Dewatering of fine coal

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

OSTI ID:6204555

Sastry, K V.S. ^[1]

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1. California Univ., Berkeley, CA (USA). Dept. of Materials Science and Mineral Engineering

Fine coal dewatering is one of the most pressing problem facing the coal cleaning industry. This project was undertaken with the objective of improving the dewatering process with surface chemical activation by primarily understanding the fundamental and process engineering aspects of vacuum filtration. Specific tasks for this project included -- development of an experimental apparatus and procedure to yield highly reproducible results and extensive data from each test, detailed experimental investigation of the dewatering characteristics of coal fines with and without the addition of flocculants and surfactants, and under different operating conditions, and finally identification and establishment of the physical limits of mechanical dewatering. Following are the significant conclusions from the study: Fineness and size distribution of the coal fines have the most significant influence on the coal dewatering process; usage of flocculants and surfactants is almost essential in reducing the cake moisture and in increasing the filter throughputs; based on the experimental data and the literature information, the existence of an asymptotic limit for filter cake moisture correlatable with a capillary number of the filter cake was identified. 66 refs., 23 figs., 7 tabs.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (USA); California Univ., Berkeley, CA (USA). Dept. of Materials Science and Mineral Engineering
• Sponsoring Organization: EPRI
• OSTI ID: 6204555
• Report Number(s): EPRI-GS-7109
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010300* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Preparation-- (1987-)
ADSORPTION
COAL FINES
COAL PREPARATION
DISPERSIONS
EQUIPMENT
FILTRATION
FLOCCULATION
FUEL SLURRIES
FUELS
MIXTURES
PARTICLE SIZE
PH VALUE
PRECIPITATION
REMOVAL
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SIZE
SLURRIES
SORPTION
SURFACE PROPERTIES
SURFACE TENSION
SURFACTANTS
SUSPENSIONS
WATER REMOVAL