Development of a new fine particle dry separator Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration

Dry separation was the predominant method of coal cleaning in the United States from the 1930s to 1980s. The application peak of dry separators for cleaning raw coal was in 1965, when about 23.1 Mt of cleaned bituminous coal was produced. The main advantage of dry coal cleaning is the elimination RIWKH GHZDWHULQJ VWDJHV DQG VLJQL¿FDQWO\ UHGXFHG moisture in comparison to wet processing. In addition, developed dust control systems have made dry cleaning method an environmentally friendly process. The largest air-based coal cleaning plant was built in Pennsylvania in 1968 and could clean 1,272 t/h of raw coal sized smaller than 19 mm. This was followed by a decline in dry coal cleaning to less than 3.6 Mt in 1988. Some of the main reasons that shifted coal operations IURPGU\WRZHWSURFHVVLQJZHUHWKHQHHGIRUPRUHHI¿FLHQW separations with lower density cuts, increase in raw coal surIDFHPRLVWXUHVSHFL¿FDOO\LQXQGHUJURXQGPLQLQJWRFRQWURO GXVW ¿QHUSDUWLFOHVL]HUHTXLUHPHQWV LQFUHDVHLQ¿QHVLQUDZ coal from underground mines, and health and safety concerns related to dust and noise (Arnold, Hervol and Leonard III, 1991; Miller, 2011).