Synthesis and Performance of a Novel Cotton Linter Based Cellulose Derivatives Dispersant for Coal–Water Slurries

A novel sulfonic-cellulose succinate half ester (S-CSHE) dispersant for coal–water slurry (CWS) was successfully synthesized using cotton linters, sulfamic acid and succinic anhydride in DMF by a one-pot synthesis. The effects of the synthetic condition of S-CSHE as a dispersant for CWS were studied. An S-CSHE with a maximum degree of substitution of 0.98 was obtained under these optimized conditions. The synthesized samples were characterized by GPC, FT-IR spectroscopy, (13)C-NMR, and SEM. The molecular weight was from 2.2 × 10(3) to 1.2 × 10(4), revealed by GPC; FT-IR spectra analysis revealed characteristic absorptions of the sulfonic-cellulose succinate half ester; SEM images showed smooth cellulose structures, while the S-CSHE had a compact surface. Effects of S-CSHE on the fluidity of application as the dispersants for the CWS prepared from Chinese Zhundong coal were studied further. The CWS application performance investigations showed that S-CSHE can most effectively reduce CWS viscosity, and perform excellent dispersity and stability. When the dosage of S-CSHE was up to 0.5 wt.%, the maximum coal content of CWS may reach 70 wt.%, and the apparent viscosity of CWS was 487 mPa·s. The CWS prepared using S-CSHE (0.38 wt.%) for Zhundong coal showed the rheological characteristics of shear-thinning, and is consistent with the Herschel–Bulkley model. This work found a new route for utilizing cotton linters cellulose and enlarged the selecting range of the dispersant for CWS. It has a positive significance for efficient and clean utilization of Xinjiang Zhundong coal.