. Settlement behavior of coal mine waste in different surrounding rock
5. Conclusion and recommendations conditions. Journal of Central South University of Technology (English Edition)
2008;15(3):350–5.
McKinnon E. The environmental effects of mining waste disposal at Lihir Gold
Through the above research, it can be found that coal mining Mine, Papua New Guinea. Journal of Rural Remote Environmental Health
waste is serious threaten to the environment and urgent problem 2002;1:40–50.
Myers T. Groundwater management and coal bed methane development in
to be solved for the government in China. The case study indicates
the Powder River Basin of Montana. Journal of Hydrology 2009;368(1–4):
that the JCAMG has set up a good example for the coal mines. Based 178–93.
on the recycling economy theory, the coal mining waste industrial Skarzynska K. Reuse of coal mining wastes in civil engineering – Part 2: utilization
of minestone. Waste Management 1995;15:83–126.
chains of comprehensive utilization is the effective solution for the
Sun X, Li X. New technology of waste-filling replacement mining on strip coal pillar.
coal mining industrial waste. The scientific management mode in Meitan Xuebao/Journal of the China Coal Society 2008;33(3):259–63.
the Jincheng colliery not only saves the natural resource, reduces Szczepanska J. Distribution and environmental impact of coal-mining wastes in
or avoids the environment pollution, but also turns the waste into Upper Silesia, Poland. Environmental Geology 1999;38(3):249–58.
Tang S, Wang Y, et al. A comprehensive appraisal on the characteristics of coal-bed
wealth, creates great social and economic benefits. It is worth of methane reservoir in Turpan-Hami Basin. Journal of China University of Mining
studying and learning for other mines. and Technology 2007;17(4):521–5, 545.
1340 L. Haibin, L. Zhenling / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 54 (2010) 1331–1340

Viadero RC, Tierney AE. Use of treated mine water for rainbow trout Xiaowang X. The reusage and recycle of coal gangue. Environmental Science and
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) culture—a preliminary assessment. Aquacultural Engi- Technology 2009;22(1):121–5.
neering 2003;29(1–2):43–56. Xiaoyan Y, Changsheng J. Comprehensive utilization of the coal gangue. Coal Tech-
Williams D, Jeffery J, et al. A review of the acid rock drainage potential and hydro- nology 2007;26(10):108–10.
logical implications of selectively-placed waste rock at a gold mine in NSW. In: Xueyu J. Current comprehensive utilization and ProsPeet of coalbed methane in
6th ICARD, Australia; 2003. Jincheng Coal Mining Area. China Coalbed Methane 2010;5(2):23–7.
Xiaojun H. Environmental damage and new uses technology of fly-ash. Guang-
DongHuaGong 2007;34(5):77–9 (in Chinese).