Autogenous heavy medium process and apparatus for separating coal from refuse

Patent · Tue Dec 21 00:00:00 EST 1982

OSTI ID:6439821

Rich, J W

Coal is separated from mining refuse utilizing an autogenous non -magnetic heavy medium and one or more cyclonic separators. In the process, raw input from mine tailings is screened and mixed with heavy medium to form an aqueous slurry feedstock. The feedstock slurry flows through a primary cyclonic separator which causes a coal-rich portion to exit its overflow and a refuse-rich portion to exit its underflow. The coal-rich overflow is dewatered to produce clean coal solids and a water-rich underflow slurry. The refuse-rich underflow from the primary cyclone is dewatered to produce solid refuse particles and one portion of the heavy medium. Another portion of the heavy medium is obtained by the underflow from the coal-rich slurry dewatering equipment. The primary cyclone has a cylindrical section with an axial extent greater than its inside diameter for imparting to tangentially-admitted feedstock slurry a substantially constant acceleration followed immediately by increasing acceleration in a depending conical portion. A vortex finder depends to about the middle of the cylindrical chamber for exhausting the coal-rich overflow slurry therefrom, and the refuse-rich underflow slurry is discharged through a bottom orifice. If desired, the refuserich underflow from a dewatering cyclone located downstream of the primary cyclone can be crushed and recycled through the primary cyclone to separate middlings.

• Assignee: EDB-83-054707
• Patent Number(s): US 4364822
• OSTI ID: 6439821
• Resource Relation: Patent File Date: Filed date 1 Jul 1981; Other Information: PAT-APPL-279627
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
COAL
CYCLONE SEPARATORS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
TAILINGS
WASTE PROCESSING
MINING
SLURRIES
WATER REMOVAL
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CONCENTRATORS
DISPERSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
EQUIPMENT
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
INERTIAL SEPARATORS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MIXTURES
POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT
PROCESSING
REMOVAL
SEPARATION EQUIPMENT
SOLID WASTES
SUSPENSIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
010800* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Waste Management