Upgrade of low rank coal by using emulsified asphalt and its application for preparation of coal water slurry with high concentration

The hydrophilic surface and developed pore structure restricted the application of abundant low rank coals (LRC) for the preparation of coal water slurry (CWS) with high concentration. In this work, emulsified asphalt was applied as an effective and low cost modifier to modify coal surface and improve the slurry making performance of LRC. The successful modification was verified by various technologies, such as chemical titration, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Zeta potential measurements. The results revealed that the oxygen containing groups located at LRC surface were covered by emulsified asphalt, which further caused the decrease of Zeta potential. The influence of modification on wettability of coal was also evaluated by contact angle and moisture re-adsorption. It showed that the hydrophobicity of LRC significantly increased, which is accompanied with the reduction of inherent moisture. Besides, the results of nitrogen adsorption and scanning electron microscope (SEM) verified that the hydrophobic layer formed by emulsified asphalt blocked the pores of LRC. The modified LRC also exhibited better adsorption ability to the widely used anionic dispersant naphthalene sulfonate formaldehyde condensate (NSF) than that of raw coal (RC) and microwave dehydration coal (MDC). Anyhow, modified LRC possessed the characteristics as high rank coal. Afterwards, modified coal was applied to prepare CWS. The results showed that CWS prepared by modified LRC exhibited superior slurry making performance as compared to RC and MDC. The surface modification reduced the inherent moisture and promoted the adsorption of dispersant, which increased the free water amount and enhanced electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance among coal particles. Accordingly, the maximum concentration for CWS increased, and the static stability enhanced.