Аннотация
The object of the study is the crushing of brown coal process. The problem addressed in this study is the high energy consumption and rapid equipment wear associated with traditional coal crushing methods, as well as the generation of fine particles that can adversely affect air quality. To address this problem, electric pulse crushing methods was investigated as an alternative approach capable of producing a crushed product with a specified particle size while reducing dust generation. The experiments showed that, when the distance between the positive and negative electrodes was varied from 10 mm to 25 mm, the highest observed yield of coal particles smaller than 1 mm within the investigated range was obtained at an electrode spacing of L = 15 mm. It was also found that coal crushing was more intensive when the tip of the positive electrode was flush with the insulation or recessed into it by of 1–4 mm. Among all the tested particle sizes of the original coal, the maximum particle size of 0.02–1 mm in the fine class (<1 mm) yields a size of d = 20 mm. A particle less than 1 mm was classified as belonging to the fine fraction. The experiments were conducted at discharge voltage of up to 40 kV and capacitor bank capacitances ranging from 0.4 μF to 0.8 μF. Under the investigated experimental conditions, the obtained results characterize the particle size distribution and the degree of coal crushing produced by pulsed electric discharge in a liquid medium