The use of petroleum derivative mixtures as bridging liquid for oil agglomeration of lignite coal

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was to investigate the use of mixtures of petroleum derivatives as bridging liquids for oil agglomeration of Sivas/Gemerek lignite coal. The study investigated the effect of various physical process parameters, such as type and dosage of bridging liquid, pulp pH, pulp density, agglomeration time, and coal particle size. Oil agglomeration experiments were evaluated along with yield, organic matter recovery and ash rejection values. The optimum conditions for agglomeration were found as follows: adding engine oil (0w-30) as a bridging liquid at a dosage of 30%, maintaining a pulp pH of 2, using a pulp density of 3.6% w/w, agglomerating for 25 minutes, and using coal particles with a size of −500 µm. Under these optimum oil agglomeration conditions, a yield of 85.4%, an organic matter recovery of 94.1% and an ash rejection of 51.6% were obtained. Under the optimum oil agglomeration conditions achieved, the ash content of the Sivas/Gemerek lignite coal was reduced from 19.1% to 15.5% level.

KEYWORDS:

• Ash rejection
• lignite coal
• organic matter recovery
• petroleum derivative mixtures
• yield

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).