Demineralization of Indian Coal by Using Solvents

Coal is most important fossil fuel in the world. Availability of coal is three times greater than that of the crude oil. Ash content of Indian coal is very high ranging from 15% to 55% [1]. High ash Indian coals are unsuitable for efficient use in carbonization, combustion, gasification, liquefaction etc purpose. Demineralisation is process of coal upgrading. The extraction yield depends strongly on the coal particle size, solvent and extraction conditions. This study shows maximum removal of ash content of Indian coal by using two solvents Dimethylformamide (DMF) & Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). This study also highlighted how ash removal of coal by using solvents increased with decreasing particle size due to the liberation of ash particles from lump [15]. Comparative studies between DMF and DMSO solvent have been done and experimental results shows that DMSO is best solvent for a particular size of coal particle. It is maximum reduction of ash is found to be 26.93%.