Latest advances of coal dry cleaning research work against the background of achieving the dual-carbon goals

Coal dry cleaning process is suitable for use in high, cold and arid areas, and this is particularly true in China, as the large coal-producing bases are all located in water-deficit central and western parts of the country. The development of dry cleaning of coal has therefore become a general trend in the future. The paper presents a brief introduction to the types of dry cleaning equipment commonly applied, as well as an analysis of the latest advances of the work made on and the direction of development of the following dry cleaning equipment, against the backdrop of achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals: the radiation-based dry separator, the large-size dry cleaning equipment—typically the pneumatic separator; the dry cleaning separator specifically designed for treating 13～0 mm coal, and the intelligent dry cleaning separator. The radiation-based separator can now work with a much improved identification capability through upgrading with the use of dual-source identification algorithm while, on the other hand, the pneumatic separator is now capable of working under intelligent management mode thanks to the use of servo control system to adjust lateral and longitudinal angles of separating bed, digital air supply system, separating process closed-loop control mathematic model, and digital twining platform. Lastly, the co-authors presents a future outlook on the direction of development of the dry cleaning process under the new scenario from the green, high-efficiency and intelligent perspectives.