PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES OF FAIR TRANSFORMATION OF COAL REGIONS OF UKRAINE

The paper analyzes the changes taking place in recent years in the coal industry of Ukraine and the world and examines measures for innovation in energy. The main goals, challenges and prospects of fair transformation of coal regions are revealed by analyzing the current state of the coal industry of Ukraine and world trends. The instruments of the state policy on providing the fired workers of the coal regions with jobs in case of liquidation / transformation of mines are defined and the alternatives of the policy of promoting the employment of the fired workers for making effective decisions are established. Peculiarities and factors of creation of technological or eco-technological parks on the basis of coal enterprises are studied. It is concluded that one of the effective solutions for the fair transformation of coal regions can be the transformation / transformation of the mine as a state enterprise into a park system by involving energy companies. The implementation of investment projects using the infrastructure of the mine for other activities is promising. Significant work should be done on job creation programs and training / retraining / retraining of workers, design of industrial parks and implementation of innovative projects.

A Novel Evaluation Method of Hydrogen Production from Coal Based on AHP and GRA-TOPSIS

Coal is the cornerstone of China's energy. However, with the proposed goal of carbon peak and carbon-neutral in China, coal enterprises are in urgent need of exploring the path of transformation. Coal to hydrogen is an important way to achieve sustainable development of the coal industry. In this paper, four hydrogen production technologies, including coal gasification, coke oven gas, electrolytic water, and solar energy, are studied. A comprehensive evaluation model based on GRA-TOPSIS was constructed. The research shows that the coke oven gas is the most suitable hydrogen production technology for the transformation and development of coal enterprises. The evaluation model of hydrogen production technology in the transformation and development of coal enterprises constructed in this paper has a certain guiding effect on the technology selection of coal enterprises in the development of the hydrogen industry.

Investigation of the Centers of Endogenous Fires at the Rock Dumps of the Coal Enterprises

The formed rock dumps of sections, mines and washing plants are composed of carbonaceous rocks and are capable of spontaneous combustion when the required amount of air is supplied. The conducted studies evaluated the efficiency of detecting a center of spontaneous combustion at the rock dumps of sections by measuring the temperature of rocks in the wells with a depth of 2.5 m, drilled at the distance of 20 m from each other, according to the current normative documents. For the landfill, a dump site with a long-existing center of spontaneous combustion was selected. The experiment showed the impossibility of drilling wells on the slopes of the dumps, as well as the need for casing the wells with pipes along the entire length. The temperature of rocks in the wells at a depth of 2.5 m varied from 69 to 773 °C. It was found that in the heated zone there are sharp temperature drops in the rocks, which cannot be detected with an interval between the measurement points equal to 20 m. With such a distance between the control wells, the places with a diameter of 1–10 m may remain undetected at the initial stage of spontaneous combustion. Measurements showed that in all the wells the rock temperature increases with depth. At the same time, the recommended well depth of 2.5 m does not allow determining the size of the heated zone deep into the rock dump. The upper layer of rocks above the center of spontaneous combustion exceeds the ambient temperature, so remote temperature measuring devices can be used to detect endogenous fires in the rock dumps. The use of thermal imagers installed on the unmanned aerial vehicles will significantly reduce the cost of detecting spontaneous combustion centers on the rock dumps and increase the efficiency of detecting fire centers not only on the dump sites, but on the slopes of the dump side and in other hard-to-reach places. Moreover, with a decrease in the atmospheric air temperature, the efficiency of remote thermal photography does not decrease. To clarify the parameters of the center of endogenous fires, it is advisable to use the temperature measurement of rocks with a contact thermometer at a depth of 0.5 m.

Polymorphism of HIF-1A (rs11549465) and VEGFA (rs2010963) genes and the immune status in the dust lung pathology miners working at the coal enterprises in the South of Kuzbass

The aim of the study was to study the polymorphism of HIF-1A (rs11549465) and VEGFA (rs2010963) genes and their association with immunological parameters among the miners with lung dust pathology in the Kemerovo region. Material and methods. 200 Kuzbass miners aged from 39 to 58 years, working in the primary occupations with a high risk of occupational pathology, were examined. All the subjects were divided into two groups: the 1st group included 130 cases with a proven diagnosis of dust lung pathology. The 2nd group was a control one represented by 70 workers in the same sanitary and hygienic conditions but without occupational diseases. Polymorphisms of the HIF-1A (rs11549465) and VEGFA (rs2010963) genes were studied by the method of real-time polymerase chain reaction. Immunological parameters were determined by immunoenzyme (immunoglobulins A, M and G) and immunoturbidimetric (haptoglobin, ceruloplasmin and α-1-antitrypsin) methods. Results. The study of the distribution of heterozygous genotypes 1772C/T HIF-1A and -634G/C VEGFA did not reveal statistically significant differences between the miners with dust lung pathology and healthy individuals in the South of the Kemerovo region. However, the study results showed heterozygous polymorphisms HIF-1A and VEGFA, particularly the level of haptoglobin α-1-antitrypsin, ceruloplasmin, and IgM, to affect the mmune status of the miners with dust lung pathology. Conclusion. Heterozygous polymorphisms 1772C/T HIF-1A and -634G/C VEGFA can be used to determine the immune response and predict the development of dust lung pathology in miners, as well as the choice of treatment and preventive measures.

Influencing Factors and Mechanism of Coal Enterprise Merger and Acquisition from the Perspective of Dynamic Capability

Merger and acquisition (M&A) is an important way for coal enterprises to acquire key competitive resources and core competencies and achieve rapid growth. In the existing research, more emphasis is placed on integration policies, methods and performance evaluation, lack of theoretical analysis and empirical testing on the key decision-making factors and driving mechanism of coal enterprises' M&A. In this paper, a conceptual model of influencing factors and action mechanism of coal enterprise M&A is constructed, and the relationship between influencing factors, ability construction and enterprise performance of coal enterprise M&A is discussed from the perspective of dynamic ability. Based on 323 sample data of coal enterprises in key coal-producing areas in China, the research hypothesis is empirically tested by hierarchical regression and structural equation model. The research reveals that government regulation, industry competition, entrepreneurial orientation and organizational alertness have significant positive effects on coal enterprise M&A. Government regulation and industry competition have a positive impact on environmental perception and resource reconfiguration, but an insignificantly positive impact on resource integration, which also verifies the negative effect between government regulation and industry competition.

SD Simulation Research on the Green Low-Carbon Development of Coal Enterprises

The green low-carbon development system of enterprises, differing from the traditional linear system, is a nonlinear feedback system with complex causality. Based on self-organization theory, this study clarified the self-organization evolution logic of the green low-carbon development of coal enterprises and constructed a system dynamics model following a system dynamics method. Through a scenario simulation analysis, the impact of the market environment, environmental regulation, and enterprises’ innovation level on the green low-carbon development of coal enterprises was revealed. Applicability suggestions based on simulation results were proposed. The results confirmed that the main challenge for coal enterprises is that the coal market environment restricts the promotion of green low-carbon development level of coal enterprises. Improving innovation levels is the most effective way for coal enterprises to address these issues.