Company Announcement - Multotec is aiming to share the experience and expertise it has gained in the South African coal sector with the potentially lucrative Indian coal sector. With 60 coal processing plants and 300 million tons of run-of-mine coal mined a year, the South African coal sector has a wealth of innovation at its disposal, spearheaded by original equipment manufacturers such as Multotec.

Multotec’s dense medium cyclones are already officially endorsed by Coal India. Coal India produces 81% of India’s coal and is also the largest coal producer in the world. “Our range of dense medium cyclones is very popular in the Indian market, and is preferable over any other brand. For Multotec to be endorsed by Coal India is very good for us,” Bart Malan, Multotec Area Sales Manager responsible for India and Turkey, says.

Multotec is a corporate member of the Coal Preparation Society of India and will be participating in the Coal Beneficiation 2015 Conference & Expo in New Delhi in April. “Our main aim is to create awareness of gravity separation of fine coal using spiral concentrators. This is becoming increasingly important as it is an environment friendly technology and has no moving parts, meaning reduced repair and maintenance costs,” Ken Tuckey, General Manager, International Business Development Division, says.

Tuckey explains that the similarity between Indian and South African coal means that solutions pioneered in the latter can effectively be applied to the former, without having to reinvent the wheel. “Our large diameter dense medium cyclones have been proven in coarse coal applications in South Africa, our smaller diameter cyclones for fine coal down to 2 mm, and our spirals for material from 2 mm to 100 microns.”

The combination of these three elements provides a total customer solution that Multotec is now offering to Indian coal washing plants, with the emphasis on improved yield and product quality. Since the Indian government has enacted environmental legislation to prohibit the transportation of ash more than 500 km from its point of origin, removal of ash from the finer fractions will be imperative, and this can best be executed in small diameter dense medium cyclones (for 15 by 2 mm) and the minus 2.0 mm on spirals.

“Coal in India and South Africa is essentially similar, and therefore the Indian coal sector can benefit from the experience gained in the South African coal sector,” Tuckey says. He adds that the Indian coal sector will now have to focus on fine coal beneficiation, a development that took place in the South African coal some time back. Multotec, in particular, has undertaken extensive research and development to demonstrate the efficiency of dense medium separation for 50 mm to 15 mm coal. Cost-effective recovery of the magnetite used during the process is paramount, never forgetting the crucial aspect of dewatering.

Tuckey explains that dense medium separation is trickier for 15 mm to 2 mm coal. Here it is relatively more difficult to obtain the necessary magnetite recovery, while dewatering and retaining the requisite calorific value is also more difficult. “Below 2 mm is where the Multotec spiral comes into its own. Since it is a low cost water only gravity separation technology, there are no costly chemicals to be added or medium to be lost. This makes it a cost effective technology, with the final hurdle of dewatering achieved with a cyclone and a high frequency vibrating screen, and even centrifuges if need be.”

The percentage of the fines generated ROM is normally 15% to 20%. Since the Indian coal sector is now looking to improve the calorific value of the coal it is feeding to the country’s power stations, critical experiential knowledge is necessary for the selection of the correct equipment. This is where Multotec stands to play a critical role in the Indian coal sector, as it has the necessary equipment and experience to be able to offer a total solution for the beneficiation of fine coal. Multotec is also able to offer specific advice to its clients, Malan notes. “We look at the current performance, determine where any improvements can be made and then advise accordingly.” Thereafter it is up to the customer to make the appropriate procurement decisions.

Tuckey concludes that Multotec’s particular combination of cyclones and spirals is especially suited to the requirements of the Indian coal sector. “Multotec’s coal spirals are very forgiving in this particular application. They tolerate a range of feed tonnages and are cheap to purchase and cost-effective to operate, as well as being easy to adjust to specific conditions while delivering a consistently good performance.”