The raw coal of the coal washing machine can be cleaned and used more efficiently after washing. According to calculations, for every 1% decrease in coal ash used for power generation, the heat generation can increase by 200-360 kJ/kg. Using clean coal can save 10% to 15% of energy compared to using raw coal. Moreover, the boiler uses clean coal as fuel, which can improve the coal combustion efficiency by 10% to 15%. For every additional 100 million tons of raw coal selected, simply improving coal-fired efficiency can save 10 to 15 million tons of coal. At present, the whole society directly burns about 3 billion tons of coal. If all the coal is washed, at least 300 million tons of coal can be saved.

　　Suggestions for coal washing machines: The country needs to establish mandatory quality standards for commercial coal and a reasonable price comparison standard system for high-quality commercial coal based on the new situation, organize efforts to carry out research and development, achieve the localization of large-scale coal preparation equipment and replace imports, and promote the selection and use of high-quality thermal coal. During the 12th Five Year Plan period, coal for power generation, especially for power generation, should be washed and processed based on the actual coal type and quality. For coking coal, especially scarce coking coal, fat coal, and lean coal, the upper limit of ash content should be appropriately increased, the recovery rate of clean coal should be increased, and resource waste should be reduced. For coking coal such as gas coal, 1/3 coking coal, and other weakly sticky coal, efforts should be made to reduce the ash and sulfur content of clean coal. It is best to control the ash content below 7% to control the excessive development and consumption of scarce coal resources. At the same time, all newly built large and medium-sized mines with an annual output of over 900000 tons will be equipped with coal preparation plants to ensure that more than 80% of the raw coal in the newly added mines during the 12th Five Year Plan period is washed and processed. Among them, super large newly-built mines with an annual output of over 3 million tons must be 100% equipped with coal preparation equipment plants to achieve 100% selection of raw coal.

　　At present, China is in the stage of rapid industrialization and urbanization, with a significant increase in coal consumption, which has brought many problems. Therefore, it is urgent to open up a new path for clean, efficient, and sustainable development and utilization of coal. Zhang Shaoqiang believes that coal washing plays a huge role in energy conservation and emission reduction, and is an important measure for China's energy conservation, emission reduction, clean and efficient utilization of coal, and achieving high carbon energy and low carbon emissions.