Coal Ash Color- orange tint

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Ultralume
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Post by Ultralume » Wed. Nov. 18, 2020 12:43 am

I've noticed that Tractor Supply nut coal, which we believe may be Kimmel's or Reading coal, leaves a white powdery ash. The coal that I get from a local distributor leaves behind ash with an orange tint, which makes me believe that there is iron in the coal. It burns well and is less gassy than the Tractor Supply coal. I'm just curious about the source. Is this Old Company Lehigh coal? Has anyone used coal that leaves orange tinted ash?

 
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gaw
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Post by gaw » Wed. Nov. 18, 2020 5:09 am

Red ash coal, nothing wrong with that. Most of the coal I get is red ash, some say it burns hotter, maybe it does. It can form clinkers. If it works for you there's nothing to worry about.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Wed. Nov. 18, 2020 6:10 am

I have had coal that produced red/orange ash, pink ash, and white ash. Just depends where it comes from.


 
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Post by McGiever » Wed. Nov. 18, 2020 8:08 am

Ash color is produced by combined impurity or mineral content within the coal.
Red/orange is by varing amounts of iron oxide within the coal.

 
Ultralume
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Post by Ultralume » Wed. Nov. 18, 2020 11:10 am

That’s what I thought... iron. There is enough iron in this coal that a porous bag of it will leave rust stains if left outside in the rain. I was curious if anyone knew which mine this coal came from...

 
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Pauliewog
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Post by Pauliewog » Wed. Nov. 18, 2020 1:53 pm

In most anthracite preparation plants the rock is separated from the coal by using a heavy media .
Fine powdered magnetite, which is basically a type of iron ore, is mixed with water until the solution has a specific gravity of approximately 1.5

Anthracite has a specific gravity of between 1.2 and 1.47 which means it will float in a solution with a specific gravity of 1.5 and the rock will sink.

When the coal is removed it is sized and washed. The magnetite is recovered from the wash and rinse water using a magnetic separator which consists of a large roller filled with magnets with a wiper blade and is returned to the heavy media tank.

If the rinse is not adequate some of the magnetite remains on the cleaned coal. That contributes to the rust in a bag and also why some white ash seams of coal produce a pink ash when burnt.

At the end of the season. sweep up the fines in your coal bin and run a magnet thru the fines pile and any magnetite powder will stick to the magnet.

If handling your coal your hands get really black........ Its probably magnetite. :D

Paulie


 
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gaw
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Post by gaw » Wed. Nov. 18, 2020 10:06 pm

Ultralume wrote:
Wed. Nov. 18, 2020 11:10 am
That’s what I thought... iron. There is enough iron in this coal that a porous bag of it will leave rust stains if left outside in the rain. I was curious if anyone knew which mine this coal came from...
From a coal mine in Pennsylvania, that's about as close as you'll get. Even if you know the supplier they may be processing coal from multiple sources.

 
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Post by Odyknuck » Thu. Nov. 19, 2020 8:02 am

I learned something new today , great explanation to the same question I had.
Thanks

 
Ultralume
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Post by Ultralume » Thu. Nov. 19, 2020 10:06 pm

Awesome explanation. Thanks..

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