Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng.

Aspects 412 (2012) 101–107

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Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and

Engineering Aspects
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/colsurfa

Synthesis and performance of a comblike amphoteric polycarboxylate dispersant

for coal–water slurry
Junfeng Zhu a,∗ , Guanghua Zhang a , Zhuo Miao b , Ting Shang a
a
Key Laboratory of Additives of Chemistry & Technology for Chemical Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science
& Technology, Xi’an 710021, China
b
Tangdu Hospital, the Forth Military Medical University, Xi’an 710038, China

h i g h l i g h t s g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t

 AmPC has better performance than

the traditional polycarboxylate dis-
persant in CWS.
 We draw a schematic to illustrate the
dispersion mechanism of AmPC with
coal in CWS.
 It can provide anchoring action with
coal via adsorption of ion pairs.
 It possesses not only dramatic wet-
ting on coal but also stable steric
hindrance.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A novel comblike polymer, amphoteric polycarboxylic (AmPC), was designed as a dispersant
Received 20 April 2012 for coal–water slurry (CWS) and synthesized in aqueous solution from the copolymerization of
Received in revised form 11 July 2012 macromonomer polyethylene glycol-acrylate monoester (PA), sodium p-styrene sulfonate (SSS) and
Accepted 15 July 2012
cationic comonomer methacrylatoethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DMC). PA was prepared by ester-
Available online 27 July 2012
ifying with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and acrylic acid (AA) in our laboratory. And then, the molecule
structure of amphoteric polycarboxylic dispersant was characterized by means of Fourier transformer
Keywords:
infrared (FTIR). Besides, the dispersant was applied in Shenfu coal slurry. By examining the apparent vis-
Comblike polycarboxylate
Amphoteric polycarboxylate dispersant
cosity of the coal slurry using rheometer, the effects of the mole ratio of SSS and PA, amount of cationic
Coal–water slurry (CWS) monomer DMC, initiator concentration and reaction temperature on the AmPC dispersant performance
Apparent viscosity were discussed. The wetting property of AmPC dispersant on the coal surface and Zeta potential of the
Stability CWS with AmPC dispersant was measured. The result shows that the apparent viscosity decrease of
amphoteric polycarboxylic dispersant is better than the dispersant in stock which does not have cationic
monomer when the dosage of DMC is 5.0 wt%. It has been proved that the amphoteric polycarboxylic
dispersion agent is suitable for Shenfu coal slurry. When the dosage of AmPC dispersant is up to 0.3 wt%,
the highest concentration of coal-slurry can reach 65.0 wt%. AmPC dispersant with both anionic group
and cationic group will provide the better anchoring action with the coal via the adsorption of ion pair.
It possesses not only dramatic wetting on coal but also stable steric hindrance so as to disperse coal
particles in water.
© 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Coal–water slurry (CWS) technology was developed during the

world wide oil crisis of the 1970s to produce a novel and clean
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 029 86168934.
fluid fuel as a substitute for petroleum. The slurry is prepared
as a mixture of 60–70% fine coal, 29–39% water, and about 1%
E-mail address: zjfeng123123@163.com (J. Zhu).

0927-7757/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2012.07.023
102 J. Zhu et al. / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 412 (2012) 101–107
Table 1
The properties of Shenfu coal.
Sample Proximate anal. (wt%) Ultimate anal. (wt%)
Moisture content Ash Volatile Carbon content
Shenfu coal 7.68 4.59 33.01 82.55
additives (dispersants involved) determined specifically for each
different process. A CWS should have a high solids fraction and
sufficient fluidity to replace conventional fuels in existing systems
of transportation, storage, and combustion. In regard to decreas-
ing the viscosity of CWS, the selection of a polymer dispersant is
a key to their preparation [1–4]. Currently, the CWS dispersants
are categorized as: naphthalene sulfonate condensates with the
extreme condensation, copolymers of acrylic acid and other acrylic
monomers, polyolefin series, lignosulfonate, humic acid salts and
sulfonated humic acid salts, carboxylic acid and phosphate salts,
non-ionic dispersing agent [5–8]. Polycarboxylate additives can be
widely applied because they have flexible structures to change
their molecular weight or molecular structures according to actual
needs.
The traditional polycarboxylate CWS dispersant is of the non-
ionic or anionic type. However, they have many weaknesses. The
CWS which use the traditional polycarboxylate dispersant have
higher apparent viscosity and poorer stability [9–14]. Fortunately,
as a novel comblike polymer, amphoteric polycarboxylate disper-
sant can be used to remedy the shortcomings. It can reduce the
relative viscosity of CWS on the basis of higher solid content of CWS
[15,16]. So it has broad application prospects and environmental
significance.
In this study, we aimed at fabricating a novel ampho-
teric polycarboxylate as CWS dispersant. With ammonium
persulfate–sodium bisulfite as a redox catalyst, we used sodium
p-styrene sulfonate (SSS), polyethylene glycol-acrylate monoester
(PA) and methacrylatoethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DMC)
to synthesize the novel amphoteric polycarboxylic (AmPC) dis-
persant for coal–water slurry. Furthermore, the main chain of
AmPC dispersant has not only long-chain polyoxyethylene but
also anionic and cationic groups. Slurry properties of AmPC dis-
persant and Shenfu coal were tested. It has been found that the
apparent viscosity decrease of AmPC dispersant is better than the
traditional polycarboxylate dispersant [17,18] in stock which has
not contained cationic group. The wetting property of AmPC dis-
persant on the coal surface and Zeta potential of the CWS with
AmPC dispersant were measured. The superior application per-
formance is closely associated with its particular structure and
mechanism.
2. Materials and measurements
2.1. Materials
Polyethylene glycol-acrylate monoester (PA) was prepared from
the esterification of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and acrylic acid
(AA) in our laboratory [19]. Sodium p-styrene sulfonate (SSS,
industrial reagent, Nanjing Chemical Industry Corp., China) and
methacrylatoethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DMC, Xinyu
Corp., China) were freshly distilled under vacuum. Ammonium
persulfate (APS, Tianjin Chemical Corp., China) and sodium bisul-
fite (Tianda Corp., China) as the redox catalyst were respectively
purified by recrystallization from warm water. Sodium hydroxide
(Yaohua Corp., China) was freshly dissolved into 30 wt% solution
before use. Naphthalene dispersant and anionic polycarboxylate
dispersant were supplied from Xianyang Chemical Company of
China.
Hydrogen content Oxygen content Nitrogen content Sulfur content
4.69 11.59 0.91 0.26
2.2. Preparation
2.2.1. Synthesis of amphoteric polycarboxylate dispersant
Appropriate amounts of distilled water, sodium bisulfite
(1.0 wt% of the total mass of monoesters) and polyethylene glycol-
acrylate monoester were placed in a 250-mL three-necked flask
equipped with a reflux condenser, feeding inlet and thermometer,
and then reaction monomers, such as SSS and DMC were dropped
into the flask. The cationic monomer DMC was added to the total
mass of PA and SSS at the ratio of 0–15 wt%, respectively. Afterward
they were stirred with 600 rpm and heated at a certain temperature
under 50 ◦ C. The monomer PA and the aqueous solution of APS (the
mass ratio of APS and sodium bisulfite was 4:1) were separately
added drop-wise into the reactor at about 65 ◦ C (redox catalyst
reducing activation energy of polymerization). After the drop-wise
addition ends, the temperature of reaction was maintained until the
monomers were reacted completely [20,21]. The aqueous solution
of the co-polymer was neutralized with 30 wt% sodium hydroxide
solution at pH 8. Finally, a brown transparent liquid was obtained.
The scheme of the reaction was described in Fig. 1.
2.2.2. Synthesis of coal–water slurries
A Shenfu coal that has been pulverized by a dry ball mill was
used in this study. The Shenfu coal is not binding and has a low
degree of metamorphism. The results of coal quality analysis were
given in Table 1.
The coal powder was slowly mixed in a pot containing a certain
known quantity of dispersant and deionized water. The contents
were continuously stirred by a mixer during the addition of coal,
and then the stirring of the slurry was continued for another 10 min
at 1200 rpm to ensure the homogenization of CWS. The slurry so
prepared was left for the study of its characteristics. According to
the multi-peak grade blending technology of Texaco, the particle
size distribution of Shenfu coal sample is shown in Table 2.
2.3. Measurements
2.3.1. FTIR spectra
Fourier transformer infrared (FTIR) spectra in the range of
4000–400 cm−1 were recorded on German Brucker EQUI NX55 FTIR
spectrophotometer. The polymer prepared was repeatedly purified
with acetone and dried warmly to constant weight. The spectra
were obtained from the pressed disc of polymer and KBr.
2.3.2. CWS viscometric measurements
The apparent viscosity of CWS was tested by rheometer (the
United States, TA, AR-2000), under the condition of temperature
25 ◦ C and the shear rate of 100 s−1 .
Table 2
Particle size distribution of Shenfu coal sample.
Coal particle size (mesh) Coal particle size distribution (wt%)
20–40 8.0
40–120 42
120–200 7
200–300 8
<325 35
 J. Zhu et al. / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 412 (2012) 101–107 103

O CH3
n1 CH2 CH + n2 CH2 C C O CH2CH2 N CH3 Cl + n3 CH2 CH
CH3 CH3 C O CH2CH2O H
m
O
CH3
SO3Na
CH2 CH CH2 C CH2 CH
n1 n2 n3
initator C O C O
O O CH2CH2O H
m
CH2
SO3Na CH2
CH3 N+ CH3
CH3 Cl

Fig. 1. Scheme of the polymerization reaction.

2.3.3. CWS static stability tests 100

Coal–water slurries were prepared at coal concentration of
60–66%. The stability of CWS was evaluated by the glass rod pen- 80

Transmittance (%)
etration test (penetration ratio, %) and the storage time was 72 h. 946
The stability of test was in a similar manner to that in the studies 60
described by Dinçer H. and co-workers [22]. After the CWS prepa-
ration, it was stored in a glass cylinder (3 cm in diameter; CWS 40 1644
layer 15 cm in height) at room temperature for a definite period, 1451
617
a glass rod (5 mm in diameter, 20 g in weight) was spontaneously 20 2927 1351
1729
dropped down from the CWS surface to the cylinder bottom, and 3440 1038
1205
it stopped when the tip got in contact with the hard sediment. The 0
4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500
penetration ratio was calculated as follows:Penetration ratio (%) = Wavenumber ( cm -1)
d
dt
× 100where d is the distance of rod travel (cm), and dt is maxi-
mum distance of rod travel (cm). Fig. 2. FTIR spectrogram of amphoteric polycarboxylate dispersant.

2.3.4. Drop shape analysis
The surface of coal was burnished smoothly and the wetting
property of several dispersants and water on the coal surface were
measured by Drop shape analysis (Easydrop, German Kruss Com-
pany) via the pattern of fix volume. After the coal were stored at
25 ◦ C and 60% humidity, the contact angle was determined from
the shape of a water droplet that was dropped on the coal, and the
droplet then was photographed.
2.3.5. Zeta potential measurements
Coal particle size and Zeta potentials were tested by Zetasizer
Nano ZS (Malvern Instruments). A serial of 65.0 wt% CWSs were pre-
pared with different dosages of AmPC dispersants. After the CWSs
were laid for 24 h and centrifugalized for 30 min, the upper solu-
tions of CWSs were taken to measure Zeta potentials. The mean
value of the Zeta potentials, which were measured three times, was
used in this study.
analysis results show that AmPC molecules, modified with nega-
tive COO− group and positive group N+ (CH3 )3 , are the gender
structure.
3.2. Influences of reaction conditions on the apparent viscosity of
CWS
3.2.1. Mole ratio of SSS and PA
The major influence of the mole ratio of monomers on the
polymerization system is the change in the viscosity of the poly-
merization process. When the mixture is heated to 65 ◦ C, initiator
content is 8.0 wt% of the total mass of PA, DMC and SSS. DMC is
5.0 wt% of the total mass of PA and SSS. As can be seen from Fig. 3,
with the increase of the amount of SSS, the apparent viscosity of the
CWS which uses the AmPC dispersant greatly reduces at first, and
then definitely increases. When the mole fraction of SSS is 50 mol%

3. Results and discussion 800

Apparent viscosity (mPa.s)

3.1. Structure of amphoteric polycarboxylate dispersant 750

Infrared spectra of amphoteric polycarboxylate dispersant are 700

depicted in Fig. 2. Analysis result of spectra are as follows: a O H
of alcohol stretching vibration bond at 3700–3300 cm−1 ; a C H
650
stretching vibration absorption bond at 2927 cm−1 ; No double
bond is in molecules because absorption peak disappears during
2500–2000 cm−1 , each of monomer has come into the copolymer; 600
two peaks of 1729 cm−1 and 1644 cm−1 prove the existence of ester
bond; a methyl of N+ (CH3 )3 bending vibration bond at 1451 cm−1 ; 550
0 20 40 60 80 100
the peaks of 1351 cm−1 , 1205 cm−1 , 1038 cm−1 testifies the
existence of a SO3 and C O C; the bond 617 cm−1 is C S stretch-
SSS (mol%)
ing vibration; 946 cm−1 stands for definite vibration absorption Fig. 3. The influences of the mole ratio of SSS and PA on the apparent viscosity of
peak of the quaternary ammonium ion N+ (CH3 )3 . The above CWS.
104 J. Zhu et al. / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 412 (2012) 101–107

800 750
Apparent viscosity (mPa.s)

Apparent viscosity ( mPa.s)

750
700
700

650 650

600
600
550
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Mass concentration of DMC /wt% 550
2 4 6 8 10
Fig. 4. The influences of amphoteric dispersant with the different mass fractions of Dosage of initiator (mol %)
DMC on the apparent viscosity of CWS.
Fig. 5. The influences of initiator dosage on the apparent viscosity of CWS.

of PA and SSS, the apparent viscosity of the CWS achieves the min-
reaction increases, and the molecular weight of copolymer disper-
imum. It may be related to the polymerization reactivity of SSS.
sant reduces. But when the amount of initiator exceeds 8.0 wt%, the
When the mole fraction of SSS is less than 50 mol% of PA and SSS,
polymer molecular weight is too small to form an effective steric
the content of sulfonic groups in the polymer chain improves with
hindrance.
the increasing of SSS. If the mole fraction of SSS reached 50 mol%
of PA and SSS, the content of sulfonic groups in the polymer chain
3.2.4. Reaction temperature
never continues to increase significantly. In the meantime, the pro-
The reaction temperature plays an important part in the poly-
portion of hydrophilic groups relatively decreases, which hinders
merization process. Under the condition of the molar ratio of SSS
the polycarboxylate dispersant to form adsorbed film on the sur-
to PA 1:1, DMC is of 5.0 wt% of total mass of SSS and PA, initiator
face of coal particles. Therefore, the optimum ratio of SSS and PA
is 8.0 wt% of the total mass of DMC, PA and SSS. The influence of
should be 1:1.
reaction temperature on the apparent viscosity of CWS is observed
in Fig. 6. With the increase of temperature, the apparent viscosity of
3.2.2. Mass fraction of DMC CWS linearly reduces. When the temperature is at 65 ◦ C, the appar-
Cationic monomer DMC will attach the dispersant molecule to ent viscosity of CWS become the minimum. It may be because the
the cationic group. When the amount of initiator is 8.0 wt% of the redox catalyst of ammonium persulfate–sodium bisulfite decreases
total mass of PA, SSS and DMC, and the molar ratio of SSS and PA is the activation energy of polymerization and ammonium persul-
1:1, the reaction temperature is invariantly 65 ◦ C. Under the con- fate starts to decompose at low temperature. However, when the
dition of shear rate 100 s−1 , the effect of mass fraction of DMC temperature is great than 70 ◦ C, the decomposing rate of ammo-
on the apparent viscosity of CWS is shown in Fig. 4. With the nium persulfate leaps and the polymerization rate become fast.
increase of cationic monomer concentration, the apparent viscosity Therefore it is difficult to form a stable water-insoluble polymer-
of CWS firstly decreases and then increases. When the mass frac- ization system. So the apparent viscosity of CWS begins to increase
tion of cationic monomer is 5.0 wt%, the apparent viscosity of CWS dramatically. Thus, the more appropriate reaction temperature is
achieved minimum. It is mainly because the surface of coal particles 65 ◦ C.
is charged negatively and AmPC dispersing agent with zwitterionic
can introduce cationic quaternary ammonium groups into the tra-
3.3. Influences of dosage of dispersant on apparent viscosity of
ditional dispersant. Therefore, the adsorption of AmPC dispersant
CWS
on the surface of coal is better, and AmPC dispersant can more effec-
tively improve the surface hydrophily of coal particles which can
The dosage of dispersant plays an important part on the dis-
reduce the apparent viscosity. However, when the ratio of cationic
persion performance. The influences of the dosages of AmPC
monomer continues increasing, the electrostatic repulsion among
dispersant, anionic polycarboxylate dispersant and naphthalene
the coal particles starts to diminish, and the apparent viscosity of
CWS increases.

800
3.2.3. Dosage of initiator
The influence of initiator dosage on the apparent viscosity of
Apparent viscosity (mPa.s)

750
CWS is shown in Fig. 5. When DMC is 5.0 wt% the amount of the
total mass of SSS and the PA, the molar ratio of SSS to PA is 1:1,
700
and the reaction temperature is 65 ◦ C. The apparent viscosity of
CWS will reduce with the increase of initiator dosage, when the
dosage of initiator is less than 8.0 wt% of the total mass of PA, 650
SSS and DMC. However, when the amount of initiator is more
than 8.0 wt%, the apparent viscosity of CWS started to increase. 600
Because the amount of initiator is less, the polymerization reac-
tion is slower, and the molecular chain is longer, then polymer 550
60 70 80 90 100
molecular chains are easily wrapped around the hydrophilic sulfu-
Reaction temperature (ºC)
ric group and the carboxyl group, so the adsorption of coal particles
results in decreasing. Consequently, the apparent viscosity of CWS Fig. 6. The influences of copolymerization temperature on the apparent viscosity
is greater. Whereas, with the increase of initiator, the active sites of of CWS.
 J. Zhu et al. / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 412 (2012) 101–107 105

1800 Table 4
1700 The influences of AmPC dispersant on the Zeta potential of CWS.

Apparent viscosity (mPa.s) 1600 AmPC dispersant

Dispersant dosage (wt%) Zeta potential (mV)
1500 anionic polycarboxylate dispersant
1400 0 −12.8
naphthalene dispersant
1300 0.1 −22.7
1200 0.3 −46.5
1100 0.6 −49.7
1000 0.7 −47.2
900
800
700
600
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 charges, so coal particle is negative. When coal and water form a
Dosage of dispersant (%) dispersion system, Zeta potential of it has a negative value. With the
dispersant adding, the Zeta potential of coal in dispersion increases.
Fig. 7. The influences of dosage of dispersant on apparent viscosity of CWS. Thenceforward the adsorbed amount of the dispersant on the sur-
face of coal particles increases. In the mean time, there are more
hydrophilic groups on the coal particle surface toward the water.
dispersant on the apparent viscosity of CWS have shown in Fig. 7 It reduces the interaction between the coal particles. So that the
under the condition of 65.0 wt% CWS. The apparent viscosity of CWS whole system has got more stable and the ability of slurry is def-
using AmPC dispersant was lower than anionic polycarboxylate or initely improved. When the amount of dispersant changes from
naphthalene dispersant. With the gradual increase in the amount of 0.3 wt% to 0.6 wt%, the Zeta potential of coal decreases only a little.
AmPC dispersant, the apparent viscosity of coal–water slurry grad- This is partly because the dispersant molecules could arrange in
ually decreased. However, if the dosage of dispersant continues opposite direction when the adsorption of dispersant arrives to the
increasing after it, the apparent viscosity of CWS did not descend. saturation value. The dispersant adsorption structure of electrical
When the dosage of dispersant arrived at 0.3 wt%, the hydrated double layer should be changed. Thus, Zeta potential of coal slowly
film formed was too thick to reduce the flow of between water decreases.
and coal particles. The result shows the premium amount of AmPC
dispersant is 0.3 wt% of coal.

3.6. Wetting property of dispersants and water on the coal surface

3.4. Static stability of CWS

In order to examine the functional groups of polycarboxylate

The apparent viscosity is found to increase with the solid weight
concentration. Beyond 66.0 wt% weight fraction of coal in the slurry,
the apparent viscosity cannot be measured because of the forma-
tion of the hard sediment of coal and no fluidity. Table 3 shows the
variation of apparent viscosity of the slurry by varying the coal in
the range of 60–66 wt% weight fraction in the presence of 0.3 wt%
anionic polycarboxylate, AmPC and naphthalene. The results are
expressed by the penetration ratio after 72 h storage time. As seen
in Table 3 the penetration ratios of the CWS are kept decreas-
ing with the increase of coal concentration, especially decreasing
sharply at the coal concentration of 66%. In contrast, the CWS pre-
pared from AmPC shows higher penetration ratio than that from
anionic polycarboxylate and Naphthalene for Shenfu coal. Based
on the results of penetration ratios, the CWS prepared from AmPC
shows better stability than that from anionic polycarboxylate and
naphthalene for Shenfu coal.
3.5. Zeta potential of CWS
The effects of AmPC dispersant on the Zeta potential of CWS
are presented in Table 4. The concentration of CWS is 65.0 wt%.
The positive and charge regions of coal particle surface exist at the
same time, but the positive charge is only a small portion of all
Table 3
The stability of CWS prepared using different coal contents at 0.3 wt% (on dry coal
basis) dosages of anionic polycarboxylate, AmPC and naphthalene after 72 h.
Coal concentration Anionic
(wt%) polycarboxylate (%)
60.0 73
62.0 70
64.0 66
65.0 62
66.0 53
dispersant in the adsorption of coal particles, we study the wet-
ting properties of several dispersants and water on the coal surface.
Wetting angle of water, naphthalene dispersant, anionic polycar-
boxylate dispersant and AmPC dispersant on coal surface is 71.0◦ ,
69.9◦ , 65.7◦ and 52.8◦ respectively. As can be seen from Fig. 8, the
contact angle of AmPC dispersant on coal surface is least. It indicates
that wetting performance of AmPC dispersant on coal surface is
better than the anionic polycarboxylate or naphthalene dispersant.
AmPC dispersant is easier than the other dispersants to decrease
hydrophobicity of coal surface and make coals desperate in the
water.
3.7. Dispersion mechanism of AmPC with the coal in the CWS
The dispersion mechanism of AmPC with the coal in the CWS
can be seen in Fig. 9. The charged zones of coal particle surface are
able to form ionic bonds with the charged zone or functional groups
which have the opposite charges. And the ionic bonds are difficult
to separate. Coal particle surface is very complex. It has both nega-
tively charged zones and positively charged zones. When they are
dispersed, they have not merely sulfonic acid SO3 − with nega-
tive charges but also amino ammonium N+ (CH3 )3 with positive
charges, the surface of coal particles will be anchored with AmPC
dispersant. Consequently, the anchoring effects are so strong that
AmPC dispersant is intensely adsorbed on the surface of coal par-
ticles. This can also explain that the amphoteric polycarboxylate
AmPC (%) Naphthalene (%) dispersant is more easily to wet on the surface coal particles than
the anionic polycarboxylate dispersant. At the same time, AmPC
86 62 molecules contain a mount of polyether inside chains and form
82 57 stable adsorbed layers on the surface of coal particles. When the
78 52 polymer chains are superbly dissolved and appropriately unfolded
75 46
in the water, their steric hindrance can make coal particles disperse
66 35
more stable.
106 J. Zhu et al. / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 412 (2012) 101–107

Fig. 8. The wetting property of several dispersants and water on the coal surface.

Fig. 9. The dispersion mechanism of AmPC with the coal in the CWS.

4. Conclusion
AmPC dispersant of CWS has been prepared in aqueous solu-
tion at 65 ◦ C via the free radical polymerization of SSS and PA
with the molar ratio of 1:1, using the redox catalyst of ammo-
nium persulfate–sodium bisulfite. The amount of DMC is 5.0 wt%
of the total mass of SSS and PA. It has been discovered that the
apparent viscosity reducing of AmPC dispersant is better than the
traditional polycarboxylate dispersant in stock which does not con-
tain a cationic group. Furthermore, the static stability of CWS using
AmPC dispersant is better than anionic polycarboxylate dispersant.
The superior application performance is mainly depended on the
amphoteric peculiar structure and mechanism of AmPC dispersant.
AmPC dispersant with both anionic group and cationic group can
provide the better anchoring action of the coal via the adsorption
of ion pair. It possesses not only dramatic wetting on coal but also
stable steric hindrance so as to disperse coal particles in water.
Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of
China under Grant No. 21176148, the Scientific Subject Foundation
of the Education Department of Shaanxi Provincial Government
under Grant No. 11JK0562 and Natural Science Grant of Shaanxi
University of Science & Technology Grant No. ZX11-16.
 J. Zhu et al. / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 412 (2012) 101–107
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