Role of Moisture in By Product Coke Ovens A by product coke making plant is required to supply sufficient coke of good mechanical

strength and adequate gas of high calorific value for the integrated steel plant to be a going concern. 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. 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 the moisture in the coal before it which condenses in the middle at a temperature of 100OC. 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 500OC, resulting in thinner plastic layer thickness and lesser swelling. Additionally, the temperature gradient in the vicinity of the resolidification temperature becomes steeper resulting in increased fissuring of the coke formed. Additionally, the coke should have uniform strength and this can be achieved by having a uniform bulk density of the coal charged in the ovens. 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 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 is struck and the moisture in charge coal is kept to around 8-9 % to optimize all the parameters involved. In addition to increasing the bulk density of coal, moisture also affects carbon deposition in the ovens, coke shrinkage? and calorific value of the coke oven gas. 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. It is also thought that moisture forms a protective film over the CmHn molecule in coke oven gas thereby preventing its cracking and increasing the calorific value. Increase of moisture in charge coal increases heat loss, due to evaporation and superheating of vapour, helps in binding fines by surface tension, thus reducing choking of hatches, through which the coal is top charged into the ovens, lessening jamming of gas carrying equipments and aids in radiation heat transfer. Excess moisture, however, causes thermal shock to the refractory brickwork. The moisture in coal not only participates in the heat-exchange process of carbonization but also acts as an oxidant in the formation of gas. It has been found experimentally that gas production increases with an increase of moisture content in coal to 11 %, when a critical mass is reached, after which the volume of gas produced decreases. Increase in moisture reduces coal grindability, which in turn does not allow the coal to be crushed uniformly, and diminishes coal flowability, which leads to belt conveyor transfer chute jamming during coal transportation from the railway box wagons to the ovens.

The moisture in coal is characterized by the way it is measured. The different ways are enumerated below: a) Inherent or Bed or Equilibrium or Capacity or Analytical Moisture: It is the water held within the pores and capillaries of coal. b) Surface or Free Moisture: It is the water held on the surface of coal. c) Air-dry Loss Moisture: It is the loss in weight of the coal sample which results from the partial drying of coal. d) Residual Moisture: It is that moisture which remains in the sample after determining the Air-dry Loss Moisture. e) Total or As-received or Working Moisture: It is the loss in weight of the coal sample under rigidly controlled conditions of temperature, time and air-flow. It is the sum of Inherent and Free Moisture as well as that of Air-dry Loss Moisture and Residual Moisture. f) Decomposition Moisture: It is that produced from the thermal decomposition of organic constituents of coal. g) Water of Hydration of Mineral Matter: It is the water that is present in the crystal lattices of the clay and inorganic minerals in coal. When we calculate the percent weight loss till constant weight of 1g of a 200 micron sized coal sample taken in a moisture dish at 108 2OC in an air oven, we get the Total Moisture of that coal. _________ References: 1. Technology Dissemination Centre, RDCIS Technology Awareness Programme on Coke Making for Blast Furnaces 2. Monograph on Coal & Coke in Tata Steel 3. S.K.Das, A.J.Chaudhuri and V.Gowrishanker Effect of Charge Coal Moisture on Coke Ovens Performance at Bokaro Steel Plant, SAIL 4. T.G.Callcott Principles for Blending Coals 5. Martin A. Elliott Chemistry of Coal Utilization, Second Supplementary Volume 6. I.G.Zubilin, V.I.Rudyka, A.A.Tarakanova and A.I.Zubilina The Mechanism of Carburization-Decarburization of Chamber Walls of Coke-Oven Batteries 7. James G. Speight Handbook of Coal Analysis 8. Isabel Suarez-Ruiz and John C. Crelling Applied Coal Petrology 9. W.H.Van Niekerk and R.J.Dippenaar Blast-furnace coke: A coal-blending model 10. David H. Wakelin The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel