Experimental and quantum chemical investigation on the inhibitory effects of Resveratrol on coal spontaneous combustion

The inhibitory effect of antioxidants on the prevention of coal spontaneous combustion (CSC) has been tremendously studied. In this paper, we investigated the inhibitory effect of Resveratrol (RES) on CSC. The oxidation properties of coal were revealed by a temperature-programmed test. Mass changes and heat flow effects of coal oxidation was investigated by TG-DSC. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was conducted to confirm the variations in reactive groups in coal. Furthermore, combining the above results, the reaction mechanism of RES was analyzed by the Quantum chemical theory. The results show that different concentration of RES (5 wt%, 10 wt% and 15 wt%) exhibits an extraordinary ability to prevent CSC. After the 10 wt% RES treated, the apparent activation energy of treated coal obtained an 11.85 kJ/mol increase. The RES-treated coal achieved a maximum inhibition rate of 79 %, a lower mass loss rate than that of the raw coal, and a 20 % reduction in the maximum heat flow. In addition to carboxylic groups, the content of other active groups decreases after RES-treated. RES provides protonated hydrogen, which consumes oxygen-containing radicals and inhibits the formation of new hydrocarbon radicals. The proposed RES is water-soluble antioxidant which can be dispersed evenly on the coal surface and has been convinced as an effective antioxidant in preventing CSC.