Coal Slurry Analyzer

Sulfur and ash contaminants in coal can affect the quality, price, and need for environmental controls. Coal preparation plants have several circuits or processes to clean coal, but no instrument exists to measure sulfur and ash in a slurry, and to control the cleaning process. This project will develop instrumentation, along with noise tolerant software algorithms, to determine ash and sulfur content in a coal slurry. The instument will use X-ray sources and a spectroscopic grade scintillation detector. In Phase I, a comprehensive X-ray absorption model of coal will be developed. The parameters best suited to measure ash and sulfur will be determined. Noise tolerant software and hardware will be developed. A prototype system will be built to test the functionality of the chosen parameters. The results will lead to building an improved field-installable unit during Phase II.Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: There are over 250 coal preparation plants in the United States, each with three or more coal slurry circuits. These circuits would benefit from a method that could measure and control processes for removing contaminants from coal, in order to produce a consistently high-qulaity product. A higher quality yield would have a major impact on the coal industry.