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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

PDU-scale testing of microbubble flotation

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5902564

Work during this past quarter focused primarily on Tasks 1.2.5 (Coarse Coal Flotation) and 1.2.7 (Refuse Pond Flotation). The performance comparison between microbubble column flotation and conventional flotation was continued using minus-28-mesh Pittsburgh No. 8 seam coal. For an equivalent recovery, the microbubble column reduced the final ash content of the product by more than 25% over that obtained using conventional flotation. It was found that the 14-inch diameter microbubble column could produce a 4.5% ash product from a 11% ash feed with combustible recoveries in excess of 95% at a feed rate of 300 lb/hr. In addition, flotation tests were conducted on a minus-325-mesh, high-ash (45--50%) classifying cyclone overflow stream in order to study the feasibility of the microbubble process for producing a clean coal product from what is normally considered refuse material. Results indicate that the column is capable of reducing the ash content to a range of 4.5 to 11% with corresponding combustible recoveries of 57 to 85%, respectively. 4 figs., 3 tabs.

Research Organization:
Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA (USA). Dept. of Mining and Minerals Engineering
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC22-86PC91274
OSTI ID:
5902564
Report Number(s):
DOE/PC/91274-T4; ON: DE91012250
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English