Oxygen self-rescuer

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Soviet oxygen self-rescuer SchaSS1U

An oxygen self-rescuers , including oxygen self-rescuers or Insulating self rescuers called, is a small breathing apparatus compressed oxygen, which in mining is underground in case of danger used. The oxygen self-rescuer is not a work device, but just like the filter self-rescuer, a pure escape device.

Basics

In underground mining, under certain conditions weather structures can be destroyed and fans fail . This leads to the fact that in large parts of the mine the ventilation and thus the supply of the miners with fresh weather fails. But gas outbreaks can also lead to high concentrations of non-breathable gases in the affected mine structures . If there is not a sufficiently high residual oxygen content in the weather, this weather is no longer breathable for humans. The filter self-rescuer is ineffective in such an environment. The filter self-rescuer is also unsuitable in weather in which the proportion of carbon monoxide is too high, or if large amounts of soot particles, such as those that occur in oil or tire fires, occur in the weather. Rescue equipment must be used here that works independently of the ambient air and provides the miner with breathing air.

History

Since the middle of the 19th century, attempts were made to protect miners from exposure to bad weather while driving . At first, the miners tried to protect themselves from the gases by using simple devices that they held in front of their mouths when fleeing. Cloths soaked in vinegar or moistened with water were used. Canisters or sponges filled with lime water or alkaline solutions, such as B. Roberts' respiratory canister or pillows filled with hydrated lime were used. However, it was only through the use of weather masks that one became independent of the ambient air. The first weather masks of this type were the Pilatre de Rozier mask and the Humboldt mask . The miner breathed the air through a hose with a mouthpiece from a leather bag filled with about 0.25 cubic meters of air and carried on his back. The disadvantage here was the short period of use of a maximum of 16 minutes. There were also masks with mobile containers that held up to one cubic meter of breathable air and could be used for up to an hour. Other devices were the knapsack apparatus. Compressed air was carried in a container in these breathing apparatus . This knapsack-like container was carried on the back. The disadvantage of this device was the ballast gas content due to around 80 percent nitrogen. The Fleuss apparatus consisted of an oxygen tank and a regeneration apparatus. In this respirator, the exhaled air was cleaned of carbon dioxide, enriched with oxygen and reused for breathing. During the First World War, the self-supporting oxygen devices developed for rescue in mining were also used in war operations to protect against poisonous gases.

Layout and function

Two types of oxygen self-rescuers are used as rescue equipment in mining, oxygen self-rescuers with compressed oxygen and oxygen self-rescuers with chemically stored oxygen. The oxygen self-rescuer with pressurized oxygen consists of a housing in which there is an oxygen cylinder with a filling pressure of up to 300 bar , a regeneration cartridge with a CO 2 absorbent, a release mechanism and several valves. A nose clip is attached to the oxygen self-rescuer so that no ambient air is breathed. This device breathes in pendulum breathing. The oxygen is inhaled through a breathing tube with a mouthpiece. The exhaled air is fed to the regeneration cartridge via a breathing bag on the self-rescuer, where it is cleaned and made available for breathing again. Excess breathing gas is diverted from the breathing bag via an automatic pressure relief valve. In the case of the oxygen self-rescuer with chemically stored oxygen, the oxygen required for breathing is chemically stored in a KO 2 preparation. The rescue device also consists of a housing in which the KO 2 cartridge, the starting mechanism and several valves are located. The oxygen is inhaled through a breathing tube with a mouthpiece. A nose clip is attached to this self-rescuer so that no ambient air is breathed. Excess breathing gas is also discharged from the breathing bag via an automatically acting pressure relief valve.

commitment

Thanks to the oxygen self-rescuer, the wearer is independent of the ambient air for up to 45 minutes. If the device is used in a resting state, it can be used at least three times as long. The device can either be carried on a lanyard or on a belt and can be used within a few seconds. In hard coal mining, these devices are only used in exceptional cases, e.g. B. used when there is a risk of gas outbreaks. The oxygen self-rescuers were deployed in the Lower Silesian and French coal mines. The equipment is used in salt, ore and lignite mining. Due to its weight, the device is not always carried by the person, but is parked in the immediate vicinity of the workplace or placed on the vehicle being carried.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Walter Bischoff , Heinz Bramann, Westfälische Berggewerkschaftskasse Bochum: The small mining dictionary. 7th edition. Glückauf Verlag, Essen 1988, ISBN 3-7739-0501-7 .
  2. ^ A b c d e Heinrich Otto Buja: Engineering handbook mining technology, deposits and extraction technology. 1st edition. Beuth Verlag, Berlin / Vienna / Zurich, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-410-22618-5 , p. 390.
  3. ↑ Horst Roschlau, Wolfram Heinze, SDAG Wismut (Hrsg.): Knowledge storage mining technology. 1st edition. German publishing house for basic industry, Leipzig 1974.
  4. ↑ a b c MSA Safety Company (ed.): Escape devices program, for a safe escape. MSA Auer, Berlin, pp. 5-6.
  5. ^ A b Ernst-Ulrich Reuther: Introduction to mining. 1st edition. Glückauf Verlag, Essen 1982, ISBN 3-7739-0390-1 .
  6. ↑ a b c d Gustav Köhler: Textbook of mining science. 6th improved edition. Published by Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1903.
  7. ^ A b Albert Serlo: Guide to mining science. Second volume, 4th revised edition. Published by Julius Springer, Berlin 1884.
  8. ^ Emil Stöhr, Emil Treptow: Basics of mining science including processing. Spielhagen & Schurich publishing house, Vienna 1892.
  9. ↑ Kathrin Wüllenweber: The development of the Dräger mine rescue technology and respiratory protection (1902-1918) in an international comparison - An evaluation of the archives of the Drägerwerk AG, Lübeck. Inaugural dissertation. University of Lübeck, Lübeck 2007.
  10. ↑ a b c d Trade Association of Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering (ed.): Use of respiratory protective equipment BGR 190. Expert committee "Personal protective equipment" of the BGZ, Cologne 2004.
  11. ^ A b Carl Hellmut Fritzsche: Textbook of mining science. Second volume, 10th edition. Springer Verlag, Berlin / Göttingen / Heidelberg 1962.

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