Patent ID: 8662427

Claim:
A method of providing a controlled batch of micrometer-sized or nanometer-sized coal material, comprising the steps of: (a) specifying at least one desired physical and/or chemical parameter of the controlled batch of coal material; (b) specifying the desired range of the physical and/or chemical parameter in the controlled batch of coal material; (c) obtaining a feedstock batch of coal material; and (d) processing the feedstock batch of coal material to obtain the controlled batch of coal material having the at least one specified physical and/or chemical parameter in the specified range thereof by: 1) introducing the feedstock batch of coal material to a beneficiation step causing elimination of unwanted materials, thereby creating beneficiated material; 2) subjecting the beneficiated material to a size reduction step, which causes finer sized particles and/or particle shaping in the feedstock batch of coal material, thereby creating size reduced material; 3) subjecting the size reduced material to a purification step for reducing or eliminating process contaminants and/or newly liberated intrinsic impurities from larger particles, thereby creating purified material; 4) transferring the purified material to a classification step, which concentrates the particles of the purified material at a targeted mean size, thereby creating classified material; and 5) transferring the classified material to a characterization step for determining physical and/or chemical properties of the classified material, thereby providing the controlled batch of coal material.