Coal recovery from fines cleaning wastes by agglomeration with colza oil: a contribution to the environment and energy preservation

The objectives of this work were to recover high-calorific value/low-ash content coals from coal fines cleaning wastes by agglomeration with colza oil and to decrease the risk of spontaneous combustion of the dump where the coal wastes are disposed of. Three Spanish coal fines wastes from different coal cleaning plants were agglomerated with refined colza oil over a wide range of oil concentration. The results were evaluated by the percentages of organic matter recovery and ash rejection as well as the ash content of the recovered coal and the amount of organic matter remaining in the dump after oil agglomeration. It was concluded that the agglomeration of coal fines wastes with colza oil allows the recovery of significant amounts of energy that is currently wasted and reduces the risk of spontaneous combustion of coal dumps as well as the amount of coal fines wastes to be handled and disposed of.