Impact of anthracite blending and SDS addition on slurryability and stability of Indian high ash coal water slurry

The conventional modes of transporting coal frequently result in substantial fiscal challenges and environmental deterioration. Slurry-based hydraulic transportation of coal through pipelines has proven to be a feasible and efficient method, offering economic benefits, reliability and minimal ecological damage. Due to the limited and rapidly depleting reserves of high-rank coal, the scientific community is compelled to utilize high ash coal (HAC) to meet the growing demands of the population. The HAC slurry is characterized by poor slurryability, stability and low calorific value. This research presents a straightforward solution to enhance the slurryability and stability of Indian HAC while improving its calorific value. Anthracite and anionic additive sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were added in Indian HAC to prepare a high solid loading blended slurry with improved stability. The rheological characteristics, stability and zeta potential of prepared slurry samples were assessed and analyzed to determine the optimum anthracite proportion and SDS concentration. The optimum anthracite proportion and SDS concentration for low apparent viscosity and maximum stability were 30% and 0.6%, respectively. The inclusion of anthracite and SDS at optimal proportion yielded a slurry with 66% solid concentration, indicating a surge of 14% in the maximum possible solid loading.