Influence of coal fluidity on coal blend and coke quality

Abstract

The blast furnace coke quality depends on the characteristics of coal blend, precarbonisation techniques adopted such as stamping, vibrocompaction etc., and coking conditions. Of the above, coal blend plays a significant role in the production of quality coke. Furthermore, the quality of the blend depends on the quality of individual coals and their interaction making up the blend. Coal, being a highly heterogeneous material, requires special care for determination of its properties and blending of individual coals for coke making. Coal fluidity is one such important coking property which highly influences the coke quality. The hard coking coals having good fluidity, which yield good coke, however are not only very expensive, but also are limited in reserves. Unlike, other properties, coal loses its fluidity on weathering, i.e. oxidation in presence of air on long storage in the yard, and the fluidity value changes on blending with different coals. To understand the effect of coal fluidity on coal blending and there by the coke quality, studies have been conducted using the industrial scale coals and coal blends. An empirical relation has been developed between actual blend fluidity and calculated fluidity using logarithmic weighted average from fluidity of individual coals. Blending of non-coking coals above 20% with the hard coking coals used in this research decreases the blend fluidity and impairs the coke quality. It was seen that the coals lose their fluidity on weathering, and the value becomes less than half after a two months of storage at site. Weathering appears to be more rapid in case of semisoft than hard coking coals. The present paper discusses the influence of coal fluidity on coal blend fluidity and changes on weathering.