Effect of Volume Change of Coal during Plastic and Resolidifying Phase on the Internal Gas Pressure in Coke Ovens

Abstract

The coking pressure in coke oven, which is caused by the internal gas pressure in the coal plastic layer, is determined by the gas permeability of the layer. The gas permeability of the plastic layer depends on its density as well as the physical property of the plastic coal itself. The plastic layer is between the coke layer and the coal layer and the effect of the volume change of these outer layers, i.e. contraction and compression, on the density and the internal gas pressure of the plastic layer was studied. Sandwich carbonization test, where different coals were charged in the test coke oven, showed that the internal gas pressure in the plastic layer depends not only on the one kind of coal in plastic phase but also on the other kind of coal in resolidifying phase near the oven walls. The relative volume of coke transformed from the unit volume of coal was measured using X-ray CT scanner and it varied greatly across the coke oven width depending on the kinds of coals. The volume change of coal during plastic and resolidifying phase affects the density and the internal gas pressure of the plastic layer. The relative volume of semicoke and coke transformed from the unit volume of coal near the oven walls is higher for a high coking pressure coal than that for a low coking pressure coal. This leads to the high density of the plastic layer and the generation of dangerously high internal gas pressure in the oven centre.