Acid Tar Waste Beneficiation Through Blending with Coal

Abstract

The possibility of blending acid tar waste with coal as a beneficiation method was explored in this work. It was essential to first establish the material properties of the acid tar and coal samples together with that of the blends in terms of proximate analyses. The acid tar waste to coal blending ratios of 3:1, 1:1 and 1:3 were used. It was observed that acid tar waste exhibited high volatile and moisture content with low ash and carbon content when compared with coal. When compared with coal; a 3:1 blending ratio exhibited 56.9 % and 7.6 % reduction in ash and fixed carbon respectively and on the contrary a 38.1 % increase in volatile matter was observed. An opposite trend was obtained with 1:3 blend ratio. The 1:1 blend ratio was found to decrease the volatile and ash content by 8.3 % and 52.7 % respectively whilst fixed carbon boosted by 4.2 %. The choice for the blending ratio to apply is a trade-off between fixed carbon and volatile matter. If volatile matter is of any significance then a 3:1 mixture would be ideal; such a mixture will aid in easier ignition of coal.  On the other hand a 1:3 binary mixture yields a higher fixed carbon fraction, whose effect is to boost the calorific value of the fuel, an excellent factor for combustion. Overall however, it makes economic sense to blend coal with acid tar waste for enhancing sustainability.