1676 PS 238 27/3/00 1:36 pm Page 2
INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE SULPHUR REDUCTION
POTENTIAL OF SELECTED CHINESE COALS
Figure 1. View of CCRI’s coal preparation test facility
OBJECTIVES
• To investigate the application of coal preparation techniques
to reduce sulphur in two high-sulphur Chinese coals.
• To predict the sulphur reduction achievable in commercial
coal preparation practice.
• To carry out initial coal preparation plant design studies for
these coals.
• To investigate the application of advanced sulphur reduction
techniques.
• To establish a sulphur database for Chinese coals.
• To develop R&D and technology transfer links between the
UK and China in coal preparation.
SUMMARY
Throughout the world, growing concern about the effects of
sulphur dioxide (SO2) on the environment has led to the
introduction of legislation to reduce sulphur emissions from
coal. Sulphur removal can be achieved through a wide range
of technologies that can be applied throughout the coal-use
cycle. This project focused on the application of coal
preparation techniques to remove sulphur from coal before
combustion.
Primarily applied to reduce ash content, coal preparation also
has the potential to reduce sulphur emissions through the
removal of pyrite (FeS2). In general, the sulphur reduction
achievable depends on the quantity of FeS2 present and how
finely it is distributed throughout the coal.
In the UK, where indigenous coals are high in sulphur by
international standards, considerable expertise has been
developed in coal desulphurisation technologies. In China,
although indigenous coals are generally regarded as low in
sulphur, the distribution is quite uneven: in 1995 ~150Mt of
coal mined in China contained ≥2.0% sulphur. This, together
with the recent introduction of strict controls to limit sulphur
emissions, has provided the impetus for China to investigate
means of reducing sulphur in coals.
The aim of this project was to bring together experts from
China and the UK to investigate the potential for reducing
sulphur in two Chinese high-sulphur coals, one from Beisu
mine in Shandong Province and the other from Dizong mine in
JANUARY 2000
CLEANER COAL TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMME
Guizhou Province. The project, carried out as a collaboration
between the University of Nottingham and the China Coal
Research Institute (CCRI), also involved two UK coal preparation
companies and two industrial partners in China.
Detailed characterisation of the two coals was followed by the
use of process simulation models to predict the results from
commercial coal preparation plant. Initial design studies were
then carried out by the two coal preparation companies in
collaboration with CCRI and the two coal mines. Studies were
also carried out to investigate a number of advanced
techniques for fine coal desulphurisation. Finally, information
from the project was used to establish a sulphur database to
indicate the range of sulphur contents in Chinese coals and to
provide basic data for the assessment of sulphur reduction
potential.
Through optimisation of coal preparation design, it was
predicted that the sulphur content of the Beisu coal could be
reduced from >4.8% to ~2.4%, against a target of 1%.
Similarly, the sulphur content of the Dizong coal could be
reduced from >5.1% to <1.8%, against a target of 1.5%. In
each case, the coal preparation plant would also produce
higher-sulphur secondary product for a separate market.
Although the preferred sulphur targets for these coals were not
achieved, the results showed that coal preparation could play
an important part in any sulphur-reduction strategy that
involved a combination of desulphurisation technologies.
One of the major aims was to establish R&D links between the
UK and China in coal preparation. During the project, there
was a high level of interaction and exchange of research and
engineering staff between the two countries. The relationships
developed through the project should provide a strong basis for
future co-operation.
POTENTIAL USERS OF THE
TECHNOLOGY
Organisations involved in the supply and utilisation of coal and,
in particular, those with an interest in coal desulphurisation.
COST
The total cost of this project was £178,400 with the
Department of Trade and Industry contributing £98,400
(55.2%), CCRI and CICETE £55,700, Nottingham University
£4,300, Birtley Engineering Ltd £10,000 and Baker Process
£10,000.
DURATION
12 months - July 1998 to June 1999
Further information on the Cleaner Coal Technology Programme,
and copies of publications, can be obtained from:
Roshan Kamall, Location 1124, Department of Trade and Industry,
1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET
Tel: +44 (0) 207 215 6261
Fax: +44 (0) 207 215 2674
E-mail: roshan.kamal@hend.dti.gov.uk
Web: www.dti.gov.uk/ent/coal
Project
Summary
Department of Trade and Industry 238
1676 PS 238 24/3/00 11:39 am Page 3
CONTRACTORS
School of Chemical, Environmental
and Mining Engineering
Nottingham University, University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD
UK
Tel: 0115 9514085
China International Centre for Economic
and Technical Exchanges (CICETE)
18 Bei San Huan, Zhong Lu
Beijing
People’s Republic of China
Tel: +86 10 62013081
COLLABORATORS
CCRI, Tangshan Coal Preparation Institute (TCPI)
Baker Process
Birtley Engineering Ltd
Shandong Yanzhou Mining Industry Group (SYMIG)
Liuzhi Coal Mining Administration, Guizhou (LCMA)
BACKGROUND
Throughout the world, growing concern about the effects of sulphur
dioxide (SO 2) on the environment has led to the introduction of legislation
to reduce sulphur emissions from coal. Sulphur removal can be achieved
through a wide range of technologies that can be classified into those that
desulphurise coal before combustion, those that capture sulphur during
combustion and those that remove sulphur from the combustion gases.
This project focused on the application of coal preparation techniques for
sulphur reduction.
Although primarily applied to reduce ash content, coal preparation also
has the potential to reduce sulphur through the removal of FeS 2. The
degree of sulphur reduction achievable generally depends upon the
amount of FeS 2 present and its distribution within the coal.
With indigenous coals relatively high in sulphur by international standards,
the UK has developed considerable experience in coal desulphurisation
techniques. This dates back to the early 1960s when the major driving
force was to reduce sulphur in coking coals. Later, with increasing
environmental concerns about emissions of SO2 from power stations, the
emphasis changed to the preparation of power station fuels. Particular
expertise developed in the UK has included the evaluation of coals for
sulphur reduction potential, the application of process-simulation models
and the development of fine-coal desulphurisation systems.
In contrast with UK coals, Chinese coals are generally regarded as low in
sulphur by international standards, averaging ~1.1% sulphur. However,
the distribution is quite uneven: in 1995, over 150Mt of the coal produced
in China had a sulphur content of ≥2.0%. Furthermore, increasingly
stringent environmental regulations in China have provided the driving
force for coal producers to investigate methods of reducing sulphur.
The aim of this collaborative project was to bring together Chinese and UK
coal preparation expertise to examine the potential for sulphur reduction in
two high-sulphur coals from China. The investigation was carried out by
the University of Nottingham and TCPI. Industrial guidance was provided
by two UK coal preparation companies, Birtley Engineering and Baker
Process, and by two Chinese industrial partners, SYMIG and LCMA.
COAL SELECTION AND
CHARACTERISATION
Two high-sulphur coals were selected for the study. The first was from
Beisu Mine operated by SYMIG in Shandong Province and the second was
from Dizong Mine, operated by LCMA in Guizhou Province. The desired
product qualities for the two coals are shown in Table 1.
MINE BEISU DIZONG
Coal Type Steam Coal Coking Coal
Product Size (mm) 50-0 50-0
Ash (%) 5-11.5 10-12.5
Sulphur (%) <1 1.5-2.5
Moisture (%) <12 <12
Table 1. Quality requirements of the selected coals
The Beisu Mine operates without coal beneficiation, with the untreated
coal sold either directly or after blending with coal produced by another
mine. The mine operators and SYMIG are investigating sulphur reduction
methods and have asked for assistance from both domestic and overseas
organisations. If the desired sulphur target proved to be unachievable, a
combined coal cleaning and coal gasification process would be considered
in order to meet the environmental protection requirement.
At Dizong, the existing coal preparation plant currently blends the raw coal
prior to treatment to produce a clean coal product of 1.9-2.2% sulphur
and ~10.5% ash. The discard from the washing operation is combusted in
a fluidised-bed boiler to maximise proceeds. The need for further
desulphurisation has arisen because of the current demand to reduce the
sulphur content to <1.5% for premium markets.
Samples of ~5t of each coal were taken by CCRI. These were then
divided, sized and prepared for washability analysis. Because most coal-
washing processes are based on density separation, this involved float/sink
separation over a range of relative densities (RDs). The plus-1mm fractions
were characterised by CCRI and the 1.0-0.063mm fractions were
characterised by the University of Nottingham. The minus-0.063mm
fraction was treated by froth flotation.
The Beisu raw coal contained 17.9% ash and 4.81% sulphur, with the
higher ash and sulphur contents in the coarser sizes. The coal had a fairly
typical size distribution, with 19.9% of the sample below 1.0mm in size.
The washability results showed that, although the coal had good washing
characteristics in terms of ash content, sulphur reduction would be more
difficult. Figure 2 shows the sulphur distribution for the plus-1mm
material.
60
50
Mass % of Feed
40 Sulphur Mass % Yield %
30
20
10
0
Floats at 1.30 1.30-1.40 1.4.0-1.50 1.50-1.60 1.60-1.80 1.80-2.00 Sinks at 2.00
RD Fraction
Figure 2. Beisu sulphur distribution (plus-1.0mm)
85% of the sulphur in the raw coal sulphur was in the plus-1.0mm size
fraction, with 28% in the floats at 1.3RD and 48% in the sinks at 2.0RD.
The results indicated that it would be possible to remove almost half of the
sulphur simply by separating the plus-1mm material at a high density.
However, the floats at 1.3RD still contained >2% sulphur.
The Dizong coal had a finer size distribution than the Beisu coal,
containing 36.6% minus-1mm material. Again, the coarser fractions were
higher in ash, with the 100-25mm fraction containing 59.2% ash and
10.53% sulphur. The Dizong coal had more difficult washability
characteristics than the Beisu coal, with a significant proportion of middle-
density material (middlings) present. However, the coal displayed
reasonable liberation characteristics with the finer fractions containing
fewer middlings and a higher proportion of floats at 1.3RD. The sulphur
distribution of the Dizong coal (plus-1.0mm) is shown in Figure 3.
1676 PS 238 24/3/00 11:39 am Page 4

DM Cyclone Clean Coal Discard

60 Reference Yield Ash Sul Ash Sul
RD % % % % %
50
1.28 T 59.8 4.1 2.42 38.5 8.09
Mass % of Feed

40 Sulphur Mass % Yield %

U 61.4 5.2 2.59 38.3 8.07
30 1.40 T 77.3 4.2 2.52 65.0 12.16
20 U 79.0 5.0 2.64 66.8 12.44

10
1.60 T 79.8 4.6 2.61 70.8 13.97
U 81.5 5.4 2.73 73.3 13.37
0
Floats at 1.30 1.30-1.40 1.4.0-1.50 1.50-1.60 1.60-1.80 1.80-2.00 Sinks at 2.00 T – Treated minus-0.125mm fraction
RD Fraction U – Untreated minus-0.125mm fraction
N.B. all results quoted on dry basis

Figure 3. Dizong sulphur distribution (plus-1.0mm) Table 2. Pr edicted results for Beisu coal

For this coal, 79% of the total sulphur mass was in the plus-1mm size with
59% in the sinks at 2.0RD. Therefore, simply by separating the plus-1mm
material at 2.0RD, almost 60% of the sulphur could be removed.
However, the coal still contained a significant amount of pyrite, with little
evidence of increased pyrite liberation in the finest sizes and it was felt
unlikely that the sulphur target of >1.5% could be achieved by coal-
cleaning alone.
The results indicated that the scheme could meet the lower product ash
target of 5% with relative ease. However, the results also showed that,
even with separation at a theoretical cut-point of 1.28RD, the sulphur
content could not be reduced below ~2.4%. Furthermore, this would be
at the expense of significant thermal loss, unless a market could be
identified for a separate middlings product. One possible option would be
to feed the middlings to a circulating fluidised-bed combustor (CFBC).

PROCESS SELECTION DIZONG COAL

Again, based on the process predictions, a DM plant was selected as the
The optimum process design for any sulphur reduction scheme depends on most suitable design for the Dizong coal. For this application, the plant
each individual application. In some cases, comminution of coals would would comprise a two-stage separation in DM cyclones for the 1-50mm
liberate additional pyritic sulphur but, unless there is evidence that this fraction, WOCs for the fines (nominally 0.125-1mm) fraction and froth
would bring significant benefits, comminution of raw coal should be flotation for the ultrafines (nominally minus-0.125mm) fraction. The
minimised. Usually, this is confined to crushing of middlings to increase primary separation would be carried out in the range 1.35-1.5RD to
liberation before secondary treatment. produce a high-quality primary product and the secondary separation
would be carried out at 1.7-2.0RD to produce a lower-quality coal for
In general, dense medium (DM) processes are preferred for cleaning plus-
another market. The results of the predictions are summarised in Table 3.
0.5mm coal because these provide the accuracy and flexibility of
separation required to optimise process performance. For
desulphurisation, two-stage DM separation would often be considered, DM Cyclone Clean Coal Discard
producing a low-sulphur premium product and a middlings product either Reference Yield Ash Sul Ash Sul
for another market or for crushing followed by further cleaning. RD % % % % %
1.35 T 44.5 10.2 1.73 51.9 7.58
Traditionally, froth flotation has been used to separate minus-0.5mm
material but, because froth flotation has often been found to be U 52.8 14.2 1.83 54.8 8.49
unselective in separating pyrite, alternative fine-coal cleaning processes, 1.4 T 48.6 10.8 1.77 51.3 8.02
such as spiral concentrators and upward current classifiers, are often U 56.9 14.3 1.86 58.6 9.11
considered. For sulphur removal from the finest (minus-0.063mm)
1.5 T 54.3 12.0 1.89 58.9 8.66
fractions, a range of enhanced gravity separators, such as the small-
diameter water-only cyclone (WOC), has been developed recently. As part U 62.6 15.1 1.96 64.1 10.05
of the process selection, the minus-0.063mm fractions of the two Chinese 1.6 T 57.5 12.9 2.00 61.1 9.00
coals were treated in a WOC and by froth flotation for comparison. The
U 65.8 15.7 2.05 67.4 10.61
results showed that the WOC was able to remove pyrite down to very fine
sizes and could be effective in reducing sulphur. 1.7 T 59.4 13.6 2.10 62.3 9.19
U 67.7 16.2 2.13 69.3 10.94
Having examined the washability data, and taking into account the local
product specifications, process prediction and plant design studies were Middlings T 10.7 26.3 3.59 62.3 9.19
carried out to optimise desulphurisation performance in each coal. (1.4-1.7) U 14.9 23.5 3.19 69.3 10.94
T – Treated minus-0.125mm fraction
BEISU COAL U – Untreated minus-0.125mm fraction
The process prediction studies confirmed that a DM plant would be the N.B. all results quoted on dry basis
most appropriate design for the Beisu coal. The proposed process would
Table 3. Pr edicted results for Dizong coal
consist of DM cyclones for the 1-50mm coal, two-stage spiral
concentrators for the 0.125-1mm coal and WOCs for the minus-0.125mm
coal. Although WOCs would be unnecessary for ash reduction, since the The minimum sulphur content achieved was 1.73% at a DM cyclone cut-
target ash content could be achieved without cleaning the fines, they point of 1.35RD. Although this was still above the desired target sulphur
could reduce the sulphur content of the final product by up to 0.2% content of 1.5%, there may be scope for blending the coal with a lower-
points. The predicted products from the proposed plant are shown in sulphur coal to meet the market requirement. It should also be noted that
Table 2. the application of advanced froth flotation technology may further reduce
product ash and sulphur contents.
1676 PS 238 24/3/00 11:39 am Page 1

SULPHUR DATABASE CONCLUSIONS AND

One of the objectives of the project was to establish a database of Chinese
high-sulphur coals. This database would contain the basic information
required to predict the desulphurisation potential of Chinese coals and
would be expanded as further coals were investigated.
The database was set up for use on a personal computer (PC) system,
using Foxpro and EXCEL software for data entry and manipulation. Once
the original washability data for each coal had been entered into the
database, the necessary calculations were made and the resulting data
were presented in a form ready for further manipulation and process
prediction. Altogether, 14 sub-routines were established using the Beisu
and Dizong results.
The database will provide a central information facility on sulphur
reduction for Chinese coals. As the sulphur database develops, it is
expected to play an increasingly important role in the establishment of
desulphurisation options.
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
ACTIVITIES
An important part of the project was to strengthen links between China
and the UK in the development of coal preparation technologies. The
project required considerable technical interaction between the UK and
China, not only to complete the technical activities but also to improve
understanding of coal preparation technology in each country.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Coal preparation experts from China and the UK collaborated to
investigate means of reducing sulphur in two high-sulphur Chinese coals.
This involved washability analysis, followed by application of process
prediction models to the washability data. Based on the results, process
designs were recommended for the two coals.
The results showed that, by carrying out DM separation at a low RD cut-
point, it would be possible to reduce the sulphur content of the Beisu coal
from >4.8% to ~2.4%, against a target of 1%. Similarly, it would be
possible to reduce the sulphur content of the Dizong coal from >5.1% to
<1.8%, against a target of 1.5%. Both schemes would also produce a
higher-sulphur middlings product, possibly for combustion in a CFBC.
A sulphur database of Chinese coals was also established. This database
will be extended as new data become available and will play an important
role in the establishment of desulphurisation options.
The project involved considerable interaction and established a solid basis
for developing further collaboration between China and the UK in coal
preparation.

Given the short duration of the project, it was felt unlikely that the UK
partners would gain a full understanding of the development needs of
China’s coal preparation industry. It was decided, therefore, that the best
approach would be to demonstrate current UK practice in coal preparation
to the Chinese partners. In this way, they could identify the specific coal
preparation technologies that could benefit China.

During technical exchanges to the UK, Chinese experts visited a number of

coal preparation plant equipped with modern processing equipment and
process control systems. In addition, they visited research facilities at the
University of Nottingham and the manufacturing facilities of the two coal
preparation companies. During visits to China, coal preparation experts
from the UK visited CCRI’s TCPI in addition to the two coal mining areas
being studied. Figure 4 shows Chinese and UK representatives outside the
Institute during the initial visit to Tangshan.

Figure 4. Chinese and UK representatives at CCRI in Tangshan

for the

Department of Trade and Industry

DTI/Pub URN 00/505