A RESEARCHER from the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology partnered with universities in Thailand and Japan in pioneering microencapsulation-hybrid jig separation technique as a clean coal technology.

Dr. Carlito Tabelin of the Materials and Resources Engineering Technology Department collaborated with Dr. Theerayut Phengsaart’s research group at Chulalongkorn University and Prof. Mayumi Ito’s laboratory at Hokkaido University.

The study, the researchers said, significantly improved the separation efficiency of coal and pyrite.

This method combines gravity concentration and encapsulation techniques to reduce bubble attachment, achieving nearly 100% separation.

“In addition to enhancing efficiency, this novel approach also passivated pyrite, thus, limiting acid mine drainage (AMD) formation in tailings/rejects. It holds considerable promise as a new standard for clean coal technology, transforming how coal is processed and reducing its environmental footprint,” the researchers said.

The findings were published in the Energies Journal. It can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.3390/en16052432