Effect of Microwave Radiation on Coal Flotation

Most low-rank coals are high in moisture and acid functional groups, therefore showing poor floatability. Drying, which removes the water molecules trapped in the pores and adsorbed at the surface of coal, decreases the hydrophilic character and improves the floatability. Microwave heating, whose simplest application is drying, was applied at 0.9 kW power level for 60 sec exposure time in the experiments to decrease the moisture content of coal in order to enhance the hydrophobicity. The flotation tests of microwave-treated coal by using heptanol and octanol lead to a higher flotation yield and ash removal than original coal.