Hardgrove Grindability Study of Powder River Basin and Appalachian Coal
Components in the Blend to a Midwestern Power Station
 

PADGETT, PENNY L., University of Kentucky Department of Geological Sciences, Lexington, KY 40506 and HOWER, JAMES C., University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research, Lexington, KY 40511
 

Five coals representing four distinct coal sources blended at a midwestern power station were subjected to detailed analysis of their Hardgrove grindability. The coals are: a low-sulfur, high volatile A bituminous Upper Elkhorn No. 3 coal (Pike Co. KY); a medium-sulfur, high volatile A bituminous Pittsburgh coal (southwestern PA); a low-sulfur, subbituminous coal from the northern Powder River Basin (MT); and samples of low-sulfur, sub-bituminous Wyodak coal from two mines in the eastern Powder River Basin (Campbell Co., WY). The feed and all samples processed in the Hardgrove grindability test procedure were analyzed for their maceral and microlithotype content.

The high-vitrinite Pittsburgh coal and the relatively more petrographically complex Upper Elkhorn No. 3 coal exhibit differing be-havior in grindability. The Pittsburgh raw feed, 16x30 mesh fraction (HGI test fraction), and the -30 mesh fraction (HGI reject) are relatively similar petrographically, suggesting that the HGI test fraction is reasonably representative of the whole feed. The eastern Kentucky coal is not as representative of the whole feed, the HGI test fraction having lower vitrinite than the rejected -30 mesh fraction. The Powder River Basin coals are high vitrinite and show behavior similar to the Pittsburgh coal.
 

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