In this study, the effects of air bubbles and nanobubbles on flotation performance and kinetics of oxidized coal were investigated. The surface properties of the coal sample before and after oxidation were characterized by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The nanobubbles on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) were observed by an atomic force microscope (AFM). The interaction between coal and conventional bubbles in the absence and presence of nanobubbles was explained by induction time. Flotation results showed that oxidized coal flotation in the presence of nanobubbles resulted in 10% higher combustible matter recovery than conventional air bubble flotation. Moreover, it was found that the flotation of oxidized coal in the absence and presence of nanobubbles can be best described using the first-order model with the rectangular model. AFM images analysis showed that a large number of nanobubbles were produced and attached to the oxidized coal surface. The induction times of the oxidized coal in the absence and presence of nanobubbles were 1000 and 39 ms, respectively, indicating that the existence of nanobubbles effectively promotes the interaction between oxidized coal and macroair bubbles. In addition, the agglomeration between oxidized coal particles also occurred spontaneously in the presence of nanobubbles, which was helpful in improving the combustible matter recovery and flotation rate of oxidized coal.

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As the supply of high-quality coals decreases and mechanical coal mining becomes more widespread, the high selective recovery of high-ash fine coal has become a prominent problem in the flotation process. Herein, we discuss the main reasons why the selective separation of high-ash fine coal is difficult. The analysis of high-ash fine coal properties shows that coarse particles (0.25-0.5 mm) account for 22.53% of the total size fraction and that 57.90% of the coal is moderate-or high-density (+1.4 g/cm 3 ) intergrowth. Grinding experiments show that the traditional rod mill has little impact on the liberation of the intergrowth. Instead, its main function is to adjust the particle size composition to ensure that the particle sizes of high-ash fine coal are within the particle size range suitable for flotation. The flotation results show that a clean coal yield of 30.42%, with a 12.46% ash content, is obtained with the optimal flotation parameters through the roughing and cleaning flotation process. However, the flotation results also show that in the separation of high-ash fine coal, it is difficult to obtain clean coal with a high yield and low ash content at the same time. This is mainly due to the similar floatability of moderate-density and low-density coal particles, which allows a large number of moderate-density coal particles to be recovered, and a significant slime coating of clay on the coal's surface that is generated during the flotation process. The results of this work provide valuable guidance for high-ash fine coal industrial flotation applications.