| Abstract: | Antisolvent addition to coal liquids causes the precipitation of asphaltenes on mineral particles and increases their sedimentation rate. This paper develops a mathematical model of the sedimentation rate of a single particle or agglomerate of particles. It was found that if the difference in density between the solid and the precipitate is more than twice the difference in density between the precipite and the liquid, the sedimentation rate would decrease initially upon precipitation. A simple experiment was performed to confirm the prediction. Further it was found that the agglomeration of particles had a stronger effect upon the sedimentation than the changes in particle size. |
