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Minerals
Special Issues
Recent Developments in the Technology and Equipment for Coal Beneficiation
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Recent Developments in the Technology and Equipment for Coal Beneficiation

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (26 September 2025) | Viewed by 2873

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Zhijun Zhang

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Guest Editor
School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Interests: coal preparation; particle–bubble interaction; coal tailing water treatment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yinfei Liao

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Guest Editor
Chinese National Engineering Research Center of Coal Preparation and Purification, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Interests: froth flotaion; coal–collector interaction; bubble–particle interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Guichuan Ye

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Guest Editor
College of Mining Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Interests: coal preparation; physical separation; multiphase flow
Dr. Fardis Nakhaei

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Guest Editor
Department of Mining & Explosives Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, McNutt Hall, Rolla, MO 65409, USA
Interests: flotation; ultra-fine particle processing; surface chemistry; coal preparation; modelling; artificial intelligent; image analysis, nano-bubbles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Coal is an energy resource of great abundance. Coal, an organic sedimentary rock, is upgraded in coal beneficiation unit operations, which reduce its content of impurities. Coal beneficiation includes physical processes that upgrade the quality of coal by regulating its size and reducing the content of mineral matter (expressed as ash, sulfur, etc.). The major unit operations are classification (screening), cleaning (washing, beneficiation), crushing and solid/liquid separation which also includes dewatering by drying. While gravity concentration (dense-medium baths, jigs, dense-medium cyclones, etc.) is the dominant cleaning method for coarse and intermediate coal size fractions, flotation is the dominant cleaning method for fine-size fractions. This Special Issue aims to contribute to the disclosure of recent developments in the technology and equipment for coal beneficiation.

Prof. Dr. Zhijun Zhang
Dr. Yinfei Liao
Dr. Guichuan Ye 
Dr. Fardis Nakhaei
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • coal beneficiation
  • coal preparation
  • flotation
  • gravity separation
  • classification
  • dewatering

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 5900 KB  
Article
Experimental Investigation on the Adaptability Between Operating and Second-Stage Structural Parameters of a Three-Product Dense Medium Cyclone and Feed Characteristics
by Gengyuan Zhang, Wenli Liu and Qiming Zhuo
Minerals 2026, 16(2), 181; https://doi.org/10.3390/min16020181 - 7 Feb 2026
Viewed by 542
Abstract
The Three-Product Dense Medium Cyclone (TPDMC) has been widely applied in the coal preparation industry, yet the adaptive optimization of its parameters based on feed characteristics remains under-researched. This study utilizes a semi-industrial experimental platform with a JX300/240 TPDMC to investigate the influence [...] Read more.
The Three-Product Dense Medium Cyclone (TPDMC) has been widely applied in the coal preparation industry, yet the adaptive optimization of its parameters based on feed characteristics remains under-researched. This study utilizes a semi-industrial experimental platform with a JX300/240 TPDMC to investigate the influence of pump frequency (PF) and four second-stage structural parameters—cylindrical section length (L2cy), overflow pipe insertion depth (Dep2o), overflow pipe diameter (D2o), and conical section length (L2co)—on the separation performance of three feed materials with distinct washability characteristics. Experiments conducted with density tracer particles revealed a distinct hydrodynamic coupling effect: PF and D2o were the only factors modulating inlet pressure (varying from 0.12 to 0.45 bar), which directly altered the clean coal yield. In contrast, L2cy, Dep2o, and L2co primarily influenced the second-stage internal flow field and concentration effect, thereby affecting the yield and ash content of middling coal (gangue). To quantify feed-specific sensitivities, a new index, Near-Gravity-Range Material (NGRM), was proposed. Results demonstrated that Sample-3 exhibited the highest sensitivity to parameter variations, with its middling coal yield variation reaching 41.25% due to its high NGRM of 71%. Furthermore, statistical analyses were conducted to quantify the influence of each parameter on the heavy product partition ratio across different density fractions. Based on these findings, the following targeted optimization strategies are proposed: (1) for feeds rich in the 1.40–1.50 RD range, increasing PF or decreasing D2o is recommended to enhance clean coal yield; (2) for materials dominated by the 1.7 ± 0.10 RD fraction, increasing D2o, PF, or L2cy maximizes middling coal recovery; and (3) for feeds high in the 1.90 ± 0.10 RD fraction, reducing Dep2o, PF, L2cy, or L2co effectively minimizes middling coal contamination by high-density particles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in the Technology and Equipment for Coal Beneficiation)
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25 pages, 7999 KB  
Article
Stage-Optimized Intensification of Spiral Separation: Process Deconstruction and a Novel Spiral Separator Design
by Mingsheng Xia, Guichuan Ye, Qingxiang Liu, Xianshu Dong, Yuanpeng Fu, Xiaomin Ma, Shiqi Liu, Ruxia Chen, Chi Zhang and Baoshan Zhu
Minerals 2026, 16(2), 153; https://doi.org/10.3390/min16020153 - 29 Jan 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 702
Abstract
The dynamic migration of mineral particles within spiral separators and its control via structural parameters are not yet fully understood, hindering efficiency improvements. To this end, a set of spiral separators with systematically adjusted structural parameters was designed. Extensive sampling of a 1–0.25 [...] Read more.
The dynamic migration of mineral particles within spiral separators and its control via structural parameters are not yet fully understood, hindering efficiency improvements. To this end, a set of spiral separators with systematically adjusted structural parameters was designed. Extensive sampling of a 1–0.25 mm coal slurry yielded 120 samples from 6 separators, across 5 turns and 4 radial streams. Sink-float analysis revealed a well-defined three-stage separation mechanism: the roughing stage involves rapid segregation of light and heavy particles, while intermediate-density particles remain widely distributed; the intensified cleaning stage governs the radial migration of intermediate-density particles while simultaneously enriching the high-density and low-density fractions; and the final cleaning stage stabilizes the particle distribution and redirects misplaced particles. The influence of key structural parameters was also quantified: the composite cross-section outperformed cubic parabolic and elliptical profiles, markedly enhancing the separation of high-density and medium-high-density particles from the lighter product; increasing the trough inclination angle significantly promoted the radial inward migration of medium-high-density particles; a reduced pitch-to-diameter ratio effectively concentrated high-density and medium-high-density particles within inner and middle regions. Based on these insights, a “process intensification” strategy was proposed and materialized in a novel spiral separator design featuring stage-optimized, multi-parameter coordination. Performance evaluation demonstrated a separation efficiency of 94.74% under equivalent product quality constraints, a substantial improvement over conventional design. This work provides a fundamental, stage-specific understanding of particle separation dynamics and establishes a practical basis for the advanced design of high-efficiency spiral separation systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in the Technology and Equipment for Coal Beneficiation)
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14 pages, 5130 KB  
Article
Study on the Drying Characteristics of Moist Fine Lignite in a Dense Gas–Solid Separation Fluidized Bed
by Huicheng Lei, Tengfeng Wan, Tingguan Chen, Bingbing Ma, Zongxu Yao, Bao Xu, Qingfei Wang and Xuan Xu
Minerals 2025, 15(10), 1039; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15101039 - 30 Sep 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 696
Abstract
Coal serves as a cornerstone and stabilizer for China’s energy security; utilizing it in a clean and efficient manner aligns with the current national energy situation. The moisture content of coal is a crucial factor affecting its calorific value and separation efficiency. Therefore, [...] Read more.
Coal serves as a cornerstone and stabilizer for China’s energy security; utilizing it in a clean and efficient manner aligns with the current national energy situation. The moisture content of coal is a crucial factor affecting its calorific value and separation efficiency. Therefore, enhancing the drying rate while simultaneously reducing the moisture content in coal is essential to improve separation efficiency. This paper primarily investigates the drying and separation characteristics of wet fine coal particles within a gas–solid fluidized bed system. A hot gas–solid fluidized bed was employed to study the particle fluidization behavior, heat–mass transfer, and agglomeration drying properties under varying airflow temperatures. The results indicate that as the airflow temperature increases, the minimum fluidization velocity tends to decrease. Additionally, with an increase in bed height, the particle temperature correspondingly decreases, leading to weakened heat exchange capability in the upper layer of the bed. Faster heating rates facilitate rapid moisture removal while minimizing agglomeration formation. The lower the proportion of moisture and magnetite powder present, the less force is required to break apart particle agglomerates. The coal drying process exhibits distinct stages. Within a temperature range of 75 °C to 100 °C, there is a significant enhancement in drying rate, while issues such as particle fragmentation or pore structure collapse are avoided at elevated temperatures. This research aims to provide foundational insights into effective drying processes for wet coal particles in gas–solid fluidized beds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in the Technology and Equipment for Coal Beneficiation)
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