POC-scale testing of an advanced fine coal dewatering equipment/technique. Quarterly technical progress report No. 5, October--December, 1995

Froth flotation technique is an effective and efficient process for recovering of ultra-fine (minus 74{mu}m) clean coal. Economical dewatering of an ultrafine clean coal product to a 20% level moisture will be an important step in successful implementation of the advanced cleaning processes. The main objective of the proposed program is to evaluate a novel surface modification technique, which utilizes the synergistic effect of metal ions-surfactant combination, for dewatering of ultra-fine clean coal on a proof-of-concept scale of 1 to 2 tph. The novel surface modification technique developed at the the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research will be evaluated using vacuum, centrifuge, and hyperbaric filtration equipment. Dewatering tests will be conducted using the fine clean coal froth produced by the column flotation units at the Powell Mountain Coal Company, Mayflower Preparation Plant in St. Charles, Virginia. The POC-scale studies will be conducted on two different types of clean coal, namely, high sulfur and low sulfur clean coal. Accomplishments for the past quarter are described