Liberation and release of rare earth minerals from Middle Kittanning, Fire Clay, and West Kentucky No. 13 coal sources

Qingqing Huang; Aaron Noble; John Herbst; Rick Honaker

doi:10.1016/j.powtec.2018.03.063

Liberation and release of rare earth minerals from Middle Kittanning, Fire Clay, and West Kentucky No. 13 coal sources

Qingqing Huang, Aaron Noble, John Herbst, Rick Honaker

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

A laboratory REE release test procedure was designed to better understand the association and liberation characteristics of rare earth elements (REEs) from coal-based material, such as coal middlings and refuse. For this particular study, three samples of mixed-phase, middling material was collected from three coal preparation plants operating in three different coal basins and coal seams, namely Fire Clay, Middle Kittanning, and West Kentucky #13. In these release tests, the mixed-phase material was first ground in a laboratory ball mill for a designated amount of time and subsequently decarbonized using staged flotation. The REE content of the high ash tailings and low ash concentrate was determined, and the process was repeated for various target grind sizes down to the micron range. The results indicate that smaller grind sizes produce increased REE concentrations in the high ash tailings, and this result is predominantly driven by the increased ash content in the decarbonized tailings. The grinding characteristics of the Fire Clay coal source showed that more energy is needed to achieve the desired particle size reduction; however further size reduction of this sample resulted in a significantly higher ash and REE content in the tailings material due to improved liberation. For the Middle Kittanning and West Kentucky #13 sources, the grinding and release data indicates that the mineral matter is liberated at a coarser particle size, and micronizing the coals only produces marginal improvements in rare earth mineral liberation and recovery.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	242-252
Number of pages	11
Journal	Powder Technology
Volume	332
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2018.03.063
State	Published - Jun 1 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier B.V.

Funding

The findings presented in this manuscript were based on a study that was supported by the Department of Energy under Award Number DE-FE0027035. Disclaimer: This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

Funders	Funder number
United States Government
U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory U.S. Department of Energy National Science Foundation National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center	DE-FE0027035
U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory U.S. Department of Energy National Science Foundation National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center

Keywords

Association
Coal
Flotation
Grindability
Liberation
Rare earth elements

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Chemical Engineering

Access to Document

10.1016/j.powtec.2018.03.063

Cite this

@article{9db495e2283c4a4ea49cb662910aeb2e,

title = "Liberation and release of rare earth minerals from Middle Kittanning, Fire Clay, and West Kentucky No. 13 coal sources",

abstract = "A laboratory REE release test procedure was designed to better understand the association and liberation characteristics of rare earth elements (REEs) from coal-based material, such as coal middlings and refuse. For this particular study, three samples of mixed-phase, middling material was collected from three coal preparation plants operating in three different coal basins and coal seams, namely Fire Clay, Middle Kittanning, and West Kentucky \#13. In these release tests, the mixed-phase material was first ground in a laboratory ball mill for a designated amount of time and subsequently decarbonized using staged flotation. The REE content of the high ash tailings and low ash concentrate was determined, and the process was repeated for various target grind sizes down to the micron range. The results indicate that smaller grind sizes produce increased REE concentrations in the high ash tailings, and this result is predominantly driven by the increased ash content in the decarbonized tailings. The grinding characteristics of the Fire Clay coal source showed that more energy is needed to achieve the desired particle size reduction; however further size reduction of this sample resulted in a significantly higher ash and REE content in the tailings material due to improved liberation. For the Middle Kittanning and West Kentucky \#13 sources, the grinding and release data indicates that the mineral matter is liberated at a coarser particle size, and micronizing the coals only produces marginal improvements in rare earth mineral liberation and recovery.",

keywords = "Association, Coal, Flotation, Grindability, Liberation, Rare earth elements",

author = "Qingqing Huang and Aaron Noble and John Herbst and Rick Honaker",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2017 Elsevier B.V.",

year = "2018",

month = jun,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.powtec.2018.03.063",

language = "English",

volume = "332",

pages = "242--252",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Liberation and release of rare earth minerals from Middle Kittanning, Fire Clay, and West Kentucky No. 13 coal sources

AU - Huang, Qingqing

AU - Noble, Aaron

AU - Herbst, John

AU - Honaker, Rick

PY - 2018/6/1

Y1 - 2018/6/1

N2 - A laboratory REE release test procedure was designed to better understand the association and liberation characteristics of rare earth elements (REEs) from coal-based material, such as coal middlings and refuse. For this particular study, three samples of mixed-phase, middling material was collected from three coal preparation plants operating in three different coal basins and coal seams, namely Fire Clay, Middle Kittanning, and West Kentucky #13. In these release tests, the mixed-phase material was first ground in a laboratory ball mill for a designated amount of time and subsequently decarbonized using staged flotation. The REE content of the high ash tailings and low ash concentrate was determined, and the process was repeated for various target grind sizes down to the micron range. The results indicate that smaller grind sizes produce increased REE concentrations in the high ash tailings, and this result is predominantly driven by the increased ash content in the decarbonized tailings. The grinding characteristics of the Fire Clay coal source showed that more energy is needed to achieve the desired particle size reduction; however further size reduction of this sample resulted in a significantly higher ash and REE content in the tailings material due to improved liberation. For the Middle Kittanning and West Kentucky #13 sources, the grinding and release data indicates that the mineral matter is liberated at a coarser particle size, and micronizing the coals only produces marginal improvements in rare earth mineral liberation and recovery.

AB - A laboratory REE release test procedure was designed to better understand the association and liberation characteristics of rare earth elements (REEs) from coal-based material, such as coal middlings and refuse. For this particular study, three samples of mixed-phase, middling material was collected from three coal preparation plants operating in three different coal basins and coal seams, namely Fire Clay, Middle Kittanning, and West Kentucky #13. In these release tests, the mixed-phase material was first ground in a laboratory ball mill for a designated amount of time and subsequently decarbonized using staged flotation. The REE content of the high ash tailings and low ash concentrate was determined, and the process was repeated for various target grind sizes down to the micron range. The results indicate that smaller grind sizes produce increased REE concentrations in the high ash tailings, and this result is predominantly driven by the increased ash content in the decarbonized tailings. The grinding characteristics of the Fire Clay coal source showed that more energy is needed to achieve the desired particle size reduction; however further size reduction of this sample resulted in a significantly higher ash and REE content in the tailings material due to improved liberation. For the Middle Kittanning and West Kentucky #13 sources, the grinding and release data indicates that the mineral matter is liberated at a coarser particle size, and micronizing the coals only produces marginal improvements in rare earth mineral liberation and recovery.

KW - Association

KW - Coal

KW - Flotation

KW - Grindability

KW - Liberation

KW - Rare earth elements

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85044925041&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85044925041&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.powtec.2018.03.063

DO - 10.1016/j.powtec.2018.03.063

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85044925041

SN - 0032-5910

VL - 332

SP - 242

EP - 252

JO - Powder Technology

JF - Powder Technology

ER -

Liberation and release of rare earth minerals from Middle Kittanning, Fire Clay, and West Kentucky No. 13 coal sources

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this