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

Enhanced gravity separators: New alternatives for fine coal cleaning

Conference ·
OSTI ID:81495
;  [1];  [2]
  1. Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA (United States)
  2. Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale, IL (United States)
A new generation of centrifugal enhanced gravity separators is now available for fine coal cleaning. Commercially available units include the Falcon Concentrator, Kelsey Jig, Knelson Concentrator and Mozley Multi-Gravity Separator. These devices, which were originally developed in the minerals processing industry, are capable of upgrading particles once believed to be too fine for water-based gravity separators. In the case of coal, efficient separations have been achieved down to particle sizes of 325 mesh and finer. These units are particularly well-suited for pyritic sulfur removal because of the large density difference between pyrite and coal. This article describes the basic working principles of this new generation of gravity separators and provides a review of the advantages and limitations of each for fine coal processing. Topics addressed in this article include separation performance, unit capacity, and process economics.
OSTI ID:
81495
Report Number(s):
CONF-950579--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English