Department of Chemical Engineering, Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology, Sarang, India; Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India; School of Chemical Engineering, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
Mohanta, S., Department of Chemical Engineering, Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology, Sarang, India; Meikap, B.C., Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India, School of Chemical Engineering, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
Dry beneficiation of coal by air dense medium fluidized bed is an emerging trend. It is widely believed that the particle size of the medium has a significant effect on the separation efficiency. This investigation demonstrates that medium particle size has a major effect on separation efficiency. Experimental results show that different size fractions of the same feed respond differently to the same size fraction of medium solids. Furthermore, a particular size fraction of feed coal responds differently with different size fractions of medium solids. The Ep values and overall metallurgical performance parameters, obtained from experimental results, clearly indicate the superior performance of an air dense medium fluidized bed separator when using-150+106 μ m magnetite powder as the fluidizing medium. These observations reinforce the importance of sizing the medium particle size for the air dense medium fluidized bed. © 2015 The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Air cleaners; Beneficiation; Coal; Coal industry; Concentration (process); Efficiency; Particle size; Separation; Separators; Size separation; Air dense medium fluidized beds; Coal beneficiation; Dry beneficiation of coals; Fluidizing medium; Metallurgical performance; Partition curves; Separation efficiency; Separation performance; Fluidized beds