Comparative study of oil agglomeration and flotation of low grade coals

In this study, the collector, also called as the bridging oil, used in both oil agglomeration and flotation is introduced to test in the form of emulsion. Kerosene, Fuel oil and Diesel oil were used for both flotation and oil agglomeration as bridging oil or collector. In flotation experiments, MIBC, DTAB and n-Decanol were also used as frother, and emulsifiers respectively. In agglomeration tests, it was found that diesel oil was superior to kerosene and fuel oil according to the combustible recoveries and ash contents of the agglomerates. The emulsification of the bridging oils resulted in enhancement on combustible recoveries from 40 % to 75 %.and the reduction on the ash contents of original coal samples from 35 % to 19 % In flotation tests with emulsified diesel oils of 8000 g/t based on the coal weight, the clean coal products with approximately 15 % ash contents and 60-70 % combustible recoveries were obtained. Finally the oil agglomeration and the flotation of low grade coal were compared and it was found that the oil agglomeration methods should be announced as superior method to flotation for providing higher combustible recoveries and lower ash contents.