Computer simulation of coal preparation plants. Part 2. User's manual. Final report

This report describes a comprehensive computer program that allows the user to simulate the performance of realistic coal preparation plants. The program is very flexible in the sense that it can accommodate any particular plant configuration that may be of interest. This allows the user to compare the performance of different plant configurations and to determine the impact of various modes of operation with the same configuration. In addition, the program can be used to assess the degree of cleaning obtained with different coal feeds for a given plant configuration and a given mode of operation. Use of the simulator requires that the user specify the appearance of the plant configuration, the plant operating conditions, and a description of the coal feed. The simulator will then determine the flowrates within the plant, and a description of each flowrate (i.e., the weight distribution, percent ash, pyritic sulfur and total sulfur, moisture, and Btu content). The simulation program has been written in modular form using the Fortran language. It can be implemented on a great many different types of computers, ranging from large scientific mainframes to IBM-type personal computers with a fixed disk. Some customization may be required, however, to ensure compatibility with the features of Fortran available on a particular computer. Part I of this report contains a general description of the methods used to carry out the simulation. Each of the major types of units is described separately, in addition to a description of the overall system analysis. Part II is intended as a user's manual. It contains a listing of the mainframe version of the program, instructions for its use (on both a mainframe and a microcomputer), and output for a representative sample problem