Application of Response Surface Methodology in Effective Recovery of Settling Pond Coal Fines by Froth Flotation

In this study, response surface methodology was successfully applied to investigate the operating conditions of the froth flotation process used to recover coking coal fines obtained from a settling pond. A quadratic model was developed to evaluate the variation of yield and the grade of clean-coal product with different test conditions. Thirteen experiments were carried out based on a central composite design technique. The analysis of variance was performed using design expert software to confirm the developed second-order model was statistically significant and adequate to represent the experimental observations. Using this technique, model coefficients, R2, , and F values, were determined to analyze the developed models. Surface plots showing the relationship between the responses, namely, wt % and ash %, with process parameters, and also plots between experimental versus the predicted responses from the models are presented.