Fuel 206 (2017) 334–341

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Fuel
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Full Length Article

Characteristics of polymorphic foam for inhibiting spontaneous coal

combustion
Zhilin Xi ⇑, Ding Li, Zhenya Feng
School of Environmental Science and Safety Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China

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

Article history: For inhibiting the spontaneous combustion of coal, a technique using polymorphic foam (PF) synthesized
Received 2 May 2017 from a sol foam/polycaprolactone (SFP) solution and organic acid is described. This study includes zeta
Received in revised form 4 June 2017 potential measurements of the SFP solution and formation of the PF, and a differential scanning calorime
Accepted 5 June 2017
ter/thermogravimetric, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and infrared analysis of the
Available online 13 June 2017
PF. It was found that the PF solution that included a polycaprolactone concentration of 0.7 wt% had
the strongest electrostatic repulsion. Within 30 s of the organic acid being injected into the SFP solution,
Keywords:
an aqueous foam was generated via injecting gas, subsequently, within 2–3 min, the PF could form due to
Extinguishing fire
Self-heating of coal
the chemical reaction between sodium silicate and the organic acid. The PF had the properties of adsorb-
Thermoplastic powder ing the significant heat produced by coal low-temperature oxidation, wrapping in coal from oxygen
Polymorphic foam ingress by the colloid-fused polycaprolactone, providing the moisture for coal to inhibit coal self-
Polycaprolactone heating. The PF could maintain a weight of 12% non-flammable residue, composed of mainly SiO2 and
a small amount of Na2CO3, forming a thermally stable coating layer on the surface of the combustible
to extinguish fire. The PF mainly contained C–O and C@O functional groups, resulting in its surface being
much more hydrophilic. It also inhibited the formation of new –CH2/CH3 and –OH functional groups in
the process of coal low-temperature oxidation. It was concluded that PF has the potential to prevent
and control the spontaneous combustion of coal.
Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction stockpiles because the non-flammable media included in the

Statistics show that coal production for China in 2015 was
3.75 billion tons. Although this was the 3.3% less than in 2014, it
still accounted for 64.0% of total domestic energy consumption
[1]. Coal transportation, including imports and exports, plus the
coal inventory of coal enterprises, account for up to 0.31 billion
tons, which equates to 8.3% of raw coal production [2]. With such
a huge amount of coal storage and transportation, safety issues
cannot be ignored.
Coal fire is one of the major hazards in coal storage and trans-
portation. The spontaneous combustion of coal causes annual coal
losses of up to 10–20 million tons [3]. This not only affects coal
quality [4,5], but also releases many greenhouse gases that pollute
the atmosphere [6]. To control or prevent the spontaneous com-
bustion of coal, various technologies have been used, including
injecting gel [7–10], pouring slurry [11–13] and the use of
inhibitors [14,15]. However, these techniques are mainly used to
suppress heating in goaf areas and are not suitable for coal
⇑ Corresponding author at: Binshui Xidao, Xiqing District Tianjin, China.
E-mail address: xzlsafety@tjut.edu.cn (Z. Xi).
extinguishing agent can affect coal quality, leading to it becoming
unacceptable for the end user. Water spray is the most traditional
method for firefighting [16]. However, water only flows along low-
lying areas and cannot cover the coal in higher places to suppress
self-heating.
Aqueous foam technology is a well-known method to control
the spontaneous combustion of coal. In 1949, Brady first studied
the characteristics of aqueous foam [17]. In 1956, Jacobi et al.
reported the use of foam technology in firefighting [18]. With the
progress of surface-interfacial chemistry, aqueous foam technology
is becoming more and more powerful. Aqueous foam is a dispersed
system of gas bubbles in a continuous liquid that is generally meta-
stable, both kinetically and thermodynamically. Therefore, foam
liquid films easily rupture under external interference, resulting
in poor fire extinguishing. In order to obtain more stable foam, Gar-
rett et al. utilized latex nanoparticles to stabilize aqueous foams in
surfactant solutions composed of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS),
sodium bis-octyl sulphosuccinate and an ethoxylated octyl phenol
[19]. Binks et al. utilized a mixture of silica nanoparticles to
stabilize aqueous foams in cationic surfactant solutions of dide-
cyldimethylammonium bromide and cetyltrimethylammonium

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2017.06.022
0016-2361/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Z. Xi et al. / Fuel 206 (2017) 334–341
bromide [20]. Sun et al. used partially hydrophobic modified silica
nanoparticles to increase aqueous foam stability in SDS solutions
[21]. Alargova et al. applied polymer microrods (obtained from
the synthesis of SU-8, c-butyrolactone, glycerol and ethylene gly-
col) to stabilize aqueous foams in SDS solutions [22]. Zhao et al.
added a dispersed particle gel to tetradecyl hydroxyl sulfobetaine
solutions with the aim of obtaining more stable three-phase foams
[23].
Research into aqueous foam-based technologies for fire control
has acquired obvious results, but there are several shortcomings in
the application process. Firstly, when aqueous foam is sprayed to
extinguish fire, due to air disturbances caused by fire plumes, foam
film can easily rupture, resulting in poor fire control. Secondly,
when aqueous foam is sprayed to high-temperature fire areas, it
adsorbs heat and is highly susceptible to vaporization.
Taking the previous research results into account, polymorphic
foam (PF), as an efficient approach to inhibit the spontaneous com-
bustion of coal, is studied.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
The main materials used in this study are listed as follows:
industrial-grade polycaprolactone (PCL; Letai chemical, particle
size <38.5 lm); industrial-grade polyethylene oxide (PEO, Letai
chemical, particle size <38.5 lm); sodium silicate solution (Na2O,
10.6%, SiO2, 26.5%, Letai chemical); sodium dodecyl sulfate
(SDS; Aladdin, 99%); industrial-grade organic acid (Letai chemical,
85%); distilled water and the coal sample (Nanjing Wharf, Tianjin
Port, China, particle size <0.15 mm).
PF was synthesized from a sol foam/polycaprolactone (SFP)
solution and organic acid. The aqueous foam solution was mainly
comprised of sodium silicate, SDS and distilled water. The sol foam
(SF) solution was mainly comprised of PEO and the aqueous foam
solution. The SFP solution was prepared by adding PCL into the SF
solution at concentrations of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 g/L,
respectively.
2.2. Methods
The f potentials of the SFP solutions were measured by a Mal-
vern Zetasizer (Nano ZS90). Each sample was sonicated for
15 min, and then put into a testing cell, which was set to stand
at 25 °C for 120 s, to measure the f potential. Each sample was
measured five times and averaged. The f potential value was auto-
matically calculated according to the Smoluchowski equation by
the Zetasizer.
PF combustion was measured by an SDT Q600 simultaneous dif-
ferential scanning calorimeter/thermogravimetric analyzer. During
the experiment, the sample was placed in an alumina crucible and
heated from 25 to 600 °C at a rate of 10 °C/min. An industrial grade
air bottle was used for conducting the combustion experiment.
The crystalline phases of PF were determined by X-ray diffrac-
tion using a Rigaku Dmax-2500 with a voltage of 40 kV, a current
for 150 mA, scanningMode for 2 theta/theta and Cu Ka radiation.
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was carried out using
an ESCA Lab 250Xi-ray photoelectron spectrometer with Al K Alpha
radiation. The survey scanning transmission was 50.0 eV with a
1.000 eV step size. The C 1s sub-peak scanning transmission was
30.0 eV with a 0.100 eV step size.
The functional groups in the coal and blend of PF and coal were
analyzed using a Nicolet 6700 DRIFTS by Nicolet in USA with wave
number range from 650 to 4000 cm 1 and resolution of 4 cm 1.
During analysis, pure ground KBr was first collected as a baseline
335
reference spectrum, after which either sample was placed into
the reaction chamber connected to a temperature controller and
the dome was installed, then dry air flowed into the reaction
chamber, and the chamber was heated to 200 °C at a heating rate
of 1 °C/min. Each spectrum was collected with 64 scans and at
30-s intervals.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Zeta potential
The f potential provides an important parameter in charge dis-
persed systems near a solid surface [24]. Fig. 1 shows the f poten-
tial of the SF solution with different PCL concentrations.
The f potential value of the SF solution gradually decreases with
increasing PCL concentration until the f potential reaches -39.3 mV
at a particle concentration of 0.7 wt%. After this point, the f poten-
tial increases. Therefore, a particle concentration of 0.7 wt% is the
critical value for the complete dispersion in the SF solution. In
effect, the polymeric PEO, with a longer molecular chain due to
the polymerization of PEO and water, can wrap up the particles
of the adsorbed surfactant anions [25]. This means that the poly-
meric PEO coats the particles masking the adsorbed surfactant
anions [26,27]. This phenomenon also results in more particles
being wrapped up in the SF solution. At low PCL concentrations,
the surfactant anions adsorb on the particle surfaces through
hydrophobic interactions and the particles become more hydro-
philic, resulting in a strong negative charge. At high PCL concentra-
tions, only small selections of the particles are dispersed in the SF
solution, most of which are flocculated inside the SF solution. At
moderate PCL concentrations, the hydrophobic particles, when
they adsorb the appropriate amount of surfactant molecules, can
be exposed to the air-water interface.
3.2. Formation of polymorphic foam
The formation of PF focuses on injecting gas into the SFP solu-
tion and the chemical reaction of sodium silicate and organic acid.
Fig. 2 shows the chemical mechanism for the step-by-step forma-
tion of PF. In the first step (shown in Fig. 2a), the SF solution con-
sisting of sodium silicate, SDS, PEO and distilled water is
prepared, and their concentrations are 20, 20, 1 and 959 g/L,
respectively [28]. It is well known that the anionic SDS surfactant
reduces the surface tension of the solution, resulting in increasing
gas content inside the liquid flow to form the foam [29]. Polymeric
PEO, polymerizing with water to form a longer molecular chain
[25], can enhance the viscoelasticity of the foam to that of conven-
tional foams used for extinguishing fires. For the second step
(shown in Fig. 2b), the SFP solution is prepared when PCL is added
to the SF solution. The hydrophobic particles adsorbing the appro-
priate amount of surfactant molecules can be dispersed into the SF
solution, with the critical concentration of 7 g/L. PCL has thermo-
plastic properties and it gradually fused into a colloid with increas-
ing temperature, and the fused colloid can wrap in coal from
oxygen ingress to retard the self-heating of coal [3]. In the third
step (shown in Fig. 2c), there is the PF solution as organic acid is
added into the SFP solution. For the fourth step (shown in Fig. 2d),
within 30 s of the organic acid injection into the SFP solution,
before the surface properties of SFP solution do not change, the
aqueous foam must be generated via injecting gas. The final step
(shown in Fig. 2e) involves the formation of PFs within 2–3 min
of generating the aqueous foams later, and sodium silicate will
be converted to silica due to the chemical reaction with the organic
acid [30].
336 Z. Xi et al. / Fuel 206 (2017) 334–341

Fig. 1. Effect of PCL concentration on f potential. Note: SF solution consisting of SDS and PEO concentrations for 20 g/L and 1 g/L, respectively.

Fig. 2. Chemical mechanism for the formation of polymorphic foam.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the foaming device for gen-
erating PFs. Compressed gas provides two airflows, one of which is
used to press out the SFP solution and organic acid, the other one is
used as the major power source to evenly mix the SFP solution and
organic acid via a mixer to generate PF. The principle of the foam-
ing device has been previously described, and its optimal working
pressure is about 0.45 MPa [31]. The flow ratio of the SFP solution
with organic acid and with gas should be controlled at about 200:1
and 1:30, respectively. Fig. 4a and b show the physical map of the
foaming device and the effect of spraying foam, respectively.
3.3. DSC-TGA analysis
Heat flow curve. Fig. 5 describes the following process. In the
first stage (26–128 °C), the PF rapidly absorbed heat for dewatering
and fusion into the mixed state of colloid and solid at the onset
temperature of 26 °C (denoted as Tfo), until the end temperature
at 128 °C (denoted as Tfe), where the colloidal state formed from
the fused PCL (the thermal properties of PCL have been clearly
described before [3], its phase transition from the solid powder
to gradually fuse into colloid was at the beginning temperature
of 39 °C and completely fused at 92 °C). In this stage, the maximum
absorption of heat appeared at 78 °C (denoted as Tfp) and the
critical temperature for the complete removal of moisture was
96 °C (denoted as Twl). For the second stage (287–374 °C), the
colloid-fused PCL began to oxidation degradation at the onset tem-
perature of 287 °C (denoted as Tto) until the end temperature at
374 °C (denoted as Tte). In this stage, the maximum peak tempera-
ture of oxidation degradation appeared at 328 °C (denoted as Ttp).
TG curve. Fig. 5 shows that the weight of the PF was rapidly loss,
then slowly reduced and finally remained constant with the tem-
perature increasing. Firstly, PF adsorbed a lot of heat and rapidly

Fig. 3. Physical process of the formation of polymorphic foams by hydrodynamic stirring.

 Z. Xi et al. / Fuel 206 (2017) 334–341 337

Fig. 4. Generating polymorphic foam. (a) The foaming device; (b) Spraying foam.

Fig. 5. DSC-TGA curve of polymorphic foam.

Fig. 6. The XRD curve of polymorphic foam.

338 Z. Xi et al. / Fuel 206 (2017) 334–341

Fig. 7. XPS wide energy spectrum of polymorphic foam.

dewatered up to 96 °C, the weight loss of 78%. Secondly, the main There is a large amount of amorphous silica in the PF, as shown
reason was that the crystal water of Na2CO3 and adsorption water in Fig. 6. Its surface was covered by chemical and physical adsorp-
of SiO2 were dewatered up to 287 °C, with a weight loss of 5%. tion water. The chemical adsorption water is manifested as hydro-
Thirdly, the pyrolysis of PCL, PEO and NaHCO3 began from 287 to xyl groups bonded to the surface silicon atoms [32].
374 °C, also leading to a weight loss of 5%. Finally, the residue In summary, PF retained the endothermic process with the tem-
approximately maintained a weight of 12%, the main components perature increasing. Meanwhile, the maximum absorption of heat
of which were SiO2 and a small quantity of Na2CO3. These materials appeared at 78 °C and a large amount of water vapor was released
can form a thermally stable layer to cover the source of fire to before 96 °C. This suggests that PF based on physical properties
extinguish fire. perhaps inhibited the spontaneous heating of coal by four aspects:
(1) adsorbing a significant amount of heat produced by coal low-
Table 1 temperature oxidation; (2) the colloid-fused PCL can wrap in coal
Contents of C 1s, O 1s, S 2p and Si 2p on solidified foam surface.
from oxygen ingress; (3) providing the moisture for coal. Carras
Sample Content wmol/% and Young [33] reported that increasing the moisture content in
C 1s O 1s S 2p Si 2p coal, particularly close to the equilibrium moisture content,
depresses the initial oxidation rate. Allardice and Evans [34] noted
Polymorphic foam 9.55 63.83 1.63 25
that once the moisture content in coal is beyond the saturated
value, a multilayer structure and even crystal water by extra water

Fig. 8. C1s sub-peaks for polymorphic foam.

 Z. Xi et al. / Fuel 206 (2017) 334–341 339

can be formed at the surfaces of coal pores, which can seal the
channels from oxygen ingress to the reaction sites at the internal
surfaces of coal pores; (4) PF could put out the fire, due to its per-
formance of absorption of heat at low temperature and keeping the
weight of 12% non-flammable residue to form a thermally stable
layer at high temperature.
3.4. XPS analysis
Fig. 7 shows the survey spectra in the binding energy range
from 50 to 600 eV. The values of elemental Si 2p, Si 2s, C 1s, Na
1s and O 1s are, respectively, 102, 153, 285, 497 and 532 eV. It
can confirm that the Si (2p) element is in the SiO2 state. The C
derives from the surfactants, PCL and organic acid used for the
preparation of PF. The Na (1s) element is in the Na2CO3 state and
the O (1s) element corresponds to C@O, C–O or O–C–O and the
Table 2
The fraction of C on polymorphic foam surface.
Sample Content wmol/%
C C–C,C–H C–O C@O,O–C–O
Polymorphic foam 9.55 0 9.08 0.47
SiO2 state. When aqueous foams are rapidly converted into PFs,
large-scale silica particles can be created. They are easily fixed on
PFs together with a small amount of PCL, forming a thermally
stable layer to resist fire. However, even if PFs are ruptured after
mechanical destruction, these particles also can spontaneously
cover a fire source to extinguish fire.
Table 1 shows the atomic contents of carbon, oxygen, sulfur and
silicon. They can be calculated using XPS wide energy spectrums
analysis technology. From the atomic content, it can be seen that
the primary components are the inorganic materials (Si) and a
small amount of organic materials (C) on the PF surface. It seemed
that organic materials are involved in chemical reactions produc-
ing gas (CO2), when aqueous foams are converted into PFs. Thus,
a lower carbon content is contained in the PF.
Fig. 8 shows the C 1s sub-peaks for PF. For C 1s sub-peaks, peaks
appear at binding energies of 284.6, 286.1, 287.6 and 289.1 eV cor-
responding to C–C or C–H, C–O (phenol, ether or alcohol), C@O
(chinone or carbonyl) or O–C–O and COO (carboxyl) functional
groups [35]. Utilizing XPS wide energy spectrums analysis, the con-
tents of four functional groups can be calculated and are shown in
Table 2. It indicated almost no C–C or C–H and COO functional
O@C–O groups in the components of PF. Therefore, PF has the good thermal
stability. Meanwhile, C–C and C–H are the cardinal hydrophobic
0
functional groups, C–O and C@O are the cardinal hydrophilic

(a) The samples at 60°C (c) The samples at 120°C

(b) The samples at 90°C (d) The samples at 150°C

Fig. 9. The IR spectra of the samples for alkyl and hydroxyl groups.
340 Z. Xi et al. / Fuel 206 (2017) 334–341
functional groups [36]. Thus, PF may make its surface much more
hydrophilic.
By combining with Tables 1 and 2, we can see that the C–O
functional group is almost the only C content on the PF surface,
and the C–O functional group is mainly phenol, that is, sodium car-
bonate. Therefore, we can conclude that the primary materials
making up PF are mainly SiO2 and a small amount of Na2CO3.
3.5. Infrared analysis
Coal oxidized at 30–150 °C is highly selective, but the first stage
of coal low-temperature oxidation is CH2 groups [37]. Methylene
groups in aromatic structures are very susceptible to the formation
of free radicals and towards oxidation [38]. Wang et al. studied coal
low-temperature oxidation in detail, and also discovered that the
oxidation of the alkyl (–CH2/CH3) and hydroxyl (–OH) functional
groups were the major cause of the self-heating of coal [39]. For
these reasons, alkyl (–CH2/CH3) and hydroxyl (–OH) functional
groups in both raw coal and the blend of PF & coal samples are
analyzed.
Fig. 9 shows the FTIR spectra of the samples for alkyl and hydro-
xyl groups at the temperatures of 60, 90, 120 and 150 °C. It is well
known the 3700–3100 cm–1 region corresponds to the –OH vibra-
tion peak for alcohols, water, carboxylic acids and phenols, and the
2975–2820 cm–1 region corresponds to the –CH2/CH3 vibration
peak. There are similar spectra properties of the two samples at
60 and 90 °C, but there are almost no alkyl and hydroxyl groups
of PF and coal compared to that of raw coal at 120 and 150 °C. This
indicates that PF inhibits the formation of new –CH2/CH3 and –OH
functional groups in the process of coal low-temperature oxida-
tion. The main reasons are as follows. First, the colloid fused PCL
wrapping in coal surface prevents stable cycloalkanes and bridge
bonds broken from generating new active alkyl groups. Second,
the hydrogen ions provided by the organic acid react with peroxy
and alkoxy radicals generated from the oxidation of aliphatic
groups in the coal, therefore cutting off free radicals and prevent-
ing coal further oxidation [37]. Third, the hydrogen ions can
decrease the ratio of hydroxyl group in the coal [40].
4. Conclusions
The zeta potential of adding PCL into a sol foam solution and the
physical characteristics of PF were studied. A PCL concentration of
0.7 wt% was the critical value for the PF solution. PF had the
properties of adsorbing a lot of heat producing by coal
low-temperature oxidation, the colloid fused PCL wrapping in coal
from oxygen ingress, providing the moisture for coal to inhibit coal
self-heating. PF could also maintain a weight of 12% non-
flammable residue, composed of mainly SiO2 and a small amount
of Na2CO3, forming a thermally stable coating layer on the surface
of combustible to extinguish fire.
Functional groups and the chemical characteristics of PF were
studied. The C–O and C@O are the main functional groups of PF,
which may make PF surface much more hydrophilic. PF inhibits
the formation of new –CH2/CH3 and –OH functional groups in
the process of coal low-temperature oxidation.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported partly by ‘‘the general project of Tian-
jin Natural Science Founds (Grant No. 15JCYBJC22900)”, partly by
the ‘‘National Natural Science Funds of China (Grant No.
51304146)” and partly by ‘‘the National Natural Science Funds of
China (Grant No. 51304146)”.
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