COAL – PREPARATION

The raw coal produced from the mine (Rom coal) hardly suits the needs of the consumers. It is necessary
to exercise control over one or more of the properties of coal like its size, ash, sulphur, phosphorous,
moisture & chlorine content depending upon the nature of its use. In the simplest case of coal preparation,
it may be sufficient to just the fines from the lumps whereas a multiplicity of operations of size reduction,
size separation, coal cleaning, drying the moisture & mixing on a very large scale constitutes the coal
preparation section of a modern coke plant. Coal preparation involves cost. Although its aim is to raise
the efficiency of its utilization, the techno economic considerations finally dictate at what extent it should
be practiced.

Coal cleaning : High ash coals need cleaning with a view to raise the efficiency of their utilisation.
Depending upon the local conditions the upper limit of coal ash are fixed for acceptance to usage in
various industries. Indian coals are high in ash .Therefore in India, even metallurgical coke produce
tolerate as high as 20% ash in coking coals, while an upper limit of 10% ash is the norm, for the
corresponding manufactures abroad.

Furthermore, the thermal power stations in India have to tolerate 30-35% ash in boiler coals. It is
needless to state that, this tolerance is at the cost of efficiency. But there is no sound alternate to depend
on the indigenous fuel resources. Indian coals have many problems in washing. Washing is practiced only
when it is essential.

Besides having a higher efficiency of utilisation less clinkering trouble is in furnaces & gassifiers,
less of ash disposal problems & lesser content of S, P, Cl & other harmful elements. Some coals also
improve in their coking properties on washing, owing to decrease in ash percentage and also due to
enrichment in vitran.

The ease of separation of mineral matter from coal depends upon its nature. These inorganic
substances may be grouped into 2 classes. One class consists of the substances derived from the coal
forming from plants & others consists of the constituents added to coal from external sources. The two
classes are sometimes known as inherent & extragenous mineral respectively. A part of the extragenous
mineral matter is intimately associated with the organic mass of coal. This is due to their addition to the
coal during their early formation stage. The inherent mineral matter can’t be removed by any mechanical
method, chemical treatment like acid leaching can be used for this purpose. Fortunately, the content of
inherent mineral matter is less than 5%. The extragenous mineral matter is removable by mechanical
means. However, the intimately associated variety can be separated only with difficulty. A coal is easy to
wash, when the bulk of its mineral matter is due to dirt bands, and rock particles which get mixed with the
coal during mining or due ti the dirt bands settled on coal during transportation, handling & storage.

The Wash ability characteristics: If coal are best evaluated by the sink-float test .The advantage is
taken to the fact that the mineral substances have much more sp.gravity than pure coal. The specific
gravity of Pure bituminous coal 1.28 - 1.37

Shale 2.00 - 2.64

Pyrite 2.4 - 4.95

By using liquids of different sp.gravity the coal sample is divided into a no. of fractions in the increasing
order of sp.gravity and hence of ash value. Usually 3 curves are constructed from the results of float &
sink tests.

1. Total float – ash curve.

2. Total sink – ash curve.
3. Washability characteristics of curve or instantaneous ash curve.

From the first two curves, one can directly find out the yields & ash of the cleaned product (float) &
heavy waste (sink) at a certain sp.gravity. Similarity if it is intended to know, at which sp.gravity the
cleaning should be done. With a view to produce the maximum yield of cleaned coals within an upper
limit of ash value, the total float –ash value is consulted. The yield of sink & its ash are read from the
total sink-ash curve at the same sp. Gravity. (The 3 rd curve is the Washability characteristics of coal. It is
so constructed as to indicate the variation of ash from particle to particle in the increasing order of higher
sp.gravity. Hence this curve clearly shows how far it is possible to separate dirt’s from the clean coal by
mechanical methods.) For easily washable coal the curve has a sharp bend. On the other hand dirtiest
particle in the case of a very difficult coal

Preliminary information about Washability of a coal may be obtained from the numerical data of the sink
float test. If the yields of fractions are between 1.4-1.6, the sp.gravity are very small, it indicates that, the
mineral particles are not intimately associated with the organic mass & the coal is easily washable. If the
yields of these fractions are considerable, it means that, much of the mineral matter is intimately
associated with the pure coal & hence difficult to separate.

The sp.gravity, at which a coal is to be cleaned, is determined from a Washability data & economic
considerations. The ease of washing at this separation gravity may be judged from the amount of near
gravity material present in the coal .The amount of this material is defined as the % of coal that will float
in a range within +1 to -1 sp. Gravity of the separation value. The larger amount of near gravity material
means the more difficult cleaning operation & vice versa

The commercial methods of coal cleaning are based on the differences in some
physical props of the pure coal & mineral substances. The different in sp.gravity is the basis of by far the
largest number of coal cleaning process. The co-efficient of friction, wettability & resiliency are used in a
few other chemical processes. Some methods of coal preparation have been suggested also on the basis of
optical & electrical props. Size & shape of solid particles influence all coal cleaning process to a greater
or lesser extent. Depending upon the medium used for coal cleaning, the various processes are grouped as
dry. (pneumatic tables, spiral separators, air sand process), and wet (dense or H.M separator, jig washer,
cyclone washer, trough washer of launders.

FLOTATION MACHINE

Denver sub- Aeration cell or Fahrenwald or Fagergren or Weinig Cell

All consists essentially of a long trough ‘A’ transverse divided into a number of compartments of cells
‘B’ roughly square in plan & at the centre of each cell, near the bottom, there is an air pump comprising a
rotor ‘C’ mounted at the lower end of a vertical spindle ‘D’ and adjacent suitably confirmed stationary
parts(stator) E, and a pipe ‘F’ surrounding the spindle and extending from above the froth level to a
circular hood at the bottom that spreads to or beyond the periphery of the rotor circle and comprises the
upper part of the stator. Pulp level is indicated by dotted lines ‘L’ and the side overflow tip by line ‘o’.

At rest, pulp would, of course, stand at the same level inside & outside ‘F’. With the impeller
rotating, the pulp beneath ‘E’ is thrown outward and avoid is created into which atmospheric pressure
drives air. This becomes engulfed in the mailstorm at the impeller & passes with the pulp outwardly from
beneath ‘E’. The body of pulp above ‘E’ is stilled by suitable baffles so that, the rising bubbles collect at
the pulp surface to form a bubble column.
Heavy Media Separation

Heavy media circuit would essentially consist of the following.

1. The separating vessel in which media solids are kept in suspension with provision for
continuous introducing fluid & taking out products.
2. Means to clean the products, recover the medium and recirculate the medium to the
vessels.

Chance Cone Separator

Here the separating bath is a cone with a cylindrical top. Sand is kept in suspension in a vessel with the
help of a paddles rotating in the middle and with the help of rising current of water injected from the sides
of the cone.

The feed is introduced at one end of the top portion of the cylinder. The light clean coal floats and
overflows from the other end. While the heavy shale sinks to the bottom of the cone(Refuse chamber) and
is taken out at regular intervals. The products are passed on to separate de-sanding screens through which
the sand is washed out, and recirculated. This is used in Jamadoba coal Washery(Tisco,Bihar).
Wemco Drum Separator

The separator is a rotating drum with lifter fixed inside the shell. The feed is introduced by a chute at one
end of the drum into the heave medium (Ferrosilicon kept in suspension by the rotation of the drum ) and
the light fraction overflows and is taken out at the other end of the drum. The sink is lifted by the lifters
& is discharged into a separate chute. The products are washed in the screen & ferrosilicon is recovered
by the magnetic method and is recirculated.