ABSTRACT
The main objective of beneficiation of coal is to recover as much lump coal as possible. The fines generated during the mining, size reduction and beneficiation are discarded as plant refuse. However, during the past few years, more emphasis is on fine coal because of the following factors:
1 Increasing use of coal instead of oil or natural gas to generate electric power 2 Increasingly stringent environmental controls for burning the coal and for the
disposal of refuse 3 Increased mechanization in the coal mines, which results in more fines in ROM
coal 4 Increasing need to beneficiate every part of coal deposit to conserve the coal
As a result, more and more emphasis is being placed on processing the fine-size coal to recover usable coal and minimize the amount discarded as refuse. Considerable research effort is currently being expended to develop new processes.
