Chemical Coal Cleaning Assessments at Gulf

Abstract

Extensive work has been conducted at Gulf Research & Development Company over the past 5 years to assess the feasibility of commercializing chemical coal cleaning technologies. Elements of this work are reviewed in this paper. It is concluded that the use of chemical cleaning will await the development of markets for premium coals and the start of new market-oriented strategies by coal companies. The trend by electric utilities toward the use of more efficient fuels and the need to pay out high cost coal reserves may force coal companies to develop premium fuels for improving market share. Significant use of chemical methods in coal preparation is a distinct possibility in the future because of developments now under way in the use of coal as an alternative hydrocarbon feedstock in chemicals and fuels applications. The potential for chemical preparation of low-ash and low-sulfur coal for these new applications is discussed.