POC-scale testing of a dry triboelectrostatic separator for fine coal cleaning. Third quarterly technical progress report, April 1996--June 30, 1996

Abstract

The Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center (PETC) developed a triboelectrostatic separation (TES) process which is capable of removing mineral matter from coal without using water. A distinct advantage of this dry coal cleaning process is that it does not entail costly steps of dewatering which is a common problem associated with conventional fine coal cleaning processes. It is the objective of this project to conduct a series of proof-of-concept (POC) scale tests at a throughput of 200--250 kg/hr and obtain scale- up information. Prior to the POC testing, bench-scale test work will be conducted with the objective of increasing the separation efficiency and throughput, for which changes in the basic designs for the charger and the separator may be necessary. The bench- and POC- scale test work will be carried out to evaluate various operating parameters and establish a reliable scale-up procedure. The scale-up data will be used to analyze the economic merits of the TES process. At present, the project is at the stage of engineering design (Task 3). Work accomplished during this reporting period include the construction of a Faraday Cage for measurement of particle charges (Subtask 3.1), construction of a bench-scale triboelectrostatic separator (Subtask 3.2) and development of a theoretical model for predicting motion of charged particles in a non-uniform electrostatic field (Subtask 3.2). This model will be useful for designing the POC module.