Cleaning - Mechanical Preparation of Pocahontas Coals-Some Factors in the Problem (With Discussion)

During the past few years, the writer has had occasion to take several excursions into the realms of the washability of beds 3 and 4 of the Pocahontas coal and the proper handling of these coals in prepared sizes Fig. 1.—Washability curve for 4 by 2½-in. egg, PocahoKtas coal. Note that definite break occurs at about 1.60 sp. gr., and washing at this gravity removes all heavy rock and slate, amounting to about 5 per cent. Curve 2 indicates a bony coal, and washed egg coal might not have a good appcarance, and would be condemned by visual inspection, although it would be well prepared mechanically. to attain the greatest realization for the operator and yet produce a market product acceptable to the consumer. Preparation is not new in the southern field, but some new angles have presented themselves in recent years on account of the progress of mechanical preparation. Mechanical methods are entirely devoid of the five senses given to