Improving separation efficiency of 6-1 mm coal by introducing vibration energy to dense medium gas-solid fluidized bed

Effects of the vibration energy on the fluidization quality and separation performance of dense medium gas-solid fluidized bed were investigated experimentally. The magnetite powder with a wide size range of 0.3-0.074 mm was utilized as the basic medium solids. 6-1 mm fine coal sample from Yongcheng (China) was used to perform the separation experiments. The results indicate that the vibration amplitude A and superficial gas velocity U are greatly significant to the fluidization stability and the density distribution uniformity. Comparing with the bed without vibration, the optimal SP and Sρ values of 0.034 kPa and 0.018 g/cm3 are acquired in vibration bed with the operating factors of A = 1 mm, U = 1.8Umf, f = 15 Hz and Hs = 150 mm. The coal ash content was reduced from 27.84% to 9.50% at a separating density of 1.68 g/cm3 with a probable error E value of 0.505. The separation efficiency of 6-1mm fine coal is effectively improved by introducing vibration energy to dense medium gas-solid fluidized bed. The technology provides a novel approach to achieve high-efficiency separation of 6-1 mm fine coal in the arid and water-shortage areas.