SPONTANEOUS COAL COMBUSTION; MECHANISMS AND PREDICTION.

Spontaneous ignition and combustion of coal is a major problem to the coal mining, shipping, and use industries; unintentional combustion causes loss of the resource as well as jeopardy to life and property. The hazard to life is especially acute in the case of underground coal mine fires that start by spontaneous ignition. It is the intention of this research to examine previously suggested causes of spontaneous ignition, to consider new evidence, and to suggest an experimental approach to determine which of these suggested causes is relevant to western U. S. coal. This discussion focuses only on causes and mechanism of spontaneous ignition.