Experimental Investigation of the Wetting Ability of Microemulsion to Different Coal Samples

To improve water injection effect, microemulsions (MEs) were used to wet coal seam compared with water and sodium dodecyl sulfate solution (SDS). Wetting effects were characterized by contact angle, X-ray diffraction, Fourier infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that the microemulsion has better spreadability on coal surface and has stronger wettability for coals of different ranks and different particle sizes than traditional wetting agents. The W/O type microemulsion is more affinity to coal than the O/W type and the bicontinuous type.Oxygen and hydrogen contents contributed to wetting. Different wetting agents have the greatest impact on the oxygen-containing functional group absorption zone of coal, but have little impact on the change of clay mineral composition.As the content of quartz increased, the content of montmorillonite was decreased, and the hydrophilicity of coal was increased. This research proposes new ideas for solving coal dust problems and reducing coal mine disasters.