초록 ▼

A method of providing a controlled batch of micrometer-sized or nanometer-sized coal material. This method includes the steps of: (a) specifying at least one desired physical and/or chemical parameter of the controlled batch of coal material; (b) specifying the desired range of the physical and/or c

A method of providing a controlled batch of micrometer-sized or nanometer-sized coal material. This method includes the steps of: (a) specifying at least one desired physical and/or chemical parameter of the controlled batch of coal material; (b) specifying the desired range of the physical and/or chemical parameter in the controlled batch of coal material; (c) obtaining a feedstock batch of coal material; and (d) processing a feedstock batch of coal material to obtain the controlled batch of coal material having the at least one specified physical and/or chemical parameter in the specified range thereof. In a further step, the controlled batch of coal material can be activated.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A method of providing a controlled batch of nanometer-sized coal material, comprising the steps of: (a) specifying at least one desired physical and/or chemical parameter of the controlled batch of coal material; (b) specifying the desired range of the physical and/or c

The invention claimed is: 1. A method of providing a controlled batch of nanometer-sized coal material, comprising the steps of: (a) specifying at least one desired physical and/or chemical parameter of the controlled batch of coal material; (b) specifying the desired range of the physical and/or chemical parameter that is to be deliberately provided in the controlled batch of coal material; (c) obtaining a feedstock batch of coal material for use in obtaining the specified physical and/or chemical parameter of the end product by at least one of the following: 1) performing ultimate analysis for carbon, hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen composition; 2) performing proximate analysis for at least one of ash, volatile, fix carbon and moisture content; 3) performing bulk purity determination; 4) performing a maceral composition determination; 5) performing size selection via sieve and/or electronic particle size determination methods; 6) performing ash fusion temperature determination; 7) performing ash composition determination; or 8) any combination thereof; (d) processing a feedstock batch of coal material to obtain the controlled batch of coal material having the at least one specified physical and/or chemical parameter in the specified range thereof by: 1) introducing the feedstock batch of coal material to a beneficiation step causing elimination of unwanted materials, thereby creating beneficiated material; 2) introducing the beneficiated material to either (a) a direct classification step, which concentrates particles in the feedstock batch of coal material at a targeted mean size, thereby creating directly classified material, or (b) subjecting the beneficiated material to a size reduction step, which causes finer sized particles and/or particle shaping in the feedstock batch of coal material, thereby creating size reduced 3) if the beneficiated material is introduced to the direct classification step, transferring the directly classified material to a characterization step for determining physical and/or chemical parameters of the controlled batch of coal material; and 4) if the beneficiated material is introduced to the size reduction step: (i) subjecting the size reduced material to a purification step for reducing or eliminating process contaminants and/or newly liberated intrinsic impurities from larger particles, thereby creating purified material; (ii) transferring the purified material to a classification step, which concentrates the particles of the purified material at a targeted mean size, thereby creating classified material; and (iii) transferring the classified material to a characterization step for determining physical and/or chemical properties of the controlled batch of coal material. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the desired physical parameter is particle size distribution. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the desired physical parameter is particle mean size, particle median size, particle mode size, particle mean:median ratio, particle top size, particle bottom size or any combination thereof. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the specified physical parameter is particle shape. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the specified physical parameter is particle surface area. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the specified range is greater than about 2000 m2/ g. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the specified chemical property is bulk purity. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the specified chemical parameter is chemical composition. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the chemical composition includes an ash content, a sulfur content, a rock concentration, an impurity content or any combination thereof. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedstock batch of coal material is waste coal, micrometer-sized coal material, nanometer-sized coal material, pulverized coal material, anthracite, lignite, sub-bituminous, bituminous or any combination thereof. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedstock batch of coal material is Buckwheat, Buckwheat No. 4, Buckwheat No. 5, in the range of about 300 micron to about 500 micron, mesh sized, larger than mesh sized or any combination thereof. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the size reduction step includes the use of: a jaw crusher, a gyrator crusher, a rotary impactor, an autogenous mill, a stamp mill, a roll crusher, a large puck mill, a pan mill, a hammer mill, a rod-loaded tumbling mill, an ultra-rotator, a ring roll or ball mill, a ball-loaded tumbling mill, a vibratory mill, a puck mill, a fluid energy mill, a colloid mill, a horizontal disk mill, a high energy pin mill, a rotary breaker or any combination thereof. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the purification step includes: (i) a chemical digestion method; (ii) a reduction of at least one selected constituent; (iii) a removal of at least one process contaminant; (iv) acid treatment, or any combination thereof. 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedstock batch of coal material is waste coal. 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of activating the controlled batch of coal material. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the activation step includes steam activation, chemical activation, catalytic activation or any combination thereof. 17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of certifying the controlled batch of coal material according to at least one accepted standard. 18. A method of providing a controlled batch of micrometer-sized or nanometer-sized coal material, comprising the steps of: (a) specifying particle size as a parameter of the controlled batch of coal material; (b) specifying the desired range of the particle size parameter in the controlled batch of coal material; (c) obtaining a first feedstock batch of coal material; (d) processing the first feedstock batch of coal material to obtain a second feedstock batch of coal material, wherein the processing step comprises: 1) particle size reduction comprising the steps of: i) providing a fluid bed jet mill; ii) introducing the feedstock batch of coal material to a common housing of the fluid bed jet mill through a double flapper valve, an injector or any combination thereof; and iii) using turbulent free jets of the fluid bed jet mill to accelerate particles of the feedstock batch of coal in a pulverizing zone of the fluid bed jet mill, thereby causing the particles to collide, break and form size reduced particles; and 2) classification comprising the steps of: i) providing a high-efficiency centrifugal air classifier having a rotor positioned within a common housing with the fluid bed jet mill; ii) exposing the size reduced particles to a classification zone of the classifier; iii) allowing the size reduced particles to pass through the rotor, depending on the speed of the rotor, thereby creating the controlled batch of coal material having the specified particle size parameter in the specified range thereof; and (e) processing the second feedstock batch of coal material to obtain the controlled batch of coal material having the specified particle size parameter in the specified range thereof using a horizontal disk mill.