POC-SCALE TESTING OF AN ADVANCED FINE COAL DEWATERING EQUIPMENT/TECHNIQUE

The main objective of the proposed program is to evaluate a novel surface modification technique, which utilizes the synergistic effect of metal ions-surfactant combination, for dewatering of ultra-fine clean coal on a proof-of-concept scale of 1 to 2 tph. The novel surface modification technique developed at the UKCAER will be evaluated using vacuum, centrifuge, and hyperbaric filtration equipment. Dewatering tests will be conducted using the fine clean-coal froth produced by the column flotation units at the Powell Mountain Coal Company, Mayflower Preparation Plant in St. Charles, Virginia. The POC-scale studies will be conducted on two different types of clean coal, namely, high-sulfur and low-sulfur clean coal. The Mayflower Plant processes coals from five different seams, thus the dewatering studies results could be generalized for most of the bituminous coals