8th International Congress on Science and Technology of Ironmaking - ICSTI 2018

The conversion of coal into coke is a complex process, involving interrelated phenomena occurring simultaneously. These include heat transfer, gas evolution, softening and resolidification, evaporation and condensation, bubble growth and coalescence, gas transport, shrinkage and fissuring. Moreover, a key aspect of coke quality is its (cold and hot) strength as well as its reactivity. Knowledge of how these competing processes affect the formation and quality of coke is important for optimal outcomes. This work describes a series of research activities based on models, informed by laboratory and pilot scale experiments, of all the above phenomena. Outcomes of the studies have provided novel mechanistic explanations for internal gas pressure, fissure patterns and spacing, dilatometer measurements, sole heated oven tests, coke microstructure formation and aspects of coke quality. The aim here is to emphasise the value of appropriate models for interpretation and analysis of test results, as well as predicting aspects of coke quality from coal properties and coking parameters.