Synthesis of a novel humic acid-based polycarboxylic dispersant for coal water slurry

A novel humic acid-based polycarboxylic-type (HAP) dispersant for coal–water slurry (CWS) was successfully synthesized in aqueous solution from the copolymerization of HA, acrylic acid and maleic acid. The structure of HAP was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetry (TG) and ¹H NMR. With HAP as a dispersant for Linfen coal slurry, the effects of the mass ratio of HA and monomer, initiator concentration, reaction temperature and reaction time on the HAP dispersant performance were discussed by examining the apparent viscosity of CWS. The results showed that CWS prepared withHAP dispersant performed excellent dispersity and stability. When the dosage of HAP was up to 0.5 wt.%, the apparent viscosity of CWS was 505 mPa·s. Experiments on the stability of CWS containing 0.5 wt.% HAP demonstrated that the penetration ratio reached 85.45 % after 96 h, which was higher by 12.87 % than that of CWS prepared with HA. And the CWS produced with HAP had lower dewatering rate within the storage time, which was less 1.85 % than that of CWS with HA when the storage time was 72 h. Furthermore, the maximum coal content of CWS with 0.5 wt.% HAP may reached 70 wt.%. This work found a new route for utilizing humic acid and enlarged the selecting range of the dispersant for CWS. It has a positive significance for protection of environment.