Improved Collector for Beneficiation of Low-Volatile Medium Ash Clean Coal Fines by Froth Flotation

Froth flotation has emerged as an effective and useful technique for separation of low volatile medium ash clean coal fines. The traditional flotation collector is diesel oil. However, this collector often gives lower concentrate yields. In the present article, an improved collector derived from coal tar, that is, a particular coal tar distillate fraction, in combination with methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC) as frother has been successfully used, whereby about 83% of coal fines can be effectively retrieved with a low-ash yield (16%). In this way, a higher yield of coal fines has been successfully obtained in comparison with other collectors. To illustrate the point, compared to our improved collector, the yields with diesel and N-Dodecane as collectors were only 71.4% and 66.7%, respectively. Using the actual experimental results, a mathematical model has been developed using response surface methodology taking into account collector dose, frother dose, and pulp density. The quadratic model developed is in good agreement and effectively validating the experimental results of froth flotation process. Keywords: Coal finesCoal tar distillate collectorFroth flotationMathematical modellingResponse surface methodology Acknowledgements The authors express their gratitude and thankfulness to Dr. Prem S. M. Tripathi, former Director-Scientist, CIMFR, Dhanbad, for his critical scientific and technical suggestions, thoroughly refining the article with meticulous editing. Notes Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/gcop.