THE CHANGE OF STRUCTURAL AND THERMAL PROPERTIES OF ROCKS EXPOSED TO HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE VICINITY OF DESIGNED GEO-REACTOR

Among the main directions of works on energy acquisition, there is the development and application of the technology of underground gasification of coal deposits (UCG). During the process of deposit burning and oxidation, there is also impact of temperatures exceeding 1000 degrees C on rocks surrounding the deposit. As a result of subjecting carboniferous rocks to high temperatures for a prolonged period of time, their structure will change, which in turn will result in the change of their physical properties. Due to the project of underground coal gasification, as performed in Poland, laboratory tests are currently under way to a broad extent, including physical properties of carboniferous rocks subjected to high temperatures. The article presents results of laboratory tests of rocks surrounding the designed geo-reactor: changes to bulk density, specific density and porosity due to high temperature, and confronts the above results with the results of tests of thermal conductivity, specific heat and heat diffusivity (temperature conductivity) of the rocks. The mineralogical investigations were presented too.