Coal washing improvement by determination of optimal mixture of feed blends

Coals from different mines are feed in the Zirab plant without any control on weight percentage blending of them. Three major coal types of different ranks (Kiasar, Lavidj and Karmozd) were blended in various proportions to find an optimum condition in flotation circuit in Alborz Markazi coal washing plant. Flotation tests were conducted for prepared blended coal samples to assess floatability of various coal samples. In this paper, mixture design as a statistical method was used to optimize coal blend to increase recovery and grade in Zirab coal washing plant. The statistical analysis showed that the weight percent blending of different coals and interaction between Lavidj and Karmozd regions coal had significant effects on the coal recovery. The optimum condition of 95% recovery and 12% ash content could be reached with 10%, 20%, and 70% blending portion of Kiasar, Lavidj and Karmozd regions coal, respectively.