Desulfurization of Tabas Coals Using Chemical Reagents

Large reserves of coal in Tabas region of Iran are characterized by low ash and high caking index, suitable for use in metallurgy as coking coal. However, these coals cannot be gainfully utilized because of their high sulfur content. In this work, studies on desulfurization of Tabas coals were carried out in a batch reactor using various reagents. The most effective reagents, Fe2(SO4)3 , FeCl3 , NaOH, CH3OH, HNO3, and H2O2 , were used to remove sulfur and ash from Tabas coals under reasonable pressure and temperature. Results obtained from coal desulfurization experiments using these reagents are presented in this paper. It was found that ferric sulphate is one of the suitable chemical reagent for desulfurization of Tabas coal which could be used to remove most of the fine distributed pyritic sulfur content.