Economics of coal fines utilization
Conference
·
OSTI ID:171619
In the twentieth century, coal has become the major fuel for electric power generation in the U.S. and most of the nonpetroleum-producing countries of the world. In 1998, the world coal-fired capacity for electric power generation was about 815 GW, consuming large quantities of coals of all ranks. Today, coal provides a third of the world`s energy requirements. In fact, coal use for power generation has grown steadily since the oil embargo in 1973 and has seen an even faster rate of growth in recent years. It has been reported that the global demand for new coal will increase by more than 1500 million tons by the year 2000. However, this increased production of coal has its drawbacks, including the concomitant production of coal waste. Reported estimates indicate that billions of tons of coal waste have already been disposed of in waste impoundments throughout the U.S. Further, in the U.S. today, about 20-25 % of each ton of mined coal is discarded by preparation plants as gob and plant tailings. It appears that the most economical near-term approach to coal waste recovery is to utilize the waste coal fines currently discarded with the refuse stream, rather than attempt to recover coal from waste impoundments that require careful prior evaluation and site preparation. A hypothetical circuit was designed to examine the economics of recovery and utilization of waste coal fines. The circuit recovers products from 100 tons per hour (tph) of coal waste feed recovering 70 tph of fine coal that can be used in coal-fired boilers. The present analysis indicates that the coal waste recovery is feasible and economical. In addition, significant environmental benefits can be expected.
- Research Organization:
- Coal and Slurry Technology Association, Washington, DC (United States); USDOE Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center, PA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 171619
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950313--; ON: TI96120251
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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