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ABSTRACT
In order to assess coal floatability, it is necessary to understand how different coal compositions affect particle-wetting behavior. In this study, the influence of different sizes and densities of particles on coal wettability was conducted, respectively. For this purpose, the coal compositions were explored via XRF and the wetting rising velocity experiment of each coal composition was investigated based on the capillary force. The contact angle decreases obviously with the decrease in particle size. The contact angle decreases as the coal particle density increases. The larger the contact angle, the worse the wettability. The coal compositions had a significant effect on the coal-wetting behavior. The content of organic substances decreased with the decrease in powder size. SiO2 had the highest content and the lowest contact angle among the inorganic oxygen-containing. Hydrogen bonds were created between the hydrogen and oxygen atoms on the surface. The stronger the hydrogen bonding force, the more tightly the water molecules adsorbed. Furthermore, the organic content decreased as the coal density increased. The increase in contaminants could be responsible for this phenomenon. The predictive wetting model between the coal compositions and the contact angle was established and its accuracy was evaluated. The predictive model is reliable at larger coal sizes and lower densities due to an average error at 7.2% of 0.35 mm and 10.61% of 1.35 g/cm3. The results provide some valuable insight into the efficient clean utilization of technology and pre-flotation feedback for coal processing.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Scientific Research Foundation for High-level Talents of Anhui University of Science and Technology (Grant No. 2021yjrc57 and 2022yjrc112), Anhui Province University Natural Science Research Major Project (Grant No. KJ2021ZD0046), Anhui Province Key Research and Development Program (Grant No. 2022n07020001), Open Foundation of Institute of Environment-Friendly Materials and Occupational Health (Grant No. ALW2021YF13), Open Foundation of the State Key Laboratory of Mineral Response and Disaster Prevention and Control in Deep Coal Mines (Grant No. SKLMRDPC20ZZ03), Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52074014 and No. 52104242), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2019M662134), and Postdoctoral Science Foundation of Anhui Province (Grant No. 2019B330) for supporting this work.
Disclosure statement
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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Notes on contributors
Xing Li
Xing Li, born in April 1987, graduated from the University of Idalgo Michoacán in St.Louis, Mexico, with a doctorate in materials and metallurgy. The research direction is the treatment and utilization of tailings solid waste materials.
Yong Zhang
Yong Zhang, born in September 1992, graduated from Anhui University of Science and Technology, China, with a doctorate in materials and metallurgy. The main research direction is the theory and technology of fine mineral separation interface control.
Fan Yang
Fan Yang, born in March 1999, a master 's student of Anhui University of Science and Technology, majoring in resources and environment. The main research direction is the theory and technology of fine mineral separation interface control.
Jiangjiang Hua
Jiangjiang Hua, born in April 1987, Zhujixi coal mine technician. Mainly engaged in coal separation and technical management.
Hongzheng Zhu
Hongzheng Zhu, born in January 1987, is a professor. The main research direction is fine mineral separation and equipment design.
Baohong Hou
Baohong Hou, born in October 1994, technician. Mainly studies the coal operation management.