The Analogy and Differences Between Coal Slurry Transport Systems and Hydraulic Dredging,

The oil crises in 1973 and 1978 caused many countries to initiate a diversification policy for power generating fuels to reduce their dependence on oil. A renewed interest in the utilization of coal appeared, and around 1980 the prospects for the future use of coal were very optimistic. Although this optimism has since been considerably reduced, steam coal consumption is expected to rise steadily and thus the export and import quantities of coal. As a result, the transshipment and further transport capacities are expanding. One possible method of transporting coal is by pipeline, where a differentiation should be made between long distance fine coal transport and short distance coarse coal transport. Slurry handling of coal has many similarities, but also substantial differences, when compared with the hydraulic handling of solids in the dredging industry. In this paper long distance fine coal slurry and short distance coarse coal slurry transport will be discussed as well as the similarities and differences when compared with hydraulic transportation of solids in the dredging industry. As a coarse coal system, a slurry unloading terminal will be discussed in more detail.