Coking coal is geologically scarce resource and most of them cannot be directly used in steel making due to their higher sulfur content. One desulfurization method that has great potential for massive application is microwave desulfurization, which removes the relatively stubborn organic sulfur under mild conditions. The dielectric properties of coals determine the efficiency of the microwave energy absorption. The key to describing the mechanism of microwave desulfurization and further improvement of the desulfurization efficiency is the dielectric response of organic sulfur compounds in coal to microwave. This study focuses on existing formand microwave response of organic sulfur components of three typical coking coal in China. Resultsshowed that the major organic sulfur in selected coals is thiophene which has a stable structure and is the most difficult to be removed. Several dielectric peaks (dielectric loss)andsignificant differencesofeach selected coal samples are observed. The microwave absorption peaks of the model sulfur compounds are identified to be within 9-11GHz. The real parts of the relative dielectric constants (hereinafter referred to as ε′) shows a decreasing trend as: diphenyl sulfoxide > diphenyl sulfone > diphenyl sulfide > dibenzothiophene > Octadecane thiol. Response to microwaveare observed to be distinctively different between sulfur-containing and sulfur-free model compounds. The dielectric polarization of mixture (coal mixed with model sulfur compounds) is greater than pure coal. Meanwhile the higher the sulfur content of the coal, the greater the ε′ is. Sulfur componentsin coal can significantly influence its polarization.

The jet flow field is characterized by the dispersion and mixing of multiphase flow, which is widely used in the field of coal slime flotation. In this paper, the behavior of coal slime surface modification, the behavior of material suspension and the effect of different jet fluids on coal slurry blending were studied. Based on the action mechanism of the jet flow field, a jet device suitable for coal slime graded mixing was proposed, and the mixing effect of the jet device was tested. The results show that the jet flow field has strong effects on material dissociation and dispersion, and the mixing effect of a single jet is equivalent to that of the laser particle size analyzer’s own agitation device after stirring for 2.5 min at 500 r/min speed. The SEM test of material surface morphology and the changes of Al and Si elements measured by EDS show that the jet flow field can effectively remove the fine mud wrapped on the surface of coal particles. The precondition of material suspension is to have the just-suspended capacity. The critical jet velocity of coal slime suspension is in the range of 6 m/s~9 m/s. The mixing ability of the jet stream has certain limitations. The increase or decrease of the jet height will cause the decrease of the suspension percentage of sampling points in the tank. The gas jet mode can promote the reagent acting on the surface of the bubble liquid film to form oil bubbles, which is more suitable for hydrophobic mineral flotation. The optimal speed of the gas jet is 0.86 m/s, and the shortest cycle period is 1.0 T (T is one material cycle period). The flotation perfection index of 0.5–0.25 mm and less than 0.075 mm coal slime increased by 2.67% and 26.78%, respectively, indicating that the overall idea of the jet mixing device proposed based on the experimental conclusion is feasible.

There are still many problems in the stirring dissolution of flocculants: The law of stirring dissolution of flocculants with different molecular weights is not clear, the microstructure of settling floc with different particle sizes of coal slime is still to be explored, and how to apply the law of flocculant dissolution to industrialization? To solve these problems, firstly, mechanical stirring dissolution tests are carried out on anionic polyacrylamide (APAM) with different molecular weights to explore the stirring dissolution law of APAM with 3–25 million molecular weights. Results indicated that the optimal stirring speed of APAM with 3–6 million molecular weight is 800 r/min. The optimal stirring speed of 8–16 million molecular weight APAM is 600 r/min. The optimal stirring speed of 18–25 million molecular weight APAM is 800 r/min. The stirring power formula for APAM dissolution is improved by fitting the experimental data of 3–25 million molecular weight APAM stirring dissolution. Secondly, through APAM performance test, it is verified that the solubility of powdered APAM is the best under optimal solution. Thirdly, through the image measurement and analysis test of settling floc of coal slime, the change law of equivalent diameter of settling floc of different particle sizes of coal slime under the optimal dissolution parameters are explored. Results showed that when the mixing speed is 600 r/min, the equivalent diameter of −0.5 mm slime settling floc is the largest. When the mixing speed is 200 r/min or 400 r/min, the equivalent diameters of 0.5–0.25 mm, 0.25–0.125 mm, 0.125–0.075 mm, 0.075–0.045 mm and −0.045 mm slime settling floc are the largest. The equivalent diameter is positively correlated with the size of slime, and the equivalent diameter of −0.045 mm slime settling floc is the largest. The size of slime is the dominant factor in the change of fractal dimension. The fractal dimension of −0.5 mm slime settling floc is the largest, and the fractal dimension is little affected by mixing speed. Finally, the relationship between the important dissolution parameters of the APAM stirring dissolution test is numerically fitted. In view of the different geometrical parameters of the stirring barrel, a method of deducing the dissolution and stirring time of industrial flocculants is proposed.

The desulfurization efficiency, combustion properties, combustion kinetics, and structural changes of Kentucky coal under microwave irradiation (MI) combined with hydrochloric acid solution pickling were investigated and compared using a thermogravimetric analyzer coupled to a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The results show that the desulfurization rate increases with the concentration of hydrochloric acid solution. The introduction of MI can effectively improve the desulfurization efficiency. After desulfurization, the ignition temperature and burnout temperature of coal samples increase, the combustion index decreases, and the combustion performance deteriorates. The maximum weight loss rate decreases with the increase of the concentration of hydrochloric acid solution, and the activation energy of the coal sample after microwave treatment increases, and the reaction difficulty increases. The infrared analysis results show that MI and hydrochloric acid pickling treatment have little effect on the functional group structure of coal samples.

In this study, the combined combustion characteristics and gaseous product emissions of coal slime and corn stover were compared at different blending ratios. The TG-DTG curves indicate that the optimal performance is achieved when the corn straw blending ratio is 20%. Furthermore, the TG-FTIR coupling results demonstrated an increase in gas species as the blending ratio increased. The composition analysis of ash samples formed at various combustion temperatures using XRD and XRF indicated that a portion of KCl in the fuel was released as volatile matter, while another part reacted with Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ components in the slime to form silica–aluminate compounds and other substances. Notably, interactions between the components of slime and potassium elements in corn stover primarily occurred within the temperature range of 800–1000 °C. These findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of biomass and coal co-firing combustion chemistry, offering potential applications for enhancing energy efficiency and reducing emissions in industrial processes.