Super-clean coal production from Turkish bituminous coal

Abstract

The possibility of producing super-clean coal from Zonguldak bituminous coal by heavy medium separation and flotation techniques was investigated. The coal sample used was a −50 mm + 18 mm size jig concentrate from the Central Washery of Zonguldak. It was composed of 12.11% ash and 0.41% total sulfur. The vitrain band of the same coal contained 3.28% ash and 0.22% total sulfur. By applying a two-step heavy medium separation, it was possible to reduce the ash content from 12.11% to 4.00%. Additional cleaning to less than 3.0% ash was carried out by flotation. To determine the optimum flotation conditions required for the production of super-clean coal, the effects of different types of frothers, pH and collector dosage were studied. The optimum result was obtained using 170 g/t kerosene and 160 g/t MIBC. The investigation showed that it was possible to produce a coal containing 2.16% ash and 0.42% total sulfur from Zonguldak bituminous coals.