Experimental Study on the Variation of Surface Widths of Lignite Desiccation Cracks during Low-Temperature Drying

[Image: see text] Significant volume shrinkage and drying cracking of high-water-content lignite will occur during low-temperature drying. To determine the variation behaviors of the drying shrinkage rate and desiccation crack surface width in the process of low-temperature drying, low-temperature and low-humidity drying experiments were conducted, and the variations of the surface widths of the desiccation crack with time and water content of old lignite were examined. The results showed that the slow drying of lignite at low temperatures caused significant volume shrinkage and desiccation crack formation, and the occurrence and development of desiccation cracks were highly nonuniform. Three stages of the variation of surface widths of the desiccation cracks were observed with the water content decrease: an initial rapid increase stage, a second slow decrease stage, and a final stable stage, and the average width of the desiccation cracks increased in a Gaussian function. The higher the evaporation rate and volume drying shrinkage rate, the lower the surface width of the desiccation cracks under low-temperature drying conditions. To achieve safe and green mining, storage, transportation, processing, and utilization of lignite, the moisture content of old lignite should be controlled to be above 13–15%.