Advanced reclamation of coal refuse ponds

A vast number of coal refuse ponds represent a significant economical resource base that may also be considered to be environmentally harmful. The fine coal fraction in a preparation plant consists of the purest particles in the entire preparation plant and, thus, if recovered, could enhance the quality of the plant product. However, until recently, the ability to effectively recover fine coal has been limited due to the lack of efficient fine particle separation technologies. As a result, a large portion of the fine coal produced in the US during this century has been disposed into refuse pond along with the acid producing components of the associated gangue material. Research conducted by Southern Illinois University scientists has found that advanced fine coal cleaning technologies can be used to recover high quality coal from refuse ponds while also utilizing a novel technique for neutralizing the acid generation potential of the pyrite-rich reject stream. Various circuitry arrangements will be discussed and metallurgical results presented in this publication.