Lignite pellets and methods of agglomerating or pelletizing
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
InventorsAlbert F. Baker, Eric W. Blaustein, Albert W. Deurbrouck, John P. Garvin, Robert E. McKeever
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Abstract
The specification discloses lignite pellets which are relatively hard, dust resistant, of generally uniform size and free from spontaneous ignition and general degradation. Also disclosed are methods for making such pellets which involve crushing as mined lignite, mixing said lignite with a binder such as asphalt, forming the lignite binder mixture into pellets, and drying the pellets.
Claims15
A process for producing lignite fuel pellets of high compressive strength comprising the steps of:
- crushing as mined lignite to a size suitable for pelletizing;
- predrying said lignite to a moisture content which allows fluid replacement;
- prewetting said crushed and dried lignite with water;
- mixing said prewetted lignite with a binder comprising an asphalt and water emulsion in an amount sufficient on pelletizing and drying to provide strength for handling and shipping;
- feeding the mixture of lignite and binder along with water to a pelletizing device having an inclined rotatable surface for receiving said mixture and water;
- forming moist pellets of said mixture including lignite with asphalt and water emulsion by rotating said surface to cause a tumbling, cascading action and the adhesion of particles into pellet form;
- and
- drying said pellets to a predetermined moisture level.
A process as claimed in claim 2 wherein the lignite is reduced to minus 10 mesh and pellets of about 3/4 inch are formed of said lignite and binder mixture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.