Capture performance and quantum chemistry simulation of composite collectors for coal gasification coarse slag

ABSTRACT

For the purpose of using coal gasification coarse slag, carbon/ash separation by flotation is necessary. In this work, kerosene and dodecylamine polyoxyethylene ether (AC1202) were combined to create a composite collector known as AK, which was used in flotation experiments. The findings reveal that when the dosage of the AK collector was raised to 14 kg/t, the tailings ash reached as high as 83.76% and the combustible recovery increased by 69.84% to 81.42%, which is almost 28.62% higher than that of kerosene. The characteristics of various collectors, the strength of the adsorption between various collectors and particles, and the variation in particle hydrophobicity after the action of various collectors are used to elucidate the mechanism of the improved flotation effect with composite collectors. A new technique for separating the carbon and ash from coal gasification coarse slag is provided by the use of the AK collector.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Coal gasification coarse slag
• composite collectors
• surfactant
• molecular dynamics simulation
• flotation

Highlights

• Composite collectors can significantly improve the tailings ash and combustible recovery.

• Quantitative evaluation of the adsorption behavior of the collectors and residual carbon by molecular dynamics simulations.

• The variation of hydrophobicity of particles in flotation was simulated by contact angle and XPS.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Zhonghua Xue: Investigation, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Pengbo Zhao: Investigation, Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing – review & editing. Chongyi Yang: Software, Writing – review & editing. Lianping Dong: Investigation, Data curation, Writing – review & editing, Project administration. Weiren Bao: Resources. Jiancheng Wang: Resources. Panpan Fan: Project administration.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

Financial support from Chinese national key research and development program–funded projects (2019YFC1904302), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52104262), and State Key Laboratory of High–efficiency Utilization of Coal and Green Chemical Engineering, Ningxia University (2021–K81).

Notes on contributors

Zhonghua Xue

Zhonghua Xui is a doctoral student, and his research interests are flotation, adsorption and roasting.

Pengbo Zhao

Pengbo Zhao is a master's student. His main research interest is gravity separation of fine particles with multiple force fields.

Chongyi Yang

Chongyi Yang has a master's degree and his main research direction is coal flotation.

Lianping Dong

Lianping Dong is an associate professor whose research interests include gravity separation, flotation, and carbon product utilization.

Weiren Bao

Weiren Bao is a professor whose main research interests are coal-based new materials, pollution control and solid waste resource utilization in the coal conversion process.

Jiancheng Wang

Jiancheng Wang is a professor whose main research interests are pollution control and solid waste resource utilization in coal conversion process.

Panpan Fan

Panpan Fan is a lecturer whose main research interests are gravity separation and flotation.