Technical Market Support » Metallurgical Coal
The project extended the work on the application of coal grain analysis to understanding coking behaviour to two more Rangal coals. As previously coke oven charges were prepared with different coal grain compositions but the same overall grind and coal composition. The procedure successfully produced different mixes of grain types so that the effect of coal grain composition on coking behaviour could be tested.
As previously, coal grain analysis provided a more reliable tool than IRF grind for correlating coke strength results with coal sizing. Coal grain analysis is confirmed as a useful tool to aid understanding of the coking behaviour of coals.
Reliable, consistent relations were not found between currently measured 2D coke structural characteristics (such as average values for pore wall thickness etc.) and coke tumble drum strength. Further development of 2D image analysis of coke microstructures is required to develop techniques to correlate coke structure with coke tumble strength. This may include developing techniques for characterising the number (volume fraction) of the coke with weak structural characteristics.
Cokes produced at the bench scale had similar micro-structural features to pilot scale cokes in a number of important areas. The potential exists to simulate many aspects of pilot oven coke structures at the bench scale.