Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the removal behavior of metallic elements including major and trace elements during the organic solvent extraction. An attempt was made to examine the partitioning of metallic elements from a raw coal to its HyperCoal and its by-product coal (residue). Good mass closure was obtained for all major elements and most trace elements by means of the advanced analytical technique. It was found that beside high removal of major elements, most trace elements were removed to a large extent but trace elements in HyperCoal had a higher proportion to major elements than those in raw coal. Cr, Ni, and Cu were observed to be susceptible to the contamination during the HyperCoal production process. Furthermore, the sequential acid leaching method was used to characterize the modes of occurrence of metallic elements in coal, and this information was provided to discuss the removal behavior of metallic elements by the organic solvent extraction.
