Characterization of coal surfaces. Technical progress report, 21 November 1985-20 February 1986

Technical Report · Sat Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6133086

Fuerstenau, D W

The broad objectives of this investigation are aimed at delineating how surface and interfacial properties of coal influence its beneficiation and utilization. The last quarterly report detailed the application of the film flotation technique developed in our laboratories for assessing the wettability behavior of coal. From experimental results using this technique, average wetting surface tensions were determined for untreated coals of various ranks and for coals that had been subjected to different degrees of oxidation. During this quarter the efficacy of the film flotation technique itself was further studied by conducting flotation experiments with particles having homogeneous hydrophobic surfaces. The critical wetting surface tensions of these hydrophobic materials, obtained from contact angle measurements, are compared with those values obtained from the partition curves. To further delineate the sensitivity of the film flotation technique, partition curves of the concentrate and tailings obtained from Hallimond tube flotation tests were generated through film flotation tests. Proximate analysis on the lyophobic and lyophilic fractions from both the flotation tests was also obtained, but the results are inconclusive since flotation is a surface phenomenon and not dependent on bulk behavior. A theoretical analysis of the film flotation process has been undertaken in terms of an energy balance model. The results of this analysis indicate that the interfacial energy is indeed the main component of the total energy change involved in the transfer of a particle from the vapor to the liquid phase during film flotation. 3 refs., 9 figs., 3 tabs.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Berkeley (USA). Coll. of Engineering
• DOE Contract Number: FG22-84PC70776
• OSTI ID: 6133086
• Report Number(s): DOE/PC/70776-T6; ON: DE86007959
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010600 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Properties & Composition
013000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Transport
Handling
& Storage
ANTHRACITE
BITUMINOUS COAL
BLACK COAL
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
COAL
COAL FINES
CORRELATIONS
DATA
DENSITY
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FLOTATION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NUMERICAL DATA
PARTICLE SIZE
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SIZE
SUBBITUMINOUS COAL
SURFACE PROPERTIES
SURFACE TENSION
WETTABILITY