A novel technique for evaluating cleaned fine and ultrafine coal

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5792610· OSTI ID:5792610

Crelling, J C

As a standard industrial practice all commercially cleaned coals are evaluated by washability analysis to predict their cleaning potential. The results of this analysis are so important that coal washability is a major factor in deciding to purchase and develop coal holdings. However, washability analysis are at present limited to coal particle sizes of greater than {minus}28 mesh (0.6 mm). Coal particles smaller than this limit do separate well in the standard sink-float process used in the washability tests. The increasing demand for cleaner coals requires that coals be crushed to fine ({minus}100 mesh - 0.15 mm) and ultrafine ({minus}325 mesh - 0.045 mm) sizes to liberate more of the fine-grained mineral matter including pyrite. However, such small coal particles can not be analyzed in the standard washability analysis. The purpose of this study is to develop a washability analysis system for fine and ultrafine coal particles using Density Gradient Centrifugation (DGC) and Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) techniques. The unique advantages of this proposed technique is that is provides a means to obtain usable washability curves on fine and ultrafine coal samples. The DGC technique will produce a large number of density fractions in a single run and, thus, is much faster and more efficient that normal washability analysis. During this quarter all of the samples to be used in this study have been ordered from the Illinois Basin Coal Sample Program and the initial results for one sample have been examined.

• Research Organization: Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale, IL (United States). Dept. of Geology
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; ILDENR; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); Illinois Dept. of Energy and Natural Resources, Springfield, IL (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: FG22-91PC91334
• OSTI ID: 5792610
• Report Number(s): DOE/PC/91334-T20; ON: DE92007872
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010300* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Preparation-- (1987-)
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CENTRIFUGATION
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CLEANING
COAL
COAL FINES
CORRELATIONS
DOCUMENT TYPES
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS
ILLINOIS BASIN
MATERIALS
PROGRESS REPORT
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
THERMAL ANALYSIS
THERMAL GRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS
WASHING