Efficient separation of coal gasification fine slag from Texaco gasifier and microstructures and elemental characteristics of separated components

Coal gasification fine slag (CGFS) is one of the by-products of coal gasification process, which is mainly composed of inorganic minerals and residual carbon. The key to realize the high-value utilization of CGFS is separating the residual carbon and mineral in CGS effectively. Owing to irregular distribution of carbon in different size of CGFS, which could not be enriched by simple grinding and screening for component enrichment. In this paper, the enrichment of CGFS was carried out by the float-sink method, which is low-cost and does not result in the loss of raw materials. The carbon-rich particles (CRP, ash: 27.89%) and mineral-rich particles (MRP, ash: 78.01%) were obtained, where CRP contains a large amount of amorphous carbon with rich porous structure, while MRP is a heterogeneous material containing not only inorganic minerals but also organic carbon with low porosity. The mineral particles exist as aluminosilicates with a high degree of polymerization. The results of this paper will provide theoretical and technical support for the high-value utilization of CGFS.