Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Firefighting foam heats up coal fire debate (2010)

earthmagazine.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 54 posts

Re: Firefighting foam heats up coal fire debate (2010)

#22

Post by Gibbon1 »

mirimir wrote: post #21

I have one quibble. > Using water can cause steam explosions. It's actually worse than that. 2(C) + O2 + H2O → CO + CO2 + H2 So you have a H2/CO explosion. That's what happened at Chernobyl. Very hot graphite moderator, plus cooling water. Edit: lose extra O

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_gas

Re: Firefighting foam heats up coal fire debate (2010)

#23

Post by i_feel_great »

"Coal fires are a problem all over the world. Such fires endanger nearby communities, waste precious resources and produce tons of noxious and greenhouse gases. Centralia is not the only coal fire burning in the United States. In fact, it’s just one of 38 burning in Pennsylvania alone. The hundreds of underground fires in the United States, from Pennsylvania to Alabama to Wyoming, combined with the thousands thought to be burning in China, India and elsewhere, are one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide and pollution on Earth."

What really?

Re: Firefighting foam heats up coal fire debate (2010)

#25

Post by Skunkleton »

mirimir wrote: post #21

I have one quibble. > Using water can cause steam explosions. It's actually worse than that. 2(C) + O2 + H2O → CO + CO2 + H2 So you have a H2/CO explosion. That's what happened at Chernobyl. Very hot graphite moderator, plus cooling water. Edit: lose extra O

To be fair, some other things also happened at Chernobyl.

Re: Firefighting foam heats up coal fire debate (2010)

#26

Post by Skunkleton »

Johnny555 wrote: post #18
ape4 wrote: post #12

Its coal fire day on Hacker News! (there was another post about a possible coal fire on the Titanic)

I think it's safe to say that that one has been extinguished!

This one will sort itself out. Once sea levels rise high enough, the mine will be submerged and the fire will go out.

Re: Firefighting foam heats up coal fire debate (2010)

#27

Post by gpm »

i_feel_great wrote: post #23

"Coal fires are a problem all over the world. Such fires endanger nearby communities, waste precious resources and produce tons of noxious and greenhouse gases. Centralia is not the only coal fire burning in the United States. In fact, it’s just one of 38 burning in Pennsylvania alone. The hundreds of underground fires in the United States, from Pennsylvania to Alabama to Wyoming, combined with the thousands thought…

Wikipedia claims they account for 3% of CO2 emissions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_seam_fire (at the end of the intro paragraphs)

Re: Firefighting foam heats up coal fire debate (2010)

#29

Post by nostrademons »

Skunkleton wrote: post #26
Johnny555 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's safe to say that that one has been extinguished!

This one will sort itself out. Once sea levels rise high enough, the mine will be submerged and the fire will go out.

Sea level rise if all ice melts: 230 ft.

Sea level rise to historical maximum: 660 ft. (100m years ago; the difference is largely because of thermal expansion of water and changing shape of ocean basins.)

Elevation of Centralia, PA: 1467 ft.

Re: Firefighting foam heats up coal fire debate (2010)

#30

Post by mirimir »

Skunkleton wrote: post #25
mirimir wrote: post #21

I have one quibble. > Using water can cause steam explosions. It's actually worse than that. 2(C) + O2 + H2O → CO + CO2 + H2 So you have a H2/CO explosion. That's what happened at Chernobyl. Very hot graphite moderator, plus cooling water. Edit: lose extra O

To be fair, some other things also happened at Chernobyl.

True. But wasn't it the hydrogen explosion that popped the containment? Not that there was all that much containment, in any case.
Post reply on HN