Detection of Spontaneous Combustion Areas of Coal Gangue Dumps and Comprehensive Governance Technologies: A Case Study

Spontaneous combustion of coal gangue dumps not only releases toxic and harmful gases, polluting the environment, but also leads to explosion accidents and casualties due to improper handling. This paper focuses on delineating the fire area, constructing a comprehensive fire prevention and extinguishing system, and restoring the ecological environment. Infrared thermal imaging was used to detect the shallow fire area, while intensive drilling was conducted to detect the deep fire area. The stability of the coal gangue dump was enhanced by perfusing three-phase foam for cooling and using a curing material to fill the cracks. Land reclamation was then performed to restore the ecological environment. The results indicate that spontaneous combustion of coal gangue dumps can trigger the spread of the fire area from the outside to the inside, gradually expanding due to the 'stack effect'. The sources of spontaneous combustion in gangue fire areas are mainly located 3-5 m below the flat surface, and the shallow and deep fire areas are interconnected, posing a significant danger. These research findings can serve as a reference for detecting fire areas in coal gangue dumps and controlling environmental pollution.