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Applied Sciences
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Technologies and Methods for Exploitation of Geological Resources
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Technologies and Methods for Exploitation of Geological Resources

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Earth Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2024 | Viewed by 5790

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zhongliang Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Interests: structural geology; mineral exploration; mineral deposit
Dr. Markos Tranos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: structural geology; geological mapping; neotectonics; basin analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Geological resources, such as metals, coal, petroleum and gas, groundwater, and geothermal materials, are essential for human survival. Most easy-to-find and easy-to-develop geological resources have been located, but a huge amount of materials remain undiscovered, prompting the urgent demand for revolutionary ideas and technologies for exploiting these geological resources. The present Special Issue aims to gather papers on methods and technology relating to geological resource exploration theory, including the reconstruction of the geological process of resource formation, geological and mineral geological survey methods, geochemical technology, earth information technology, earth exploration technology, and relevant engineering technology. We aim to offer a detailed account of current methods for the exploitation of geological resources and improve the current knowledge on the nature and basic laws of deep geological resources, as well as to promote fundamental and frontier research for geological resource exploitation.

Dr. Zhongliang Wang
Dr. Markos Tranos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • hidden geological resources
  • exploration theory
  • technologies and methods
  • geological process
  • earth information
  • geochemical technology

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 4707 KiB  
Article
High-Spatial-Resolution Helium Detection and Its Implications for Helium Accumulation Mechanisms
by Chao Lu, Bang Wang, Di Zhu, Quanyou Liu, Xuhang Zhang and Huaiyu He
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(8), 3453; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14083453 - 19 Apr 2024
Viewed by 378
Abstract
Helium is a scarce strategic resource. Currently, all economically valuable helium resources are found in natural gas reservoirs. Owing to helium’s different formation and migration processes compared to natural gas’s, the traditional method of collecting wellhead gas to detect helium concentration may miss [...] Read more.
Helium is a scarce strategic resource. Currently, all economically valuable helium resources are found in natural gas reservoirs. Owing to helium’s different formation and migration processes compared to natural gas’s, the traditional method of collecting wellhead gas to detect helium concentration may miss helium-rich layers in the vertical direction, which will not only cause the waste of helium resources, but also restrict the study of helium migration and accumulation mechanisms. To solve this problem, we designed a helium detector based on a quadrupole mass spectrometer. Through the combination of different inlet valves, we avoided gas mixing between different vertical layers during the inlet process and realized high-spatial-resolution helium concentration detection. We applied the helium detector to the Dongsheng gas field in the northern Ordos Basin, and the instrumental detection results were consistent with the laboratory analysis results of the wellhead gas, which demonstrated the stability of the helium detector in the field environment and the reliability of the data. Meanwhile, the results showed that the distribution of helium in the plane is highly heterogeneous, and the natural gas dessert layers and the helium dessert layers do not coincide in the vertical direction. In addition, we found a good correlation between helium and hydrogen concentrations. Combining our results with previous data, we propose a hydrogen–helium migration and accumulation model, which enriches the understanding of helium accumulation mechanisms and provides a basis for future helium resource exploration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies and Methods for Exploitation of Geological Resources)
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19 pages, 10787 KiB  
Article
Evolution Laws of Water-Flowing Fracture Zone and Mine Pressure in Mining Shallow-Buried, Hard, and Extra-Thick Coal Seams
by Zhongya Wu, Qiang Sun and Yunbo Wang
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(7), 2915; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14072915 - 29 Mar 2024
Viewed by 407
Abstract
Shallow-buried, hard, and extra-thick coal seams are very common in Xinjiang, China, but there are relatively few studies on the mine pressure law and the development characteristics of water-flowing fracture zones (WFFZs) during the mining of such coal seams. In this paper, the [...] Read more.
Shallow-buried, hard, and extra-thick coal seams are very common in Xinjiang, China, but there are relatively few studies on the mine pressure law and the development characteristics of water-flowing fracture zones (WFFZs) during the mining of such coal seams. In this paper, the mine pressure of the top coal caving face in a shallow, hard coal seam with a hard roof and full bedrock (SHCSHRFB) is analysed, the laws of the surrounding rock deformation and stress of the open-off cut and roadway in the large-mining-height top coal caving face are studied, the characteristics of roof-breaking and overburden fracture development are analysed using the physical similarity simulation method, supporting suggestions for roadways are put forward, and three development stages of the WFFZ are analysed. Field monitoring shows that the hydraulic support stress in SHCSHRFB is weak, but the coal wall and roadway stability are good, which is significantly different from the results in the typical shallow-buried thin bedrock working faces. The measured height of the WFFZ is close to the physical similarity simulation results, but quite different from those arising from use of the empirical formula. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies and Methods for Exploitation of Geological Resources)
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17 pages, 27979 KiB  
Article
Mechanistic Study of the Influence of Reactant Type and Addition Sequence on the Microscopic Morphology of α-Al2O3
by Weixiang Wen, Yang Bai, Mengxu Xu, Yujuan Gao, Pingke Yan and Huabing Xu
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(6), 2438; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14062438 - 14 Mar 2024
Viewed by 509
Abstract
To perform an in-depth study of the crystal growth habits and phase changes of alumina and its precursors in reaction systems, this paper studied the effects of reactant type and addition order on the morphology of alumina using hydrothermal methods with different precipitants [...] Read more.
To perform an in-depth study of the crystal growth habits and phase changes of alumina and its precursors in reaction systems, this paper studied the effects of reactant type and addition order on the morphology of alumina using hydrothermal methods with different precipitants and aluminum sources as reactants. Research has shown that sodium bicarbonate and ammonium bicarbonate can be used as precipitants to prepare adhered spherical alumina and irregular short rod alumina, while potassium bicarbonate can be used as a precipitant to prepare hexagonal flake alumina. Using aluminum sulfate octahydrate, aluminum chloride hexahydrate, and aluminum nitrate, nine hydrates were prepared as aluminum sources, and agglomerated alumina, irregular short rod-shaped alumina, and fused alumina were obtained. The order of reactant addition affects the precursor phase of alumina, thereby affecting the microstructure of alumina after calcination, resulting in flake alumina with pores and short rod alumina. The results of this paper will provide theoretical guidance for the preparation of alumina with different micromorphologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies and Methods for Exploitation of Geological Resources)
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17 pages, 3283 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Influencing Factors and Prevention of Coal Wall Deformation and Failure of Coal Wall in Caving Face with Large Mining Height: Case Study
by Guohao Meng, Jixiong Zhang, Chongjing Wang, Nan Zhou and Meng Li
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(12), 7173; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13127173 - 15 Jun 2023
Viewed by 666
Abstract
The coal walls in a caving face with a tall mining height are prone to rib spalling, which leads to the phased cessation of the mining of the working face, causes heavy losses, and endangers the safety of underground workers. In order to [...] Read more.
The coal walls in a caving face with a tall mining height are prone to rib spalling, which leads to the phased cessation of the mining of the working face, causes heavy losses, and endangers the safety of underground workers. In order to prevent serious rib spalling accidents of coal walls in fully mechanized caving faces with a large mining height and to improve the prediction of and ability to control rib spalling, a load-bearing mechanical model of the roof–coal wall–support system was established based on the moment-balance relationship. The expressions for the deformation and stress distribution in a coal wall were calculated. Then, the influences of key factors on the horizontal displacement of the coal wall were investigated. A numerical simulation model of the working face was established, and an orthogonal test design was introduced. On this basis, the influences of four factors: cutting height, breaking position of the main roof, support strength, and sidewall protecting force of the support on the horizontal displacement and volume of a plastic zone of coal wall, were analyzed. Moreover, their order of importance was ranked on the basis of sensitivity. Based on the engineering conditions and production practices in the Cuncaota II Coal Mine, key parameters for controlling and measures for preventing the rib spalling of the coal wall are proposed to guide practical actions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies and Methods for Exploitation of Geological Resources)
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20 pages, 6558 KiB  
Article
Origin of the Ultra-Deep Hydrocarbons from the Shunbei No. 1 Fracture Zone in the North of Shuntuoguole Low Uplift, Tarim Basin, North-Western China
by Jiejing Bian, Dujie Hou, Xiong Cheng and Zhenjie Jia
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(9), 5297; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13095297 - 23 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1460
Abstract
In order to have a deeper insight into the accumulation mechanism of ultra-deep hydrocarbons, in this paper, the recently discovered ultra-deep Ordovician light oil and gas deposits (>7200 m) in the Shunbei No. 1 fracture zone are studied intensively, including maturity, source kitchens, [...] Read more.
In order to have a deeper insight into the accumulation mechanism of ultra-deep hydrocarbons, in this paper, the recently discovered ultra-deep Ordovician light oil and gas deposits (>7200 m) in the Shunbei No. 1 fracture zone are studied intensively, including maturity, source kitchens, the extent of secondary alterations, and possible migration directions, based on an analysis of the molecular compositions and stable carbon isotopes of crude oils and natural gases. The average equivalent vitrinite reflectance (Rc) of these oils, estimated from light hydrocarbons (H versus I), MDI, DNR, and MDR, are about 1.50%, 1.58%, 1.48%, and 1.51%, respectively, which suggests that most of the oils are in the late stages of crossing the oil window. The two maturity grades (1.06–1.25% and 1.36–1.67%) of the oil samples calculated from the aromatic compounds indicate the presence of at least two stages of hydrocarbon charge. In addition, the positive correlation plot of DNR and MDR (y = 3.59x − 12.84; R2 = 0.96) indicates that oils in the southwestern region of the F1 (S1-11–S1-16) are slightly more mature than oils in the northeastern region of the F1 and the well at SL1, far from the No. 1 main fault zone. In addition, the study shows that these hydrocarbons belong to the same source kitchen of a reduced marine sedimentary environment with mixed organic matter comprising benthic and planktonic algae, based on biomarker parameters, light hydrocarbons, and carbon isotope compositions. The oil–oil correlation analyses suggest that the studied oil samples are probably derived from the in situ Lower Cambrian Yuertusi formation source rocks. Various geochemical parameters consistently show limited significant hydrocarbon alteration processes, indicating favorable preservation conditions in the study area. The integrated geochemical characteristics of the hydrocarbons allow us to infer that they mainly migrate vertically from the in situ Lower Cambrian Yuertusi formation source rocks toward the Ordovician reservoirs, followed by a certain degree of lateral migration from southwest to northeast. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies and Methods for Exploitation of Geological Resources)
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17 pages, 6064 KiB  
Article
Preparation of Cementitious Material with Wet Fly Ash by Hydrothermal Reaction and Calcination
by Peiyu Shi and Bei Huang
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(3), 1768; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13031768 - 30 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1393
Abstract
A large amount of wet-discharged fly ash has caused serious harm to the ecological environment, so the utilization of fly ash has received attention. This paper analyzes the formation of products of fly ash–lime system under the autoclave process by X-ray diffraction (XRD) [...] Read more.
A large amount of wet-discharged fly ash has caused serious harm to the ecological environment, so the utilization of fly ash has received attention. This paper analyzes the formation of products of fly ash–lime system under the autoclave process by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and thermogravimetric–differential thermal (TG-DSC) analysis. The hydrothermal reaction product generation was quantitatively analyzed using the hydrochloric acid selective dissolution method to quantify the degree of reaction of fly ash in the pressure evaporation specimens in combination with the reaction degree of lime in the autoclave specimens. The hydrothermal reaction products were calcined and hydrated, and the mineral composition of the calcined products and the mechanical and microstructure of the hydrated products were analyzed. The results show that hydrothermal reactions occur in the fly ash–lime pressure evaporation system to produce C2SH, C3AH6, C3ASH4, and other products. The optimum ratio of lime is 22%, and the appropriate autoclave parameter is 140 °C for 8 h. Under this condition, the reaction degree of fly ash is 15.39%, the reaction degree of CaO is 78.63%, and its f-CaO value is 4.93%. The formation of C2SH in the hydrothermal reaction ranged from 14.33% to 18.53%, and the formation of C3ASH4 ranged from 14.06% to 15.26%. The hydrothermal reaction products were calcined at 850 °C for 1.5 h to produce new gelling materials with gelling phases, such as C12A7, α’L-C2S, β-C2S, and C2AS. The compressive and flexural strengths of the new gelling materials reached 34.4 MPa and 6.4 MPa, respectively, at the age of 180 days. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies and Methods for Exploitation of Geological Resources)
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