The Effects of Pretreatment on the Flotation Kinetics of Waste Coal

This article investigates the effect of attrition of fine waste coal from anthracite mine "Vrska Cuka, Serbia on the flotation results and flotation kinetic parameters in a batch flotation cell. Waste coal was generally stored into settling ponds and old tailing ponds as a waste material. Floatability of oxidized coal can be improved by attrition. The flotation tests were performed with and without attrition using different dosages of kerosene. The best results were observed on the waste coal combined flotation with attrition (attrition time 10 minutes) using 5,000 g/t kerosene. These results are compared with obtained coal recovery of raw coal. Based on batch flotation test data of the coal, the nonlinear fitting was conducted using a MatLab tool for modeling the first-order flotation kinetics. The cumulative combustible recovery against flotation time were correlated using the classical model and modified Kelsall model. The attrition had a positive effect on the coal flotation kinetics parameters. Also, both models showed good correlation; however, the modified Kelsall model provided the best fit.