Washability of Coal from Seams IV and VIII of the Tavantolgoi Deposit

Abstract

Samples from the Tavantolgoi coal deposit were analyzed by petrographic, elemental, FT-IR, XRD, and float-and-sink tests. The deposit is Permian age and characterized by lithotypes that are bright, semi-bright, semi-dull, and dull. Microscopically identified macerals in the deposit are fusinite and vitrinite components and minerals. The inorganic elements in the deposit are Si and Al, indicating an abundance of aluminum silicates, followed by Fe, Cu, and Ca in decreasing order. Ash in the deposit is silica type, in which the point of fusibility is usually higher than the other types. Float-and-sink tests show that the ash in seam IV can be separated easily from coal, whereas the ash in seam VIII has medium degree of difficulty of separation.