Flotation and leaching of hard coals for production of low-ash clean coal

Coal has been one of the most important fossil fuels meeting the world`s commercial energy demand for decades. The use of coal in electricity production is an inevitable alternative for developing countries such as Turkey. This study focused on the cleaning process of Zonguldak coal for the production of low ash, low sulphur, and high-calorie coal concentrate. Flotation and atmospheric/autoclave leaching experiments were applied for this purpose. A product with 1% ash, 0.37% sulphur and 8390 kCal/kg of calorific value was obtained under the best experimental conditions.