Oil Assisted Dewatering Of Fine Coal

Addition of oil to a suspension of hydrophobic coal particles can influence its dewatering characteristics. An agglomeration process occurs in which coal particles are held together by negative capillary pressure at particle/oil/water contacts. Consequently, the units round which flow can occur are enlarged and this improves dewatering parameters such as drainage rate, solids recovery, and equilibrium moisture content. This paper discusses processes which attempt to use this principle, in terms of metallurgical and economic efficiency. The discussion is augmented by results of recent experiments on the effect of oil addition to centrifuges and vacuum filters.