# US 2022/0033728 A1 · A Process for Producing Clean Coal Using Chemical Pre-Treatment and High Shear Reactor > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2022/0033728 A1 - Document ID: US20220033728A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/311,169 - Filed: 2019-12-03 - Published: 2022-02-03 - Earliest claimed: 2018-12-05 - Assignees: Controlamatics Corporation - Applicants: Controlamatics Corporation - Inventors: Dino Favetta; Tao Chen; Robert Tinder - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20220033728A1 ## CPC - C10L 5/04: Raw material {of mineral origin} to be used; Pretreatment thereof {(pretreatment of fuels of non-mineral origin C10L5/40)} - C10L 9/10: by using additives - C10L 1/322: {Coal-oil suspensions} - C10L 5/366: {Powders} - C10L 9/02: by chemical means - C10L 2250/06: Particle, bubble or droplet size - C10L 2290/08: Drying or removing water - C10L 2290/28: Cutting, disintegrating, shredding or grinding - C10L 2290/544: Extraction for separating fractions, components or impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel - C10L 2290/545: Washing, scrubbing, stripping, scavenging for separating fractions, components or impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel - C10L: FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G OR C10K; LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS; USE OF ADDITIVES TO FUELS OR FIRES; FIRE-LIGHTERS ## Abstract A method of processing raw coal using activation agents (e.g., solvents and extractants) in a high shear reactor, which creates high shearing forces to break apart the coal and selectively extract and remove contaminants such as ash, sulfur, and other heavy metal impurities resulting in clean, high caloric-value coal. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for producing clean coal comprising: a. grinding coal particles into a dust-like consistency, having a diameter between about 20 μm and 80 μm; b. mixing the ground coal particles with at least one extractant/solvent to produce a coal slurry; c. introducing at least one activation agent, wherein the at least one activation agent selectively removes at least one impurity from the coal slurry; d. introducing the coal slurry into a thin-film shear reactor, wherein the thin-film shear reactor promotes contact of the ground coal particles and the at least one activation agent; and e. introducing a non-polar organic solvent to extract the coal slurry from the at least one impurity, wherein the at least one activation agent and the non-polar organic solvent are introduced in the liquid phase; and wherein extraction of the coal slurry from the at least one impurity yields a processed clean coal. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the thin-film shear reactor is selected from a group consisting of a spinning disk reactor, a cavitation reactor, and a combination thereof. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the activation agent is selected from a group consisting of performic acid, nitric acid, hydrogen peroxide, sodium hydroxide, peracetic acid, formic acid, acetic acid, and any combination thereof. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the thin-film shear reactor operates in a continuous or semi-continuous manner. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the thin-film shear reactor is temperature controlled. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the thin-film shear reactor operates at a rotational speed between 5,000 RPMs and 20,000 RPMs. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the thin-film shear reactor operates at a linear velocity of 50-180 fps. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the high shear reactor further comprises surface-to-surface gaps, having a stator gap spacing between 50 μm and 200 μm. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the high shear reactor further comprises surface-to-surface gaps having a cylinder-in-cylinder wall stator gap spacing between 20 μm and 800 μm. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the high shear reactor and the at least one activation agent promotes liquid, aqueous, and organic phases within the coal slurry. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method according to claim 10, wherein the coal slurry within the organic phase is separated from the aqueous phase and washed and dried. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The method according to claim 10, wherein further processing within the aqueous phase extracts at least one material. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method according to claim 12, wherein the at least one material comprises at least one precious or semi-precious metal. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The method according to claim 12, wherein the at least one material comprises at least one of platinum, vanadium, and palladium, a lanthanide and an actinide. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the processed clean coal is in the form of a liquid, a dried fine solid, or a suspended slurry. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The method according to claim 15, wherein the processed clean coal is used as an energy source. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein removal of the at least one impurity comprises an alkali treatment. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the processed clean coal is configured and selected for use in whole or in part with a group consisting of boilers, generators, fuel cells, engines, solvents, cleaning agents, and any combination thereof. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the thin-film high shear reactor is a spinning disk cavitation reactor. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the thin-film high shear reactor includes a cavitation rotor that defines cavities on a face thereof.