THIS PROJECT WILL STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF UTILIZING A NOVELMILL/SEPARATOR IN THE PREPARATION OF LOW-ASH COAL.

THIS PROJECT WILL STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF UTILIZING A NOVELMILL/SEPARATOR IN THE PREPARATION OF LOW-ASH COAL. TESTING WILL BE PERFORMED IN A BENCH-SCALE, CONTINOUSLY OPERATED MILL. IN A CONVENTIONAL COAL BENEFICIATION CIRCUIT, DESIGNEDTO PRODUCE A LOW ASH PRODUCT. A NUMBER OF UNIT OPERATIONS ARE PERFORMED IN SEPARATE DEVICES. A TYPICAL CIRCUIT WOULD CONSIST OF;(1) SIZE REDUCTION OF THE COAL IN A MILL; (II) PROCESSING OF THE GROUND MATERIAL IN A SEPARATOR; (III) REGRINDING OF THE "OFF-SPEC" (HIGH-ASH) MATERIAL TO FURTHER LIBERATE THE MINERAL MATTER FROM THE COAL; AND (IV) FURTHER PROCESSING OF THE REGROUND MATERIAL IN ANOTHER SEPARATOR TO PRODUCE A LOW-ASH, CLEAN COAL AND REFUSE WHICH IS REJECTED. IN THIS INNOVATIVE NEW MILL, ALL OF THE ABOVE UNIT OPERATIONS ARE ACCOMPLISHED IN THE SAME DEVICE. THE PRINCIPLES INVOLVED REPRESENT A NOVEL IDEA IN BENEFICIATION MILL DESIGN. THIS CONCEPT RESULTS IN AN ENHANCED EFFICIENCY OF; (1) SEPARATION; (III) PROCESS CONTROL: AND (III) CHEMICAL USAGE. FURTHER, THERE IS A REDUCED ENERGY REQUIREMENT BY PREVENTING COAL OVERGRINDING. LOWER CAPITAL AND OPERATING EXPENSES ARE ENVISAGED.