This tribute is for the individual who has donated valuable time and effort to the betterment of the industry. Prof Quentin Campbell of the North-West University (NWU) received this accolade when the Southern African Coal Processing Society (SACPS) announced that he is the Coal Man of the Year for 2017.

One of the postgraduate students of the NWU, Elmarie Peters, was also chosen as the University Student of the Year by the SACPS.

Campbell has been a member of the SACPS committee for many years carrying out the duties for education and research. He represents the interest of tertiary institutions and training colleges where the Society’s role is pivotal.

Campbell was the driving force that established the research group in coal beneficiation at the NWU at a time when very little coal research was done in this country. With the support of Coaltech, this group became the most productive coal group in South Africa and became recognised as a major player internationally.

He is responsible for undergraduate teaching of coal preparation, leading some 20 postgraduates through the programme and continues to be dedicated in promoting this as a career for young students. Quentin has been very active in leveraging funding for research from other organisations such as Coaltech, SAMMRI and THRIP, and has procured in excess of R2 million for this purpose over the last decade.

Campbell has 23 accredited peer-reviewed journal articles to his credit as well as in the region of 100 international and local conference papers. He holds a patent and is the author of a number of industrial research reports and added a new chapter into the 2016 edition of the Coal Preparation Handbook on Dry Coal Beneficiation. For his contribution largely to coal beneficiation research, he received a C3 rating from the NRF at the end of 2016.

He ranks very highly amongst South African academics that have actively promoted education and research. “This highly approachable man, who assists with research and development, deserves to be recognised and selected as one of the very valuable Coal Persons of the Year,” said the chairman of the SACPS, Mr Jayson Jacobs .

Elmarie submitted her MEng dissertation entitled “Adsorbent assisted drying of fine coal” at the end of 2016. The postgraduate committee of the NWU selected to award her the degree, cum laude, with a final mark of 86%. Both external examiners concluded that her dissertation was well written and showed that the research was done extensively and thoroughly and is of great relevance to the industry.

In addition to Elmarie’s academic outputs, discussions are underway with an industrial partner to help design and build a pilot scale test rig, based on the results of this study. When completed, this rig will be taken to several plants to test its drying efficiency on a larger scale and to conduct energy balance calculations to determine the feasibility at this level. An additional project application has been submitted to industry based on the outcomes of her research and the feedback received from one of the examiners.

Elmarie is currently enrolled for a PhD in dry fine coal beneficiation and is the holder of a SACPS bursary for this study.
 

Elmarie Peters and Prof Quentin Campbell with the chairman of the South African Coal Processing Society, Mr Jayson Jacobs.