Provide and keep a safe closed environment within refuge chamber to reduce casualties in mine disaster remains a longstanding challenge under the work of coal mine safety. Toward this objective, the CO2 and CO circulation purification experimental study was carried out with six kinds of decontaminants (LI-1, CA-1, NA-1, PD-1, AU-1, HC-1) by mean of the simulation device of closed environment of refuge chamber. The experimental results showed that, LI-1, CA-1 and NA-I have the ability of CO2 absorption, while PD-1, AU-1 and HC-1 have the ability of CO oxidation, and there was an optimal space velocity value for each which cost shortest reaction time and had maximum reaction rate. Through the function fitting and mathematical analysis, the relationships between reaction rate and gas concentration and the maximum reaction rate order of six decontaminants were obtained under the experimental conditions. Further analysis shows that, three kinds of CO2 decontaminants (LI-1, CA-1, NA-1) and two kinds of CO decontaminants (PD-1, AU-1) were able to meet the requirements of the relevant standards respectively when the CO2/CO purification rate under the optimal space velocity value conditions, and that could actually be used in purification of CO2/CO in refuge chamber, while the CO2/CO concentration would fluctuated around certain average values theoretically. The results of this study has some guiding significance for the theoretical research and practical application on controlling the concentration of CO2 and CO in closed environment with technology of circulation purification. (c) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.