Demineralization of Gondwana coal with Pseudomonas mendocina strain B6-1: a case study of coal from Gopinathpur top and bottom seams of Mugma mine, Dhanbad, Jharkhand (India)

Abstract

In the present investigation an attempt has been made to demineralize the Gondwana coal of Gopinathpur top and bottom seams of Mugma mine, Raniganj coalfield, Dhanbad with the help of Pseudomonas mendocina strain B6-1. The change in the amount of ash yield and decrease in the concentration of selected minor elements like Na, K, Mn and Ca and environmentally sensitive selected trace elements such as Cd, Pb, Se, Ni, Mn, and Zn have been studied as a function of time of bacterial treatment as well as with variation in the bacterial biomass. After 28 days of bacterial treatment there was variable amount of decrease observed in ash yield as well as in the concentration of minor and trace elements. The removal of the elements was further enhanced with the increase in the bacterial biomass from 10 to 25 mg/mL. Due to over exploitation of superior grade coals in the country, the remaining coal resources, available for current use, are inferior in grade and contain high level of impurities and there is ample scope of bio-beneficiation of these coals using bacterial biomass. © 2016, The Author(s).