Performance optimization and parametric evaluation of coal deashing and desulfurization in a heavy-medium enhanced gravity field

High-efficiency deashing and desulfurization of fine coal is an inevitable trend in the comprehensive utilization of coal resources. This work introducing heavy-medium into the enhanced gravity field to examine the effect of each parameter on the performance of fine coal separation. On this basis, the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was conducted to study the influential significance of parameters, parametric interactions, and performance optimization of fine coal separation in the heavy-medium enhanced gravity field. The feed dosage and heavy-medium density influence the separation indexes obviously by changing the sorting environment, while the rotational frequency and recoil water pressure affect the separation effect apparently by adjusting the force on particles. The performance optimization results showed that the desired separation indexes – ηt of 81.11%, ηa of 80.00%, β of 44.93%, and λ of 44.76% can be obtained under the optimal combination of parameter levels – M of 27.23 g, ρ of 1.4 g/cm3, f of 30 Hz, and P of 0.03 Mpa. The verification experiments were carried out and the results were consistent with the results of performance optimization. The introduction of heavy-medium provides a new efficient way for the deashing and desulfurization of fine-grained high-sulfur coal in the enhanced gravity field.