ROLE OF COAL BLEND MOISTURE IN BY PRODUCT COKE OVENS

Surjit Kumar Das*, Ardhendu Sekhar Nandy**, Asit Paul**, Basant Kumar Sahoo*, Basudev
Chakraborty*, Arunabha Das*

Email: skdasju@gmail.com, Mobile: +91-8986874006

* Authors are with R & D Centre for Iron and Steel, SAIL
** Authors are from Bokaro Steel Plant, SAIL

ABSTRACT
A byproduct coke making plant is required to supply coke of good quality and adequate gas of high
calorific value for the integrated steel plant. The one element that influences the handling of coal and
impacts the operation and efficiency of the plant is coal blend moisture. Compared to other important
properties of the coal blend, moisture can be easily manipulated. The coal moisture can be increased
simply by adding water. Also, it can be reduced to 5 - 6 mass % using Coal Moisture Control (CMC) and 2
- 4 mass % using Dry-cleaned & Agglomerated Pre-compaction System (DAPS).
Moisture content is one of the most important parameters among the many variables affecting the bulk
density of coal blend and those controlling the coke qualities and yields of coke and gas. Increase in
moisture reduces coal grindability, coking pressure and internal gas pressure; helps in dust suppression
during charging and hence reduces jamming of ascension pipes and hydraulic main. Batteries charging
coals with high moisture content are not troubled with roof carbon deposits. But it increases thermal
shock to the battery and specific energy consumption. It was observed that when moisture content in
coal blend of SAIL- Bokaro Steel Plant increased to more than 8.50%, the calorific value of coke oven gas
improved. Studies have shown, however, that the increase in moisture content of coal beyond 8%
hampers strong coke formation. In the working moisture range of 9- 11%, the increase of the yield of
coke oven gas per 1% of working moisture is 5.2 m 3. Precarbon preheating process generally showed an
increase in the proportion of 40 - 80 mm coke, compared with wet charges. For SAIL- Bokaro coke ovens,
driving out 1% moisture from coal blend requires 125000 Kcal of heat/ oven. With lesser moisture, the
emission of NOx in atmosphere will also be low. On using dry to low moisture coal blend, the swelling of
coke mass increases leading to difficulty in oven pushings.
Hence, an optimum level of moisture content of charge coal needs to be maintained for improving coke
oven productivity, coke quality and operational smoothness. The coke oven managers all around the
globe maintain this optimum level according to their requirement, the operating conditions, the quality
of product and by products, the oven health & age and the ease of handling.

KEY WORDS
Coal blend moisture, Bulk density, Coal quality, Roof carbon deposit, Coking pressure, Coke Oven Gas,
Coke Quality, Smooth operation, Heat consumption

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INTRODUCTION
Coke is one of the most important and expensive raw materials used in the production of hot metal
through Blast Furnace route. In order to ensure that a blast furnace can operate stably at a high rate of
productivity and at low cost, it is important for the coke production process to be able to supply
adequate amounts of coke of uniform quality in a stable manner and at low cost. The quality parameters
of coke are characterized by its chemical properties (Ash, Moisture, Volatile Matter, Fixed carbon),
Porosity, Cold Properties (Micum Indices- M 10 & M40), Hot Properties (Coke Strength after Reaction, Coke
Reactivity Index). A typical Coke quality at SAIL- Bokaro Steel Plant is tabulated below:

Table- 1: Typical Coke quality at SAIL- Bokaro Steel Plant

   

Properties Unit Range

Moisture % 4.80 – 5.10
Volatile Matter % 0.75 – 0.77
Ash % 15.30 – 16.65
M 10 % 9.70 – 10.30
M 40 % 76.70 – 78.00
CSR % 63.30 – 65.65
CRI % 21.65 – 23.10
Porosity % 45.95 – 46.20
+ 80 mm in BF Coke % 11.10 – 13.50
- 25 mm in BF Coke % 4.35 – 4.75

The above-mentioned quality parameters of coke are dependent on chemical properties (Ash, VM,
Moisture, and Fixed Carbon), Rheological properties (FSI, LTGK, Fluidity) and Rank parameters (RoR,
MMR, Vitrinite content etc.) of coal blend along with health of the coke oven batteries, its operational
discipline and heating regime. For ease of understanding, the moisture content in coal blend has been
categorized as follows:

Table- 2: Nomenclature of Coal Blend with Varying Moisture Content

Range of Moisture, % Nomenclature Achieved by

Less than 2% Dry Coal Dry-cleaned & Agglomerated Pre-
compaction System (DAPS)
2 to 6 % Low moisture Coal Coal Moisture Control (CMC)
6 to 9 % Medium moisture Coal Moisture of incoming coals in
general
More than 9 % High moisture Coal Water addition

The one element that influences the handling of coal and impacts the operation and efficiency of the
plant is moisture. Its contribution remains more or less unnoticed. The paper discusses the role of
moisture in good quality coke production and smooth operation in coke oven battery. Compared to
other important properties of the coal blend, moisture can easily be manipulated. The moisture content
of blend coal can be increased by installing a very simple system and with a great degree of ease.

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Systems (CMC, DAPS etc.) have also been developed for reducing moisture in coal blend and are in
practice in many places.

SYSTEM FOR CONTROL OF COAL BLEND MOISTURE

Maintaining the medium to high level moisture in coal blend is relatively easy. In many cases, the
moisture level of the different individual incoming coals is sufficient to fulfill this objective. Sometimes
water is also added, particularly during summer season to increase the moisture level in the coal blend.
For maintaining moisture in dry to low levels, systems have been developed and incorporated in the
existing systems. These systems are in practice at many places. The process descriptions of the systems
which reduces moisture in coal blend are outlined below:

A. Coal Moisture Control (CMC):

The development of coal moisture control techniques utilizing medium to low temperature waste heat
(i.e., the sensible heat of coke oven generated gas and combustion waste gas), commanded
considerable attention in the coke manufacturing in the years following 1975.
The first practical model of Coal Moisture Control (CMC) equipment utilizing waste heat was put in
operation in the No.1 and No.2 coke oven batteries of the Oita Works in September 1983 1, and has been
operating satisfactorily since then, recording greater energy savings and higher coke quality and
productivity. All the coal that has been blended and crushed is dried continuously under an automatic
control system. The sensible heat recovered from the coke-oven combustion waste gas and the gas
generated in the ovens as it moves through the flue and ascension pipe is used by the dryer to de-
moisturize the coal. The medium which carries or transfer heat is continuously circulated through the
system. This process is capable of reducing the moisture content of wet coal (7 -11%) to a constant 5%.
The process flow is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1: Flow Diagram of Coal Moisture Control Process

Outcome of CMC techniques are increase in productivity (about 11%) due to increase of bulk density
and decrease of coking time; decrease in heat consumption (23- 26 Mcal/t-dry coal per 1% moisture
reduction); decrease in the yield of coke breeze (> 2.0 %); slight increase of dust carry- over.

B. Dry-Cleaned and Agglomerated Precompaction System (DAPS):

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Reducing coal moisture below 5% is difficult because the lower the coal moisture is, the more dust will
be generated. This is because, the quasi-particles in which coal fines adhere to the coarse particle
surface collapse due to surface moisture and become individual particles. This collapse of quasi-particles
proceeds until coal moisture is lowered to the 2% level, at which level, surface moisture is almost
completely removed. From this result it was judged that fine coal can be separated by lowering coal
moisture to the 2% level.
However, the lower limit of charging coal moisture was about 5% using coal moisture control (CMC)
equipment. Nippon Steel succeeded in developing dry-cleaned and agglomerated precompaction
system (DAPS) for lowering the moisture of charging coal as far as possible. In this system, a coal
preparation process was undertaken that involves separating coal fines, which cause dust generation,
from dried charging coal and agglomerating them. The equipment incorporating this system was
installed in the No. 3 and No. 4 coke batteries at Oita Works and brought into full-scale operation in
September 19922. The equipment has since been operating smoothly.

Fig. 2: DAPS Plant Flow in Nippon Steel

The flow of the DAPS process is shown in Fig. 2. A fluidized- bed dryer is used for drying and classifying
of coal and a system was devised by which the coal fines mechanically adhering to coarse grains are
washed off by the action of rubbing of particles within the fluidized bed. The classified fine coal is
collected by a dust collector and is fed to a roll compactor, where it is agglomerated. For the
agglomeration of fine coal, the maximum value of grain size of fine coal was set at 0.3 mm. The
agglomerated coal is mixed with the coarse- grain coal and fed to the coke oven as DAPS coal for coking.
It is considered that coke quality is improved in DAPS owing to the improvement in the bulk density of
charging coal, which is caused by a decrease in the moisture of charging coal, and the improvement in
dilatation, which is caused by the agglomeration of coal fines.

THE EFFECT OF COAL MOISTURE

An ideal moisture distribution is to ensure the quality of coke, and to achieve the goals of decreasing
fuel consumption, prolonging the battery life and reducing the air pollution. In coke making, the effects
of coal blend moisture can be broadly classified into three categories:
A. Coal Blend Characteristics/ Quality
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  Bulk Density of Coal Charge
 Grindability of Coal Charge
B. Coke Oven Operational Parameters
 Smooth Operational Factors
 Roof Carbon Deposition
 Coking Pressure
 Coke Oven Gas Formation
 Internal Gas/ Wall Pressure Characteristics
 Calorific Value of Coke Oven Gas
 Heat Consumption
C. Coke Characteristics
 Coke Size
 Coke Strength
 Coke Shrinkage
 Manufacturing Cost of Coke

1. Bulk Density of Coal Charge:

The bulk density and variations in bulk density of crushed coal can have a significant effect on coke-oven
productivity and coke quality. Moisture content is one of the most important parameters among the
many variables affecting the bulk density of coal blend and those controlling the coke qualities and yield.
Bulk density reaches a maximum for dry coal and decreases to a minimum 3, depending on the size
consist of coal, between 6 and 10% moisture, and increases again with further increase in moisture
content (Fig. 3). Box bulk density plot is shown in Fig. 4 4.

Fig. 3: Influence of moisture content and particle size Fig. 4: Effect of moisture content on the bulk density
on bulk density of selected Coal

On the average, the bulk density is 700- 780 kg/m 3 of dry coal in top charging, and 900- 1000 kg/m 3 in
stamping operations. A uniform bulk density of the coal charged in the ovens results in uniform coke
strength. For this the moisture in the coal must be uniform or oil is to be added to iron out the variations
and achieve uniformity. Though increase in bulk density of coal through moisture addition leads to
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higher coal throughput and easier pushing due to less swelling of the coal charge, it also requires higher
coking time and greater heat consumption to form the final coke.
The charge density of wet coal is always lower than that of dry coal. Whatever be the size of the coal
particles charged in an oven, the bulk density of the coal charge decreases up to 8- 9 % moisture content
and then again increases. Hence a balance needs to be struck for keeping the moisture in charge coal
such that all the parameters involved are optimized.

2. Grindability of Coal Charge:

The coals received from different sources needs to be blended and grinded in a crusher unit to a specific
size before charging inside an oven. The size requirement for SAIL- Bokaro Coal blend is that at least 82%
of coal passes through -3.2 mm screen with a minimum generation of micro-fines (-0.5 mm). The power
requirement for grinding depends on the grinding characteristic of individual coal. Increase in moisture
reduces coal grindability for coals of a given rank 5. This in turn does not allow the coal to be crushed
uniformly, and diminishes coal flowability. This results in belt conveyor transfer chute jamming during
coal transportation from the hammer crushers to the ovens.

3. Smooth Operational Factors:

Increase of moisture in charge coal increases heat loss, due to evaporation and superheating of vapor.
Moisture helps in binding fines by surface tension, thus reducing choking of hatches, through which the
coal is charged into the ovens from the top. Moisture helps in dust suppression during charging and
hence reduces jamming of gas carrying equipment like ascension pipes and hydraulic main. Vapor
generated inside oven chamber also aids in convection and radiation heat transfer. Excess moisture,
however, causes thermal shock to the refractory brickwork.
The dustiness and flowability of a coal is primarily impacted by the surface moisture of a coal. During dry
season, one of the most effective and cost efficient means of controlling dust is to use sprinklers to add
surface moisture to the outside of the pile. This additional moisture is applied only to the surface of the
pile, and only when necessary. The total moisture of the coal is not significantly changed.
During rainy season, fine coals pick up moisture and become sticky causing handling problems during
unloading at the tipplers. These types of coals form hard cakes which stick to the sides of the railway box
wagons and have to be poked and hammered out from them. They also jam the hopper grills and
transfer chutes of the belt conveyors leading to increase in manual labor.

4. Roof Carbon Deposition:

Moisture also affects carbon deposition in the ovens. The steam formed from the working moisture in
coal creates an oxidizing medium with the highest reactivity on contact with the incandescent surface of
carbon deposits on the walls. Hence carbon deposition on the oven roofs is much more than on the
walls. However, roof carbon problems are much more in Batteries 6 without flared tops i.e. closed
Ascension Pipe Caps during charging, as compared to those with flared ones. It is noteworthy that
Batteries charging coals with high moisture content are not troubled with roof carbon deposits.
The reasons why the carbon deposits increase when the moisture content in the coal charged is low
would be7:
(1) Increase in carbonization gases as the amount of coal charge becomes larger,
(2) Lowering of the dilution effect of carbonization gases by water molecules, and
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(3) Rise in temperature at free space because the temperature of coal charged with less moisture
becomes higher than that of wet coal charge.
On the other hand, Krebs et al.8 suggested that coal fines have a relation with the carbon deposition in
the coke oven chamber. The carryover fines (materials of -100 m in particle size derived from coal) are
thought to increase on account of lowering the moisture content.
The carbon deposition mechanism in the free space of coke oven chambers 7 has been studied under
Coal Moisture Control (CMC) operation by the actual oven measurements. Average coal moisture
contents were 6.3 mass% in CMC operation and 9.1 mass% in Wet Coal. It was found that the amount of
carbon deposits in CMC operation increases by as much as 45-75 mass% compared with those in wet
coal operation. The majority of the deposits at the initial stage of the carbonization were derived from
the carryover fines. It was also found that the carbon deposits on the base portion of an ascension pipe
in CMC operation contained approx 20 mass% of materials derived from carryover fines. The influence
of volatile matter on the carbon deposits in CMC operation was greater than that in wet coal operation.

5. Coking Pressure:
For ensuring the quality of coke produced, the coking coal must have a certain swelling and shrinkage
behavior. As discussed earlier, the bulk density of coal charge depends on moisture content and particle
size. The maximum coking pressure can be decreased 3 considerably by decreasing the bulk density and
by fine grinding of coal (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5: Coking pressure as a function of bulk density and size consist

During coal carbonization in a coke oven chamber 9, the swelling of molten coal causes a load called
“coking pressure” on oven walls. Since excessive coking pressure increases the force needed for coke
cake pushing and in some cases leads to operational problems such as hard pushes or “stickers,” causing
wall damage, one of the most important aspects of the coke making process is to control and reduce the
coking pressure. With this in mind, Nippon Steel has developed dry coal-charging processes for coke
making, such as CMC and DAPS. With the coal moisture being reduced to 5- 6 mass % using CMC and 2-
4 mass % using DAPS, the advantages of less heat consumption for carbonization, higher productivity,
and better coke quality were gained. Since a decrease in coal moisture leads to an increase in coal bulk
density in the coke oven chamber, which increases coking pressure to a great extent, it is quite

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important to precisely control the coal moisture during the dry coal charging processes so as to avoid
wall damage.

6. Coke Oven Gas Formation:

A mechanism of the gaseous reaction taking place inside coke oven proposed by I. G. Zubilin et al.10
states that during the initial 2-3 hrs of the coking period, the carbon layer on the high-temperature
surface of the brickwork and in its porous structure inside a coke oven on contact with the steam-
oxidant creates a thermodynamically caused reaction zone of steam gasification of carbon deposits
according to the following reaction:

C + H20vap  CO + H2 (t ≥ 900- 1100 0C)

The mechanism was fully explained as the escaping dry coke-oven gas is pyrolyzed with deposition of
carbon in the porous bulk of heating chamber walls and the hydrogen evolved is completely burned in
the heating system to form steam (H20). Afterwards, the oxidative steam gasification of the carbon
deposit in the porous volume of the walls leads to formation of Hydrogen and additional Carbon
monoxide with their subsequent combustion in the firing system to form Water vapor and Carbon di-
oxide. This result in increase of the volumes of coke-oven gas (particularly CO and H 2) produced with
increasing moisture of the coal blend coked.
The monograph of Kustov characterizes the relationship between the increase of the yield of coke-oven
gas and the increase of the moisture of the coal blend being carbonized. On coking moist coal blends (up
to Working Moisture = 11%) under industrial conditions the increase of the yield of coke-oven gas, due
to the gasification of carbon by the convertible working moisture of the coal blend to Carbon mono-
oxide and Hydrogen is ≤ 28 m 3/metric ton of moist coal blend (i.e., 2.5- 2.8 m 3 per 1% of working
moisture). In the working moisture range of 9- 11%, the increase of the yield of coke oven gas per 1% of
working moisture is 5.2 m3. On increasing working moisture of the coal blend (> 11 %), the growth of the
yield of additional volumes of coke-oven gas stops. The author opined that this could be due to the
attainment of the critical mass of coal-blend moisture which, with respect to energy consumption for
gasification, is comparable with the amount of heat accumulated by the brickwork of the heating wall,
which is required for its vaporization, overheating and providing the endothermic effect of its conversion
reaction, and with the decrease of the wall surface temperature (< 700 OC).

7. Internal Gas/ Wall Pressure Characteristics:

A study was carried out by Lee, W J and Lee, Y K 11 to assess the influence of coal blend moisture on
internal gas pressure. In the study, carbonization tests for various kinds of single coals and coal blends
were carried out with varying operating conditions in a movable- wall test coke oven to investigate the
coking pressure behavior. It was observed that the internal gas pressure of single coals increased with
an increase of coking capacity and a decrease of volatile matter. It was also found that the internal gas
pressure characteristics for coal blends mainly depend on the blending ratio of a given coal and
exponentially increase with decrease in moisture content. Further, it tends to decrease with an increase
in heating wall temperature.
In one of the study carried out to find out the relationship between coking pressure and coal moisture,
the results showed that when the American Beckley coal was charged wet, the heating-wall gives way
maximally 14 mm to the coking pressure 12. When preheated coal is charged, the deformation increases
to 55 mm. In another study, evaluated on six- meter coke oven battery 13, it seemed that the optimum
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(low coking pressure) occurs in the 4- 6% moisture range. Above and below this range coking pressure
increases.

8. Calorific Value of Coke Oven Gas:

It was observed that during rainy season when moisture content in coal blend of SAIL- Bokaro Steel
Plant increases to more than 8.50%, the calorific value of coke oven gas improves. A plot of Calorific
value with moisture in coal blend is shown in Fig. 6.
On careful examination of data, it was found that content of methane (CH 4) in coke oven gas had
increased leading to an increase in the calorific value of Coke Oven gas. This may be due to the fact that
escaping vapor forms a protective film over the hydrocarbons molecule present in coke oven gas
thereby preventing its conversion into Carbon mono- oxide, Carbon di- oxide and hydrogen.

Fig. 6: Variation in CV of Coke Oven Gas with Moisture

9. Heat Consumption:
With coal moisture control equipment at Chiba Works 14, it was observed that the reduction of charging
coal moisture down to a level of 6.0% leads to a reduction in heat consumption to approximately 74
Kcal/kg-coal. With the coal quality having 97% RoR (Random Reflectance) and 70% Maximum fluidity of
the base/ original blend, the same level of coke strength was achieved employing CMC techniques. In
another study, waste heat was recovered and utilized to reduce the moisture content of coal to 4% and
saving of 80000 kcal heat/ton of coal was reported 15.
For SAIL- Bokaro coke ovens, driving out 1% moisture from coal requires 125000 kcal of heat/ ovens.
This needs a supply of 31 Nm 3 of Coke Oven Gas. On monetizing, this is equivalent to `9.5 million/
annum towards energy cost. With lesser moisture, the emission of NO x in atmosphere will also be low
owing to the less requirement of heating gas.

10. Coke Size:

The study of British Coke Research Association (BCRA) showed 16 that the size of coke produced from a
high- volatile (VMdaf - 28 to 37%) coal was unaffected by moisture content in the range of 2 - 14%. The
result was corroborated in a commercial coke oven carbonization with blend moisture content of 3 -
11.5%. However, when one blend dried from 12.5 to 5% moisture, decrease in mean size from 64 to 57

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mm was observed. The general conclusion from BCRA's large- scale trials was that preheating of the
charge had no effect on coke size for a representative range of British coals.
A test oven study in West Germany with coals of 20 and 30% Volatile Matter content, found that the
proportions of >100 and >80 mm coke decreased when the charge was dried or preheated. With the
higher-volatile coal, the >I00 mm content was 45% for a wet charge but 25% after preheating.
Preheating was found to increases coke mean size by 3 - 6 mm for coal blends from the USA, but it did
not affect the mean size for a Polish good-coking blend. In commercial practice at Orgreave coking plant,
preheating was reported to have practically no effect on the mean size or the >75, >50 and >25 mm
contents of the coke.
Bergbau- Forschung's development of the Precarbon preheating process, reported in several papers,
generally showed an increase in the proportion of 40 - 80 mm coke, compared with wet charges. Similar
results have been announced from the use of the Precarbon process in the USA and by INCAR in Spain 14.

11. Coke Strength:

The pre-requisite of a strong coke is a thick plastic layer of 20 mm or more during coal to coke
transformation in the slot type ovens 17. Further, in good coking coal blends the plastic range of each
coking coal component overlap to form an extended plastic range with a re-solidification temperature in
excess of 475OC. These coals should also have high thermal diffusivity to form better coke since the
strength of coke is increased to the most significant levels during the final conversion of semi-coke to
coke at temperatures of 1000OC.
The plastic layer progresses from the sides nearest the oven wall to the middle driving out the moisture
in the coal before it, which condenses in the middle at a temperature of 100 OC. Studies have shown that
the increase in moisture content of coal beyond 8% decreases the plastic layer thickness and
consequently hampers strong coke formation. Increase in the moisture content of coal decreases the
heating rate in the range of 300 to 500 OC, resulting in thinner plastic layer thickness and lesser swelling.
Additionally, the temperature gradient in the vicinity of the re-solidification temperature becomes
steeper resulting in increased fissuring of the coke formed 18.

12. Coke Shrinkage/ Swelling:

For dry to low moisture content coal blend, the bulk density of coal remains very high. Due to higher
bulk density, the swelling of coke mass increases 1. This reduces the shrinkage of coke and leads to
difficulty in oven pushings.

13. Manufacturing Cost of Coke:

In order to reduce the manufacturing cost of coke, it is necessary to reduce mainly 2
(1) Material cost and
(2) Operating cost.
Both of these costs can be reduced by lowering the moisture of charging coal. Because dust generation
increases with decreasing moisture of charging coal, however, the lower limit of charging coal moisture
was about 5%, which yielded good results in coal moisture control. Dry- cleaned and agglomerated
precompaction system (DAPS) was successfully developed and incorporated by Nippon Steel for
lowering the moisture of charging coal as least as possible (around 2%). In this system, fines were
separated from dried charging coal and agglomerated in a separate unit.
Page 10 of 12
It was found that the productivity of DAPS is 21% higher than that of the ordinary charging method, the
coke quality of DAPS was +5.6 points better in terms of CSR, and a 15% energy saving was achieved.
Furthermore, because of the improvement in coke quality, larger amounts of low- cost coals (Semi-
coking or Non- coking coal) can be used. Hence, the total manufacturing cost can be reduced to the tune
of 8- 11%.

CONCLUSION
The one element that influences the handling of coal and impacts the operation and efficiency of the
plant is moisture. Compared to other important properties of coal blend, moisture can easily be
manipulated. The optimum level of moisture content of charge coal improves the coke oven
productivity, coke quality and operation smoothness.
 The coal moisture can be reduced to 5- 6 mass % using Coal Moisture Control (CMC) and 2- 4
mass % using Dry-cleaned & Agglomerated Pre-compaction System (DAPS).
 Moisture content affects the bulk density of coal blend and hence coke qualities and yield.
 Increase in moisture reduces coal grindability, coking pressure and internal gas pressure.
 Increase in coal blend moisture helps in dust suppression during charging and hence reduces
jamming of gas carrying equipment like ascension pipes and hydraulic main.
 Batteries charging coals with high moisture content are not troubled with roof carbon deposits.
 It was observed that during rainy season when moisture content in coal blend of SAIL- Bokaro
increases to more than 8.50%, the calorific value of coke oven gas improved.
 Studies have shown that the increase in moisture content of coal beyond 8% decreases the
plastic layer thickness and consequently hampers strong coke formation.
 In the working moisture range of 9- 11%, the increase of the yield of coke oven gas per 1% of
working moisture is 5.2 m3.
 Precarbon preheating process, reported in several papers, generally showed an increase in the
proportion of 40 - 80 mm coke, compared with wet charges.
 For SAIL- Bokaro coke ovens, driving out 1% moisture from coal requires 125000 kcal heat/
ovens. This is equivalent to `9.5 million/ annum towards energy cost.
 With lesser moisture, the emission of NOx will also be low.
 On using dry to low moisture coal blend, the swelling of coke mass increases; reducing the
shrinkage of coke and leading to difficulty in oven pushings.
 Using DAPS, total manufacturing cost can be reduced to the tune of 8- 11%.
The coke oven managers all around the globe maintain this optimum level according to their
requirement, the operating conditions, and the quality of product and by products, the oven health &
age and the ease of handling. It is important, therefore, to select the moisture content at such a level
that provides the greatest economic benefit evaluated by considering the air pollution, recovered
energy, and other expected effects.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Authors are grateful to management of SAIL- RDCIS and SAIL- BSL specially Sri B. C. Roy, GM- RDCIS
Bokaro Centre; Sri M. P. Reddy, GM (Coal & Energy) - RDCIS Ranchi; Sri S. Pal, GM (Quality), Bokaro Steel
Plant and Sri B. P. Verma, GM & In-charge (Coke Oven & By Product), Bokaro Steel Plant for providing
necessary trigger and impetus in writing the paper. Authors are also thankful to Late Sri Prashant Gupta,
Ex- Manger, RDCIS Bokaro Centre for providing some useful articles related to the topic.

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10. The Mechanism of Carburization- Decarburization of Chamber Walls of Coke- Oven Batteries; I. G. Zubilin, V.
I. Rudyka, A. A. Tarakanov and A. I. Zubilina, Coke and Chemistry, No. 10, 2001, pp. 7- 10
11. Effect of coal blend and operating variables on internal gas pressure during coking in a coke oven; Lee, W J ;
Lee, Y K Publ: South Korea, 2000 RIST JOURNAL OF R&D 14,(1), pp. 107-113 Mar. 2000 ISSN: 1225-486X
12. Coking Pressure and Coal Moisture - Effects During Carbonization - Implications for a New Coking Reactor
Design; Rohde, W; Habermehl, D; Kolitz, V; Author Affiliation: Bergbau-Forschung Conference: 47th
Ironmaking Conference, Toronto, Canada, 17-20 Apr. 1988 Publ: Iron and Steel Society, Inc., USA, 1988, pp.
135-143
13. Wall pressure determination by measurement and interpretation of internal gas pressures in a six-meter coke
battery; G M Latshaw, H R McCollum, R W Stanley, United States Steel Corporation, pp. 373- 380
14. Operation of Coal Moisture Control Equipment of Coke Oven Batteries at Chiba Works; Katayama, T;
Kobayashi, T; Tanaka, T; Takahashi, H; Obata, H Author Affiliation: Kawasaki Steel Conference: 48th Ironmaking
Conference, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 2-5 Apr. 1989 Publ: Iron and Steel Society, Inc., 410 Commonwealth Dr.,
Warrendale, Pennsylvania 15086, USA, 1989 pp. 103-107
15. Recent Heat Recovery Techniques in Ichi Kan Iron Incorporation; WORLD STEEL (JPN.) (6), 1986, pp. 2- 9
16. Coke Lump Size: Some of the Influencing Factors (a Literature Review); D. G. Edwards and K. G. Barber,
Cokemaking International 1/2000, pp. 87- 92
17. Principles for Blending Coals; T G Callcott, BHP Technical Bulletin Volume 23 No. 2 November 1979
18. Monograph on Coal & Coke at Tata Steel

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