Pilot-scale Studies of Ash and Sulfur Removal from Fine Coal by Using the Cylojet Flotation Cell

Abstract

This article presents the results of pilot-scale studies of ash and sulfur removal from a Turkish coal by using the cyclojet flotation cell. The cyclojet cell, which was developed by H. Hacifazlioglu and I. Toroglu in 2006, utilizes an alternative jet flotation technique. Apart from being based on the working principle of jet flotation, the cyclojet cell incorporates centrifugal forces into the flotation process, thus providing an excellent separation for ash and pyritic sulfur removal. The most important parameters for the removal of ash and pyritic sulfur in the cycojet cell are the length of the conical jet, frother type, wash water rate, and froth thickness. With decreasing the conical jet length and increasing the wash water rate and froth thickness, there is an increase in the removal of pyritic sulfur. On the other hand, the frothing agents MIBC produced better results in terms of pyritic sulfur removal in the cyclojet cell. Under optimal conditions, the cyclojet cell removed 61.25% of the pyritic sulfur and 73.98% of the ash with a combustible recovery value of 71.10% without any need for a depressant.