Evaluation of Coal Preparation Plant Tailings by Ultrasonic Flotation

Abstract

Ultrasound is one of the effective methods used for improving flotation results. In this study, the tailings of various coal preparation plants in the vicinity of the Catalagzi Thermal Power Plant in Zonguldak, Turkey were used to investigate the effects of ultrasound on coal flotation. In the experimental study, the conditioning was performed with and without the ultrasound. After that, the flotation tests were carried out with four different collector (diesel oil) dosages (215, 430, 645, and 860 g/t) while the frother dosage was kept as 16 mg/L. The ash analyses of the flotation products were performed, and the ash content, ash rejection recovery, combustible recovery, and separation efficiency values were calculated. Finally, the flotation results with and without ultrasound were compared to each other. The results indicated that the combustible recovery increased from 72% to 75 %, while the ash content of the concentrate decreased from 37% to 24% at 400 g/t diesel oil dosage. At the same disel dosage, ash rejection recovery increased from 77% to 88%, while separation efficiency increased from 50% to 63%.