We all know that life is inseparable from air, and humans cannot live without oxygen. In a special space like a mine, not only can we not live without air and oxygen, but there are also other dangerous situations. For example, there is oxygen-rich in the mine, there is oxygen deficiency in the mine, there are some flammable and explosive toxic and harmful gases in the mine, etc. These problems are severe tests faced by every on-site worker who enters the mine to work. First of all, let’s take a look at what gases will be in the mine, which are harmful to the on-site workers. Ground air is usually a mixed gas, and its chemical composition is relatively stable. But when the ground air enters the mine from the shaft, the ground air becomes mine air, and a series of changes will occur during this period. The main changes are: reduced oxygen content, increased toxic and harmful gas content, increased dust concentration, changes in physical states such as air temperature, humidity, and pressure, etc.
First of all, let’s talk about oxygen. Everyone knows that human survival cannot live without oxygen. But when the oxygen in the mine is too active, there will be certain dangers, mainly explosion dangers. In addition to the explosion danger, when there is a lack of oxygen in the mine, suffocation accidents will also occur.
The second is nitrogen. Nitrogen does not appear frequently in daily life, so we don’t know much about it. There will be a large amount of nitrogen gushing out in the mine, and its main harm to the human body comes from the risk of suffocation. If the ventilation equipment in the mine fails, and at this time, a large amount of nitrogen gushes out of the underground goaf, then this situation is very dangerous.
There is another very dangerous gas, which is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is slightly toxic. When the concentration of carbon dioxide in the underground air increases, the on-site staff will have suffocation and poisoning reactions. For example, there will be shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, headache, nausea, tinnitus, and severe breathing difficulties. In severe cases, breathing will stop, lose consciousness, and there may be a risk of death if it is not moved to a well-ventilated place for a long time. Therefore, when we are doing mine operations, we must pay attention to the detection of the composition and concentration of various gases in the mine.
The sampling and analysis method is to use containers such as sampling bottles or suction balls to extract underground air samples and send them to the ground laboratory for analysis. But it takes a long time, the operation is complicated, and the technical requirements are high. It is generally used for underground fire zone component detection or occasions where the air composition needs to be accurately determined. It is not universally applicable. Therefore, there is the following determination method, the rapid determination method.
The rapid color determination method uses a portable gas alarm to detect in real time underground. The portable gas alarm can quickly determine the main gas components underground. It is fast and efficient, and the portable gas alarm display will also display the current concentration value in real time. It is also the commonly used determination method.
The portable gas alarms needed in the mine are mainly focused on measuring oxygen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ammonia and hydrogen. The portable gas alarms for these gases will be described in detail in the following article.
