The production of ultra-clean coal from Zonguldak bituminous coal by chemical leaching

Abstract

From run-of-mine coal with an average ash of 50% being produced at Zonguldak coal basin, clean coal with 7% ash can be produced through physical enrichment methods such as jig and heavy media. However, for the production of coal with an ash content of lower than 7%, it is required for the coal to be first ground and then subjected to chemical leaching operation. In this study, chemical leaching tests were performed with aqueous HF, HCL, HNO3, and citric acid (CA) in order to produce ultra-clean coal (UCC) from Zonguldak bituminous coal. The effects of type of chemical, grain size, temperature, and leaching time in the leaching process were studied. It was observed that UCC with 0.82% ash could be produced from sample coal with 8.84% ash as the result of leaching operation with aqueous HF.