The Increase in the Efficiency of Coal Sludge Thickening Due to Changes in the Process of Flocculant Selection

Coal preparation currently has a number of significant problems concerning the dewatering processes (water purification, coal sludge thickening). These processes polymeric flocculants are used to their enhancement. To select a floculant for its further use at the preparation plant is currently a quite complicated and mainly empirical process. The authors have conducted research in order to establish a possibility to recommend certain flocculants to be chosen based on the properties of coal pulp, that were established during the experiments, and the properties of the aforementioned flocculants. In this paper are listed the methods, that were used during the research, the results of the laboratory tests of anionic flocculants Magnaflock, that were conducted on various coal pulp samples with various properties. The industrial testing of the selected flocculant at the coal preparation plant “Anzherskaya” was examined in detail. After the analysis of the obtained results certain conclusion was conducted.