PELLETIZED PRODUCTS AND SYSTEMS, DEVICES AND METHODS ASSOCIATED

Abstract

Production systems and methods for producing pellets or pellet products, which can be used, e.g., in an electric arc furnace (EAF) to produce metal alloys, are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a method for forming coke pellets includes (i) blending biomass with a set of materials to form an input blend, (ii) preconditioning the input blend by hydrating the input blend to generate a first plurality of particles, (iii) charging the first plurality of particles into an oven to produce a second plurality of particles via pyrolysis, (iv) post-conditioning the second plurality of particles to produce a third plurality of particles by exposing the second plurality of particles to a binder, and (v) physically altering the third plurality of particles to form coke pellets. The biomass can have a first volatility and the set of materials can have a second volatility lower than the first volatility.

Description

1 / 87 “COMPOSITION COMPRISING COKE PELLETS AND METHOD FOR FORMING COKE PELLETS” CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED REQUESTS

[001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 599,997, filed November 16, 2023, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 648,626, filed May 16, 2024, disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. This application is also related to (i) U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 501,795, filed November 3, 2023, entitled COAL BLENDS, FOUNDRY COKE PRODUCTS, AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS, (ii) U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 052,760, filed November 4, 2022, entitled FOUNDRY COKE PRODUCTS, AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND METHODS, (iii) U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 511,148, filed November 16, 2023, entitled PRODUCTS COMPRISING CHAR AND CARBON, AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND METHODS, and (iv) U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 511.621, filed on November 16, 2023, entitled PELLETIZED PRODUCTS AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND METHODS, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[002] The present technology is generally directed to methods and systems of production for producing a product including a population of pellets. FUNDAMENTALS

[003] Thermal processing of a carbonaceous material under controlled conditions (e.g., at elevated temperature in a limited or oxygen-free environment) can remove or reduce volatile matter (VM) and produce a product with an increased carbon content. For example, coal can Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 35 / 224 2 / 87 to be treated in a process known as the Thompson Coking Process to be devolatilized and produce a molten coke mass with a predetermined porosity and strength. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[004] Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention, including the preferred embodiment, are described with reference to the following figures, wherein similar reference numbers refer to similar parts along the various views, unless otherwise specified.

[005] FIG. 1 represents a partial cross-sectional view of a portion of a heat plant, according to the embodiments of the present technology.

[006] FIG. 2 represents a cross-sectional view of a furnace, configured according to the embodiments of the present technology.

[007] FIG. 3 represents a mixture of raw materials, according to the embodiments of the present technology.

[008] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for determining a mixture composition, according to embodiments of the present technology.

[009] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for performing pre-processing mixing for a raw material before loading the raw material into a furnace, according to embodiments of the present technology.

[010] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for producing output particulates using a production system, according to embodiments of the present technology.

[011] FIG. 7 represents a diagram of a production system according to the methods of the present technology.

[012] FIG. 8 represents the pellets according to the embodiments of the present technology.

[013] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for forming pellets of Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 36 / 224 3 / 87 coke according to the embodiments of the present technology.

[014] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating another method for forming coke pellets according to embodiments of the present technology.

[015] One skilled in the relevant art will understand that the features shown in the drawings are for illustrative purposes only and variations, including different or additional features and arrangements thereof, are possible. DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

[016] The present technology is generally directed to systems and methods of production for producing pellets or pellet products, which can be used, for example, in an electric arc furnace (EAF) to produce metal alloys. Coal is processed in coking plants to produce coke products of varying sizes, including 4+ inch (in) castings, approximately 2x4 inch (in) eggs, 1x2 inch (in) stoves, and coke particles of less than 1 inch or 3 / 4 inch. While castings and eggs can be sold as a product, coke particulate matter is generally too fine to be sold as a product. The industry has not been successful in finding a method of consuming and / or disposing of this material and, therefore, a large portion of the coke particulate matter generated is landfilled.

[017] The embodiments of the present technology attempt to mitigate this problem associated with the waste of coke particulates (coke breeze or breeze) and other traditional waste materials by pelletizing these particulates to produce a pellet product with underlying value for various industries. As described in this document, some embodiments of the present technology may include a furnace (e.g., a coke oven, a devolatilization furnace, a pyrolysis furnace, a blast furnace) configured to receive and heat an input material (e.g., coal) to a processing temperature of at least 1,000°F to produce processed materials, which may include coke products (e.g., Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 37 / 224 4 / 87 example, foundry) and particles (e.g., breeze). In some embodiments, the processed materials include pyrolysis products. The particulates can be pelletized to produce a population of pellets that include the component of interest. In some embodiments, the particulates may be mixed with other particulate material(s) from a different source (e.g., iron fines, anthracite fines, coal fines, metal fines, blast furnace dust, bag fines, residual materials, crushed foundry coke breeze, petroleum coke breeze, anthracite fines and / or calcined anthracite fines), and the mixed particulate materials may be pelletized to 1 / 25 in., 1 / 23 in., 1 / 20 in., 1 / 16 in., 1 / 10 in., 1 / 8 in., 1 / 5 in., 1 / 4 in., 1 / 3 in., 1 / 2 in., 3 / 4 in., 1 in., etc.In some embodiments, prior to pelleting, the particulate materials can be adjusted so that the pellets produced have a desired property (e.g., density, chemical composition, size, strength, degradation profile, moisture content, etc.) specified by a downstream user and / or determined according to an intended use of the pellets produced.

[018] Specific details of various embodiments of the technology are described below. Other details describing well-known structures and systems frequently associated with combustion plants, pelletizing plants, or automated control systems have not been set forth in the following disclosure to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the various embodiments of the technology. Many of the details, dimensions, angles, and other features shown in the Figures are merely illustrative of particular embodiments of the technology. Consequently, other embodiments may have other details, dimensions, angles, and features without departing from the spirit and / or scope of the present technology. One skilled in the art will therefore understand that the technology may have other embodiments with additional elements, or the technology may have other embodiments without several of the features shown and described below. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 38 / 224 5 / 87 II. Overview of Systems and Methods for the Production of Pelleted Products

[019] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of a furnace 100, according to embodiments of the present technology. It is understood that furnace 100 is provided in this document for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. In some embodiments, furnace 100 may be a non-heating recovery furnace (e.g., a by-product furnace). In some embodiments, furnace 100 may be a different type of combustion furnace than an HHR furnace. In some embodiments, furnace 100 may be a heat processing furnace including, for example, a devolatilization furnace, a pyrolysis furnace, or a blast furnace.

[020] The furnace 100 includes an open cavity defined by a furnace floor 102, a pusher side furnace door 104, an outlet side furnace door 106 opposite the pusher side furnace door 104, opposite side walls 108 extending upward from the furnace floor 102 and between the pusher side furnace door 104 and the outlet side furnace door 106, and a crown 110 (e.g., a radiant furnace crown) that forms an upper surface of the open cavity of a furnace chamber 112. Control of airflow and pressure within the furnace chamber 112 plays a significant role in the efficient operation of the heat processing cycle. Embodiments of the present technology include a set of crown air inlets 114 that allow primary combustion air to enter the furnace chamber 112.In some embodiments, multiple inlets of the crown air inlet assembly 114 penetrate the crown 110 in a manner that selectively places the furnace chamber 112 in open fluid communication with the environment outside the furnace 100. The furnace 100 may include an absorption elbow air inlet (not shown in FIGS. 1 or 2) having an air damper of the air dampers 116, which may be positioned at any one of. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 39 / 224 6 / 87 a series of positions between fully open and fully closed to vary the amount of airflow through the air inlet. Other furnace air inlets, including door air inlets and the crown air inlet assembly 114, include air dampers 116 that operate in a similar manner. The absorption elbow air inlet can be positioned to allow air to enter the common tunnel 128, while the door air inlets and the crown air inlet assembly 114 vary the amount of airflow to the furnace chamber 112. Although embodiments of the present technology may use crown air inlets 114 exclusively to supply primary combustion air to the furnace chamber 112, other types of air inlets, such as door air inlets, may be used in particular embodiments without departing from aspects of the present technology.

[021] Various air inlets may be used with or without one or more air distributors to direct, circulate and / or distribute air within the furnace chamber. The term air, as used in this document, may include ambient air, oxygen, oxidants, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, diluents, combustion gases, air mixtures, oxidizing mixtures, flue gas, recycled vent gas, steam, gases with additives, inerts, heat absorbers, liquid phase materials such as water droplets, multiphase materials such as liquid droplets atomized by means of a gaseous carrier, aspirated liquid fuels, liquid heptane atomized in a gaseous carrier stream, fuels such as natural gas or hydrogen, cooled gases, other gases, liquids or solids or a combination of these materials. In various embodiments, the air inlets and / or distributors may function (i.e., open, close, modify an air distribution pattern, etc.).) in response to manual control or advanced automatic control systems. The air inlets and / or air distributors may operate on a dedicated advanced control system or may be controlled by a broader draft control system that adjusts the air inlets and / or distributors as well. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 40 / 224 7 / 87 absorption dampers, single-duct dampers and / or other air distribution pathways within coke oven systems.

[022] In operation, volatile gases emitted from inlet materials positioned within the furnace chamber 112 can collect in the crown and be drawn downstream to the descending channels 118 formed in one or both side walls 108. The descending channels 118 can fluidly connect the furnace chamber 112 with a single chimney 120, which is positioned below the furnace floor 102. The single duct 120 can form a tortuous path below the furnace floor 102. The volatile gases emitted from the inlet materials can be burned in the single chimney 120, thus generating heat to support the processing of the inlet materials to produce processed materials (e.g., reduction of coal to coke). The descending channels 118 are fluidly connected to the absorption channels 122 formed in one or both side walls 108.A secondary air inlet 124 may be provided between the single duct 120 and the atmosphere, and the secondary air inlet 124 may include a secondary air damper 126 which may be positioned in any of a series of positions between fully open and fully closed to vary the amount of secondary airflow to the single duct 120. Absorption channels 122 are fluidly connected to a common tunnel 128 by one or more absorption ducts, such as the absorption duct assembly 130. A tertiary air inlet 132 may be provided between the absorption duct assembly 130 and the atmosphere. The tertiary air inlet 132 may include a tertiary air damper 134, which may be positioned in any of a series of positions between fully open and fully closed to vary the amount of tertiary airflow to the absorption duct assembly 130.

[023] Each respective absorption duct of the absorption duct assembly 130 includes a respective absorption damper of the damper assembly of Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 41 / 224 8 / 87 absorption 136 which can be used to control the gas flow through the respective absorption duct and into furnace 100. An absorption damper of the absorption damper assembly 136 can be positioned in any number of positions between fully open and fully closed to vary the amount of furnace draft in furnace 100. The absorption damper of the absorption damper assembly 136 can comprise any automatic or manually controlled flow control or orifice blocking device (e.g., any plate, seal, block, etc.). For example, the absorption damper of the absorption damper assembly 136 is set in a flow position between 0 and 2, which represents closed, and 24, which represents fully open.It is contemplated that, even in the closed position, a respective absorption damper of the absorption damper assembly 136 may still allow the passage of a small amount of air through a corresponding absorption duct of the absorption duct assembly 130. Similarly, it is contemplated that a small portion of the absorption damper of the absorption damper assembly 136 may be positioned at least partially within an airflow through the absorption duct of the absorption duct assembly 130 when the absorption damper of the absorption damper assembly 136 is in the fully open position. It will be appreciated that the absorption damper may assume a nearly infinite number of positions between 0 and 24. Some exemplary configurations for the absorption damper assembly 136, increasing in the amount of flow restriction, include: 22, 20, 8, and 6.In some embodiments, the flow position number simply reflects the use of a 14-inch absorption duct, and each number represents the amount, in inches (or some other length), that one or more absorption ducts of the 130 absorption duct assembly are open. Otherwise, it will be understood that the flow position number scale of 0-24 can be understood simply. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 42 / 224 9 / 87 as incremental settings between open and closed.

[024] As used in this document, draft indicates a negative pressure relative to the atmosphere. For example, a draft of 0.2 inches of water indicates a pressure of 0.2 inches of water below atmospheric pressure. Inches of water is a non-SI unit for pressure and is conventionally used to describe the draft at various locations in a coke plant. In some embodiments, the draft ranges from about 0.22 to about 0.26 inches of water. If a draft is increased or otherwise raised, the pressure moves further below atmospheric pressure. If a draft is decreased, dropped, or otherwise made smaller or lower, the pressure moves toward atmospheric pressure. By controlling the furnace draft with the absorption damper assembly 136, the airflow to furnace 100 from the crown air inlet assembly 114, as well as air leaks to furnace 100, can be controlled. Typically, as shown in FIG.2. A furnace 100 includes two absorption ducts, such as absorption duct assembly 130, and two absorption dampers, such as absorption damper assembly 136, but the use of two absorption ducts and two absorption dampers is not a requirement; a system may be designed to use only one or more of two absorption ducts and two absorption dampers.

[025] During the operation, the processed materials (e.g., coke, coal, biochar) are produced in furnace 100 by first loading an input material into furnace chamber 112, heating the input material in an oxygen-limited environment (e.g., oxygen-depleted), expelling the volatile fraction of the input material, and then oxidizing the VM within furnace 100 to capture and utilize the emitted heat. Additionally, the input material may include processed material produced by a previous heating operation and may include breeze or other types of coke fines. The input material may also Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 43 / 224 10 / 87 include carbon sources derived from organic products, such as wood, biomass, or biochar. As described elsewhere, the inclusion of previously wasted breeze with heterogeneous or organic-derived carbon sources in the input material can dramatically improve the overall material efficiency of coke production operations in furnace 100.

[026] For example, the input material may include a carbon-containing feedstock, for example, coal. Coal volatiles are oxidized within the furnace 100 over an extended coking cycle and release heat to regeneratively drive the carbonization of the coal to coke. The coking cycle begins when the side furnace door of pusher 104 is opened and coal is loaded onto the furnace floor 102 in a manner that defines a coal bed. The heat from the furnace (due to the preceding coking cycle) initiates the carbonization cycle. In many embodiments, no additional fuel beyond that produced by the coking process is used. Approximately half of the total heat transfer to the coal bed is radiated to the upper surface of the coal bed from the coal bed luminous flame and crown 110.The remaining half of the heat is transferred to the coal bed by conduction from the furnace floor 102, which is heated by convection from the volatilization of gases in the single chimney 120. In this way, a process wave of plastic flow carbonization of the coal particles and formation of high-strength cohesive coke proceeds from the upper and lower limits of the coal bed.

[027] In some embodiments, each furnace 100 is operated under negative pressure, so that air is drawn into the furnace during the reduction process due to the pressure differential between furnace 100 and the atmosphere. Primary combustion air is added to the furnace chamber 112 to at least partially oxidize the volatiles of the incoming material. In some embodiments, the amount of this primary air is controlled so that only a portion of the volatiles released from Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 44 / 224 11 / 87 Coal is burned in the furnace chamber 112, thus releasing only a fraction of its combustion enthalpy within the furnace chamber 112. In several embodiments, primary air is introduced into the furnace chamber 112 above the coal bed through the crown air inlet assembly 114, with the amount of primary air controlled by the air dampers 116. In other embodiments, different types of air inlets may be used without departing from aspects of the present technology. For example, primary air may be introduced into the furnace through air inlets, damping doors and / or openings in the side walls or furnace doors. Regardless of the type of air inlet used, the air inlets may be used to maintain the desired operating temperature within the furnace chamber 112.Increasing or decreasing the primary airflow to furnace chamber 112 through the use of air inlet dampers can increase or decrease VM combustion in furnace chamber 112 and therefore the temperature.

[028] A furnace 100 can be provided with the crown air inlet assembly 114 configured, according to embodiments of the present technology, to introduce combustion air through the crown 110 and into the furnace chamber 112. In one embodiment, three inlets of the crown air inlet assembly 114 are positioned between the pusher side furnace door 104 and a midpoint of the furnace 100 along a furnace length. Similarly, three inlets of the crown air inlet assembly 114 are positioned between the outlet side furnace door 106 and the midpoint of the furnace 100. It is contemplated, however, that one or more inlets of the crown air inlet assembly 114 may be arranged through the crown 110 at various locations along the furnace length. The number and positioning chosen of the crown air inlets depend, at least in part, on the configuration and use of furnace 100.Each air intake on the crown of the 114 crown air intake assembly can include an air damper from the 116 air dampers, which can be positioned on any one of them. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 45 / 224 12 / 87 series of positions between fully open and fully closed, to vary the amount of airflow to the furnace chamber 112. In some embodiments, the air damper of the air damper assembly 116 may, in the fully closed position, still allow a small amount of ambient air to pass through the crown air inlet assembly 114 to the furnace chamber. Therefore, various embodiments of the crown air inlet assembly 114, absorption elbow air inlet or door air inlet may include a cover that can be removablely attached to an open upper end portion of the particular air inlet. The cover may substantially prevent weather (such as rain and snow), additional ambient air and other foreign matter from passing through the air inlet. It is contemplated that the furnace 100 may further include one or more distributors configured to channel / distribute airflow to the furnace chamber 112.

[029] In several embodiments, the crown air inlet assembly 114 is operated to introduce ambient air into the furnace chamber 112 throughout the heat processing cycle, in the same way that other air inlets, such as those typically located inside furnace doors, are operated. However, the use of the crown air inlet assembly 114 provides a more uniform distribution of air along the furnace crown, which has been shown to provide better combustion, higher temperatures in the single chimney 120, and later crossover times when the reactions in the furnace 100 change from an exothermic to an endothermic process. The uniform distribution of air in the furnace crown 110 reduces the likelihood of air coming into contact with the surface of the feedstock bed and creating hot spots that create burn losses on the feedstock surface.Instead, the 114 crown air intake array substantially reduces the occurrence of such hot spots, creating a uniform raw material bed surface as heat processing proceeds. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 46 / 224 13 / 87 particular embodiments of use, the air dampers 116 of each of the crown air inlet assembly 114 are placed in similar positions relative to each other. Therefore, when one air damper of the air dampers 116 is fully open, all air dampers 116 can be placed in the fully open position; if the air damper of the air dampers 116 is adjusted to a semi-open position, all air dampers 116 can be adjusted to semi-open positions. However, in particular embodiments, the air dampers 116 can be changed independently of each other. In several embodiments, the air dampers 116 of the crown air inlet assembly 114 can be opened quickly after the furnace 100 is loaded or just before the furnace 100 is loaded.A first adjustment of the air dampers 116 to a 3 / 4 open position is made at the time when a first gate hole firing would typically occur. A second adjustment of the air dampers 116 to a 2 / 2 open position is made at the time when a second gate hole firing would occur. Further adjustments are made based on operating conditions detected throughout furnace 100.

[030] Partially burned gases pass from the furnace chamber 112 through the descending channels 118 to the single chimney 120, where secondary air is added to the partially burned gases. Secondary air is introduced through the secondary air inlet 124. The amount of secondary air introduced is controlled by the secondary air damper 126. As secondary air is introduced, the partially burned gases are more fully burned in the single chimney 120, thus extracting the remaining combustion enthalpy which is carried through the furnace floor 102 to add heat to the furnace chamber 112. The fully or nearly fully burned exhaust gases exit the single flue 120 through the absorption channels 122 and then flow into the absorption duct assembly 130. Tertiary air is added to the exhaust gases. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 47 / 224 14 / 87 through the tertiary air inlet 132, where the amount of tertiary air introduced is controlled by the tertiary air buffer 134 so that any remaining fraction of unburned gases in the exhaust gases is oxidized downstream of the tertiary air inlet 132. At the end of the heat processing cycle, the incoming material has been processed to produce processed materials. The processed materials can be removed from furnace 100 through the side furnace exit door 106 using a mechanical extraction system, such as a pusher ram. Finally, the processed materials can be quenched (e.g., wet quenching or dry quenching). In some embodiments, furnace 100 can be configured to allow the processed materials to cool before the processed materials are removed from furnace 100. At least a portion of the heat from cooling the processed materials inside furnace 100 or outside furnace 100 can be recycled and utilized.For example, the heat from cooling processed materials inside furnace 100 can be used to maintain the temperature inside furnace 100 or to dry fresh incoming material. As another example, the heat from cooling processed materials inside furnace 100 can be used to preheat fresh incoming material before it is fed into furnace 100 or to heat water to generate steam that can be used to redistribute heat to other portions of furnace 100. III. Mixture Creation and Pre-processing

[031] FIG. 3 represents a raw material mixture, according to embodiments of the present technology. Embodiments of the present technology can generate a raw material mixture 302 for use as an input material. The raw material mixture 302 includes a set of organically derived materials 312 and a set of additives 314, wherein the set of additives includes a set of materials with low volatility 316 relative to the organically derived materials 312.

[032] In some forms, the set of materials derived from Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 48 / 224 15 / 87 organics 312 may include carbonaceous materials, such as biomass, which can be formed by heating organic material in a low-oxygen environment. Biomass can be formed from a variety of feedstocks, including agricultural waste, wood chips, natural rubber, and other biomass materials. Additionally, the set of materials derived from organics 312 may include biochar produced from non-biomass materials, such as synthetic rubber, or a polymeric material, such as polyethylene. As described elsewhere, the use of biochar in the set of materials derived from organics 312 after being mixed into the feedstock mixture 302 may result in significant expansion when the feedstock mixture 302 is placed in a furnace.Although such expansion is traditionally problematic for coke production, the operations described in this disclosure can overcome such difficulties by using operations that include heating the raw material mixture 302 to a temperature higher than 537.78 °C (1,000 °F), such as 593.33 °C (1,100 °F), 648.89 °C (1,200 °F), 704.44 °C (1,300 °F), etc.

[033] In some embodiments, the organic-derived material set 312 may include various types of biologically derived material, such as whole logs, tree stumps, etc. For example, the organic-derived material set 312 may include a cylinder having a cross-section that is at least 100 millimeters (mm), 250 mm, 500 mm, 1.0 meter (m), or some other value. As described elsewhere in this disclosure, the use of higher temperatures and pelletizing operations can overcome the conventional expansion problems encountered with the use of organic materials for coke production.

[034] Raw material mixture 302 also includes materials obtained from additive set 314. Additive set 314 may include metallic materials, metal-containing materials, or minerals. For example, additive set 314 may include iron, carbon steel, cast iron, etc. Alternatively, or Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 49 / 224 16 / 87 Additionally, the additive set 314 may include minerals such as calcium oxides, other oxide-containing minerals, calcium hydroxides, other hydroxide-containing minerals, etc. The additive set 314 may also include other carbon-containing materials such as petroleum pitch, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, rubber, other polymeric materials, etc.

[035] The additive set 314 may also include the low-volatility materials set 316, which may include various types of carbon-containing materials that have a lower volatility than biochar or other organic matter-derived material obtained from the organic-derived materials set 312. For example, the low-volatility materials set 316 may include at least one of coal fines, coal fines, crushed foundry coke breeze, petroleum coke breeze, or coke breeze. In some embodiments, the low-volatility materials set 316 includes coke fines that were produced from a previous heating operation using a furnace, such as furnace 100. In some embodiments, the low-volatility materials set 316 is transported from elsewhere.The low-volatility material set 316 can be mixed with additional particulate material from a source other than the heat processing of the input material. Such additional particulate materials may include, for example, anode residue, a coarse particulate material (e.g., iron fines, other metal fines), spent activated carbon, a particulate material from another processing (e.g., blast furnace dust, bag fines, residual materials, petroleum coke breeze, anthracite fines, calcined anthracite fines) or the like, or a combination thereof. Further examples of such particulate materials include iron ore pellet fines, Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) pellet fines, Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) DRI pellet fines, quenching pond dips (QPD), spilled coal and coke recovery materials, waste material from... Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 50 / 224 17 / 87 coal washing plant or similar or a combination thereof. In addition, the low-volatility materials set 316 may include sulfur-containing material having a lower volatility than biochar in the organic-derived materials set 312, such as a high-sulfur petroleum coke.

[036] In some embodiments, the organic-derived material set 312 may include sulfur-containing carbonaceous materials. For example, the organic-derived material set 312 may include high-sulfur coal, wherein high-sulfur coal may include coal with a weight fraction of sulfur relative to the coal that is greater than 1.0%, greater than 2.0%, greater than 3.0%, or greater than 5.0%. Although conventional coke production methods discourage the use of high-sulfur coal for coke production, some embodiments overcome this deficiency by exposing the organic-derived material set 312 with a desulfurizing agent to remove some of the sulfur compounds and make the coal more suitable for use in coke production.For example, in some embodiments, a quenching pond system may immerse the organic-derived material set 312 in a quenching pond containing a desulfurizing agent to reduce the sulfur content of the organic-derived material set 312, or immerse the raw material mixture 302 in a quenching pond containing a desulfurizing agent to reduce the sulfur content of the organic-derived material set 312.

[037] As described elsewhere in this disclosure, embodiments of the present technology can determine the composition of mixture 302 by configuring an output model using a set of furnace parameters and other processing parameters and then using the configured model to determine which combination of materials will produce an output material that satisfies a set of target properties. For example, embodiments of the present technology can Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 51 / 224 18 / 87 determine a ratio of materials to be used when determining the composition of mixture 302 obtaining a target VM value. Embodiments of the present technology can then determine a set of furnace parameters based, at least in part, on the target VM, where the furnace parameter set has been indicated to produce an output material with the target VM in the model, where the model can output a set of predicted VM values ​​based on the VM values ​​of the input material and the corresponding release rates. Embodiments of the present technology can then use the configured model in combination with a known VM of biochar in the set of organic-derived materials 312, a known VM release rate of biochar, a known VM of a low-volatility material in the set of low-volatility materials 316, and a known VM release rate of the low-volatility material to determine a model output.The model output can then provide a material ratio indicating a ratio of a quantity of low-volatility material from the low-volatility material set 316 to be used to a quantity of biochar from the organic-derived material set 312 to be used in the mixture 302.

[038] In some embodiments, feedstock mixture 302 may be used as the feedstock for a furnace. Feedstock mixture 302 may include at least one of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, an alkali metal, aluminum, iron, a transition metal or the like, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the feedstock may include at least one of a carbonaceous feedstock, a nonmetallic feedstock, or a metal-containing feedstock. In some embodiments, the carbonaceous feedstock may include at least one of coal, wood, a petroleum residue, a biomass feedstock, or a waste feedstock. In some embodiments, the nonmetallic feedstock may include a nitrogen-containing feedstock (e.g., a material that is rich in nitrogen), limestone (CaCO3), or Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 52 / 224 19 / 87 quartz (SiO2). In some embodiments, the metal-containing feedstock may include a raw mineral material or a recycled metal-containing material. In some embodiments, the transition metal may include at least one of copper, iron, cobalt, vanadium, zinc, nickel, chromium, manganese, scandium, titanium, gold, hafnium, molybdenum, tungsten, silver, platinum, ruthenium, rhodium, niobium, zirconium, technetium, iridium, osmium, palladium, tantalum, yttrium, rutherfordium, cadmium, rhenium, roentgenium, seaborgium, dubnium, hassium, meitnerium, bohrium, darmstadtium, or copernicium. The input material may include at least one component of interest that may also be included in the produced particulates and / or pellets.

[039] In some embodiments, the raw material mixture 302 may be fed into a furnace, such as furnace 100. The particles produced by heat processing of the raw material in the furnace and / or the additional particulate materials to be mixed with the particles produced by heat processing of the raw material in the furnace may include minerals, metal oxides, metal halides, metal sulfates, aluminum and silicon minerals, industrial waste, recycling streams or unwashed coal. Examples of minerals include limestone, dolomite, trona, calcium support, iron support (e.g., hematite, magnetite), magnesium support or the like, or a combination thereof. Examples of metal oxides include AbOa, SiO2, CaO, Fe2O3, MgO, Na2O, TiO, a transition metal oxide, a calcined mineral or the like, or a combination thereof. Examples of metal halides include CaCl2, MgCl2, NaCl, or the like, or a combination thereof.Examples of metal sulfates include CaSO4 or similar or a combination thereof. Examples of aluminum and silicon minerals include quartz, muscovite, feldspar or similar, or a combination thereof. Examples of industrial waste and recycling streams include blast furnace slag (or referred to as blast furnace dust), foundry cupola slag, metal fines, wall plate waste, flue gas desulfurization (FGD) waste. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 53 / 224 20 / 87 (e.g., fly ash), fly ash from a coal-fired plant or sludge from a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) or similar, or a combination thereof.

[040] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for determining a mixture composition, according to embodiments of the present technology. In some embodiments, a controller and / or one or more processors in one or more of the systems described in this disclosure may perform some or all of the operations of method 400 or other methods described in this disclosure.

[041] Method 400 may include obtaining a set of target parameters for a pellet or intermediate product output (process portion 402). The set of target parameters may include a property, dimension, or other characteristic of a furnace output or product used to produce a pellet. A material property may include material properties, material composition, or other physical properties. For example, embodiments of the present technology may obtain a target VM quantity, a target ash melting temperature, a target reactivity index, or some other property of a furnace product or a downstream product produced from the furnace product (e.g., a pellet formed from a treated furnace product).For example, embodiments of the present technology may obtain a target VM quantity from a pellet as a target parameter, where embodiments of the present technology may use one or more models to determine a quantitative relationship between a VM quantity and a selected mixture of materials, treatment parameters, and furnace parameters.

[042] Method 400 may include obtaining properties for a set of available mixture materials (process portion 404). In some embodiments, the known properties used in this disclosure may be the same type of properties obtained for process portion 402. For example, Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 54 / 224 21 / 87 A blending planning system can obtain a percentage representing a target VM quantity for a pellet produced from biochar. The target VM quantity for the pellet, represented as a percentage, cannot exceed 15%, 10%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, or 0.1%, or be within a range of 0.1–15%. The blending planning system can then obtain a set of VM quantities for a set of materials available for use in a blend, where the set of VM quantities may include a biochar-to-biochar VM quantity in a set of available blend materials and a VM quantity in one or more low-volatility materials.For example, the blending planning system might obtain a first percentage representing a VM amount of biochar, where the first percentage is between the ranges of 10% to 90% or 20% to 80%, and obtain a second percentage representing a VM amount for fine coke, where the second percentage is between 0% to 15% or 1% to 10%. It should be understood that other properties can be used, such as a biochar ash melting temperature of a biochar usable for an incoming blend, an ash melting temperature of another material available for use in the incoming blend, a biochar reactivity index, or another reactivity index of another material available for use in the incoming blend.

[043] In some embodiments, additional properties of one or more types that are different from a target property may be used when determining the composition of a mixture used to produce a product with a target property. For example, after obtaining a target VM quantity, embodiments of the present technology may obtain VM quantities for a set of possible materials for use in a mixture, as well as VM release rate parameters for the set of possible materials, where a release rate parameter may include a release rate itself, a constant parameter of Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 55 / 224 22 / 87 a temperature-dependent release rate (e.g., one or both of the parameters KiiberaçãL0T or Ko in the release rate parameter R = KiiberaçãL0T + Ko) or another constant parameter from a release rate model. Embodiments of the present technology can then use the VM quantities and the VM release rate parameters as inputs to a predictive model. For example, embodiments of the present technology can obtain a VM quantity of biochar, a biochar VM release rate parameter, a coke VM quantity, and a coke VM release rate parameter.As described elsewhere in this disclosure, embodiments of the present technology can then provide all four parameters to a prediction model used to predict furnace outlet properties or pellet properties, in order to determine a corresponding mixture composition using a polynomial model, power law model, some combination of polynomial and power law model, or other model.

[044] Embodiments of the present technology may use a storage system to estimate a biochar VM quantity based on a biochar classification. For example, some embodiments may assign a VM quantity. For example, embodiments of the present technology may obtain a category for a biochar without providing a numerical value for the biochar VM quantity. Embodiments of the present technology may then assign a VM quantity to the biochar material when performing operations to determine a mixture composition. For example, embodiments of the present technology may obtain an indication that a potential biochar material for a mixture is a Class I biochar material and, in response, assign a biochar VM quantity of 25% to the potential biochar material.The modalities of the present technology can then assign the amount of VM 50% in response to the provision of information indicating that a second possible biochar is one. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 56 / 224 23 / 87 Class II biochar material. Other categories and associated values ​​representing different properties are possible.

[045] Method 400 may include setting up a model based, at least in part, on a set of furnace parameters or other processing parameters (process portion 406). A model set up based on furnace parameters or other processing parameters may include an empirical model or a semi-empirical model. The model may indicate positive or negative correlations between the properties of a furnace output or product derived from the furnace output and one or more parameters of a material used in a furnace inlet mix. For example, embodiments of the present technology may use a model that indicates a positive correlation between the initial VM quantity of the materials used in an inlet mix and the VM quantity of a furnace output or product generated from the furnace output. In some embodiments, the empirical model may include a first model term that is correlated with a processing parameter.

[046] In some embodiments, the model may include a simulation model. For example, embodiments of the present technology may use a semi-empirical simulation model to simulate the effect of a furnace operation that includes a first period during which the temperature is raised, a second period during which the temperature is maintained, and a third period during which the temperature is reduced. Furthermore, the simulation may take into account airflow, pressure, and other conditions in a furnace and may be simulated using simulation software such as Aspen HYSYS, Prosim Batch, ANSYSFluent, or other simulation software. Additionally, embodiments of the present technology may use simulation software to simulate operations to produce multiple furnace outputs using multiple furnace parameters, material properties, and mix compositions. Embodiments of the present technology may then provide the inputs and outputs Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 57 / 224 24 / 87 for a machine learning model to train the machine learning model to predict outputs based, at least in part, on the set of inputs.

[047] Some embodiments may determine one or more furnace parameters to control furnace operations. The furnace parameters used to control a furnace may have a strong influence on the pellet parameters of a coke pellet or other pellet generated using the operations described in this disclosure. For example, some embodiments may iteratively use a simulation to predict furnace output materials and then simulate modifications to furnace operations to match a set of target pellet parameters. Example pellet parameters might include a target pellet moisture content, a target pellet strength, a target pellet density, a target pellet size, a target pellet sulfur content, or a target pellet ash melting temperature.For example, some embodiments may determine, as part of a target pellet parameter set, a pellet density, a pellet pore size, a pellet geometry, a VM pellet, or a mechanical property (e.g., stiffness, elasticity, plasticity). After simulating the use of a set of candidate operating parameters of a furnace that, if implemented, would result in a pellet having the target pellet parameter set, some embodiments may use the set of candidate operating parameters as actual operating parameters used to control furnace operations.

[048] Method 400 may include determining a material ratio or other measure of mixture composition using the model configured based on material properties and / or target parameters (process portion 408). A mixture selection system may determine a ratio of different materials used in an input mixture based, at least in part, on a configured model, Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 58 / 224 25 / 87 one or more target parameters and one or more usable material properties for the inlet mixture. For example, if the materials available for the inlet mixture include a biochar material and a lower-volatility material, such as a fine coke material, a mixture selection system can obtain the VM quantity of biochar, the VM release rate parameter of biochar, a VM quantity for the lower-volatility material, and a VM release rate parameter for the lower-volatility material. The mixture selection system can then configure a model based, at least in part, on a set of furnace parameters that represent a furnace cooking process (e.g., different heating periods and target temperatures or target pressures for those different heating periods). Alternatively, a mixture selection system can obtain a pre-configured model.For example, the mix selection system can select an initial set of model parameters from a plurality of model parameters to configure a model based, at least in part, on a set of oven parameters or other material processing parameters.

[049] A mixture selection system can then determine a ratio using the configured model and the set of input parameters to determine a ratio. In some embodiments, the configured model may explicitly provide a material ratio. For example, a mixture selection system may configure a model implemented as a function set that provides the function set with a VM quantity of biochar, a biochar VM release rate parameter, a VM quantity for the lower volatility material, and a VM release rate parameter for the lower volatility material. The mixture selection system can then generate a ratio indicating a quantity of the low volatility material to a quantity of biochar in an input mixture. For example, a function might produce a Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 59 / 224 26 / 87 percentage of biochar material and a percentage of coke fines material. Furthermore, it should be understood that a ratio can provide information for more than two components. For example, if a set of materials available for use in an inlet mixture includes coke fines, calcium carbonate materials, and biochar materials, embodiments of the present technology can produce a ratio indicating an amount of biochar material to coke fines material by providing percentage compositions for each of the coke fines, calcium carbonate material, and biochar material.

[050] Furthermore, although the example above indicates the use of VM quantities and VM release rates, it should be understood that other parameters can be used, such as ash melt values ​​or reactivity indices. For example, a mixture selection system might use an ash melt prediction model configured to predict candidate ash melt values ​​based, at least in part, on a set of ash melt values ​​of input materials and the ratio of input materials, such as a biochar and coke fines (or other lower volatility material). A mixture selection system can then determine that at least one of the determined candidate ash melt values ​​corresponds to a target ash melt value and select the ratio of input materials used to emit the target ash melt value.Alternatively, a mixture selection system can use a model configured based, at least in part, on a set of ash melt values ​​to predict candidate reactivity indices based, at least in part, on a set of reactivity indices of possible input materials, such as a biochar reactivity index and a reactivity index of a lower-volatility material. The mixture selection system can then determine that at least one of the determined candidate reactivity indices corresponds to a target reactivity index and select the ratio of the input materials used to emit the target reactivity index. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 60 / 224 27 / 87

[051] Alternatively, embodiments of the present technology may use a combination of different parameters to confirm a proposed candidate ratio. For example, embodiments of the present technology may determine a candidate ratio by providing a first prediction model with a set of VM quantities characterizing possible materials for an input mixture. Embodiments of the present technology may then provide the same or a different set of properties for the possible materials and the candidate ratio to one or more other models to confirm that the ratio satisfies other target parameters. For example, embodiments of the present technology may provide the candidate ratio to an ash melt prediction model in conjunction with the ash melt values ​​corresponding to the candidate ratio to predict a candidate ash melt value.Embodiments of the present technology can then accept or reject the candidate ratio based on whether the candidate ash melting value is within a predefined tolerance range of a target ash melting value. Alternatively, or additionally, embodiments of the present technology can provide the candidate ratio to a reactivity index prediction model in conjunction with reactivity indices corresponding to the candidate ratio to predict a candidate reactivity index. Embodiments of the present technology can then accept or reject the candidate ratio based on whether the candidate reactivity index is within a predefined tolerance range of a target reactivity index.

[052] Furthermore, embodiments of the present technology can determine additional candidate parameters using an interpolation method or a machine learning method to determine the ratio of input materials in cases where a set of directly calculated candidate parameters does not match a target parameter.

[053] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for carrying out the pre Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 61 / 224 28 / 87 Mixture processing for a raw material before loading the raw material into a furnace, according to embodiments of the present technology. Method 500 may include modifying the moisture content of a mixture (process portion 508). In some embodiments, the incoming material to a furnace, such as the raw material mixture 302, may be processed with one or more types of preprocessing treatments before being received by the furnace. The mixture may be a mixture of breeze and other carbonaceous material, such as biochar, or any other incoming materials described in this document. For example, with reference to FIG. 3, the mixture may be mixture 302. In some embodiments, a hydration assembly may include a water injection system, wherein an amount of water added to the mixture may be based, at least in part, on a weight of the mixture and added to the mixture until a volume fraction threshold or mass fraction threshold is met.For example, the volume fraction or mass fraction threshold may be a value less than 1%, a value less than 5%, a value less than 10%, a value less than 25%, or a value less than 50%.

[054] Embodiments of the present technology can hydrate an input mixture based, at least in part, on a moisture parameter and a mass of the input mixture. A moisture parameter may include a parameter indicating a degree to which a material is hydrated and may include a volume fraction, a mass fraction, a saturation percentage, etc. For example, some embodiments determine an amount of water based, at least in part, on the mass of the input mixture and the weight percentage and, in response, spray the amount of water onto the input mixture using a nozzle.

[055] The moisture content of a mixture being loaded into a furnace can influence the target particle size of the resulting furnace output. Embodiments of the present technology can obtain or configure a particle size model that provides a particle size based, at least in part, on a Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 62 / 224 29 / 87 moisture parameter and a set of furnace parameters. In some embodiments, the target particle size may indicate a target size for particles at a furnace outlet. Alternatively, the target particle size may indicate a target size for particles in a product downstream of the furnace outlet, such as a coke pellet. Embodiments of the present technology may then use the model to determine a moisture parameter using interpolation or by inverting a function of the model.

[056] When hydrating a mixture, some embodiments may dispense the incoming mixture from a hopper that stores the incoming mixture in a tray through a hopper door. For example, some embodiments obtain an incoming mixture of various materials, including biochar, and store the incoming mixture in a hopper that includes a hopper door and a hopper actuator that controls the flow through the hopper door. Some embodiments may then activate the hopper actuator which allows the incoming mixture to escape from the hopper through the hopper door. In some embodiments, the tray may include a rotating plate that is connected to a rotating actuator. Some embodiments may also control a nozzle that is directed to the incoming mixture on the rotating plate.During Method 400 operations, some embodiments may simultaneously rotate the rotary plate, activating the rotary actuator while hydrating the inlet mixture on the plate with the nozzle. Furthermore, after hydration, some embodiments may further activate an actuator to mechanically mix the inlet mixture after hydration. For example, some embodiments may move a tray that holds a hydrated inlet mixture under a mixing arm and actuate the mixing arm to mechanically mix the inlet mixture.

[057] In some embodiments, modification of the mixture's moisture content may include decreasing the moisture content, for example, by drying the mixture through convection, Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 63 / 224 30 / 87 conduction, radiation or other means using one or more heat sources. Heat sources may include flue gas streams and / or waste heat recovery produced through the furnace (e.g., furnace 100) or other system component. The moisture content of the mixture may be decreased based on the desired particle size of the processed product, the mass of the mixture and / or other factor.

[058] Method 500 may include grinding a mixture to achieve a target particle size (process portion 510). Some embodiments may grind or crush the mixture to reduce particle dimensions before feeding the mixture to a furnace for heating. To grind a material, some embodiments may use a ball mill, a rod mill, or another type of grinding machine. In addition, some embodiments may obtain a target size distribution as a target parameter and use a predictive model to predict a set of grinder operating parameters corresponding to the target size distribution. For example, a preprocessing system may include a device, e.g., a grinder, configured to reduce the size of the input material before the input material is burned in a furnace, such as furnace 100.In some embodiments, the grinder or some other component of a production system may reduce the size of input material components to have a smaller cross-sectional dimension of at least 2 inches, 3 inches, 4 inches, 5 inches, or 6 inches, where such dimension limits may represent a target particle size range. In some embodiments, the downstream grinder or classifier may be configured so that no more than an allowable tolerance of the particle population is permitted above a size limit, where the allowable tolerance may be less than 1%, less than 5%, less than 10%, less than 25%, etc. For example, the grinder may be configured so that no more than 5% of an input material to a furnace has a length that is greater than a predefined dimension limit equal to 4. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 64 / 224 3 1 / 87 inches.

[059] Various machines or equipment may be involved with grinding or other pre-furnace processing operations. For example, some embodiments may use a hammer to stamp an incoming mix to make the particle size more uniform and / or increase the homogeneity of the material. To use a hammer, some embodiments may activate a conveyor that moves a tray holding an incoming mix (e.g., a tray of a hydrated incoming mix) under a stamping charge hammer and then stamp the incoming mix with the hammer. Stamping operations may serve to mix the incoming mix and grind the incoming mix. In addition, some embodiments may use an empirical function to determine a set of operating parameters of equipment used to mix or grind to achieve a target particle size distribution of the incoming mix.For example, some embodiments may obtain a function to calculate a hammer velocity to satisfy a target particle size distribution mixture. Some embodiments may then operate the hammer to crush / grind the input material at the calculated hammer velocity. Some embodiments may then convey the stamped input mixture to a furnace for heating operations. IV. Oven Operation

[060] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for producing output particulates using a production system, according to embodiments of the present technology. In some embodiments, an input mixture for a furnace of a production system may include a raw material mixture, such as raw material mixture 302. In some embodiments, a plurality of input particles used as an input mixture in method 600 may be processed with one or more operations described for method 400 before being received by the Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 65 / 224 32 / 87 oven.

[061] Method 600 may include loading input material into a furnace (process portion 604). In some embodiments, a first plurality of particles being used as an input material for a furnace may be loaded into the furnace using a tray loading mechanism. For example, embodiments of the present technology may include a conveyor belt and an assembly of arms or paddles to transfer a first plurality of particles into and out of the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt may then transport the first plurality of particles to a furnace chamber, such as furnace chamber 112. Alternatively, or additionally, embodiments of the present technology may use a stainless steel cable to drag the input material into the furnace.As described elsewhere in this disclosure, the furnace can then perform operations to convert the first plurality of particles into a second plurality of particles which, after one or more post-processing operations, can be used as a coke pellet.

[062] Method 600 may include controlling the furnace based on the furnace parameter set (process portion 606). The furnace parameter set may control various aspects of open operations, such as the amount of airflow through the furnace. For example, embodiments of the present technology may manipulate an absorption damper (e.g., one or more absorption dampers of the absorption damper set 136) to control the gas flow through an absorption duct (e.g., an absorption duct of the absorption duct set 130). A production system may increase a draft amount by manipulating the absorption damper to increase the temperature of a furnace. Furthermore, it should be understood that manipulation of the absorption dampers of a furnace or other components of a furnace may occur Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 66 / 224 33 / 87 simultaneously with other furnace operations to maintain a target heating environment, such as a target temperature, a target pressure, etc.

[063] In some embodiments, the production system may begin heating an incoming material using a target set of furnace parameters. The furnace parameter set may include a temperature schedule (e.g., assigning one or more temperatures for one or more durations), one or more draft control parameters to control a draft control system, or one or more heat exchanger parameters to influence the heat flow within a furnace (e.g., the flow rate of a furnace heat exchanger). In some embodiments, furnace operations may be used to control a furnace, where the furnace may be a coke oven (e.g., oven 100 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2). In some embodiments, the furnace may be a heat processing furnace including, for example, a devolatilization furnace, a pyrolysis furnace, or a blast furnace.In some embodiments, the processing of the furnace input material may include a pyrolysis process to convert a first plurality of particles being used as an input mixture into a second plurality of particles that includes one or more pyrolyzed products.

[064] For example, some embodiments may determine a set of furnace operations intended to achieve a target output material property for pyrolyzed products that includes a first duration and a second duration. During the first duration, the temperature of a furnace interior is set to a first temperature (e.g., to a temperature greater than or equal to 537.78 °C (1,000 °F)), a first heat exchanger flow rate (e.g., a rate less than or equal to 100 liters per second), and a stretch control parameter indicating a first aperture size of a stretch control actuator. During the second duration, the furnace interior temperature may be set to a second temperature (e.g., so that the second Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 67 / 224 34 / 87 temperature is at least 648.89 °C (1,200 °F) for the second duration), a second heat exchanger flow rate, and a second effort control aperture size. Some embodiments can control the draft through a furnace by controlling an angle of a furnace absorption door. For example, some embodiments can perform operations to tilt a furnace absorption door to increase airflow through the furnace. Furthermore, it should be understood that a predicted heat exchanger flow rate may vary based on simulation results, which may be influenced by other plant operating parameters, plant size, etc. For example, a heat exchanger flow rate may be adjusted to a rate less than or equal to 1.0 liter per second (L / s), a rate less than or equal to 10 L / s, a rate less than or equal to 100 L / s, a rate less than or equal to 1,000 L / s, etc.

[065] One or more modifiers may be used in heat processing. The one or more modifiers may include a mineral oxide modifier. Examples of modifiers include CaO, SiO2, MgO or similar, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the modifiers may be ash composition modifiers, gasification reaction modifiers, etc. The type and / or quantity of modifiers used may be determined or adjusted based on factors including, for example, input material, component of interest in the input material and / or pellets to be produced, the devices used in heat processing and / or pelletizing, or similar, or a combination thereof. For example, for processing an input material to produce a population of pellets, the CaO / SiO2 and MgO ratios in the heat processing cycle may be determined accordingly. The processed materials may include particles.Through heat processing, volatiles can be removed from the input material. The content of a component of interest can be increased. One or more properties can also be altered. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 68 / 224 35 / 87 improved or adjusted for subsequent application or processing. For example, the particulates of the processed materials may have one or more surface chemistries and / or morphological / microstructural properties that allow or facilitate their pelletization. Examples of such properties include surface areas, porosities, surface stresses, surface charges, pi stacking locations or the like, or a combination thereof, of the particulates thus produced. Descriptions of the heat processing of the input material, including the operating parameters of the heat processing, the furnace and its control, the materials processed, particles in the processed materials, etc., can be found elsewhere in this disclosure and are not repeated herein.

[066] In some embodiments, heat processing in a furnace may proceed and be controlled by a control system. The input material may be processed in the furnace for a processing duration. During at least a portion of the processing duration, heat processing may proceed at a processing temperature of at least 1,000°F. In some embodiments, during at least a portion of the processing duration, the processing temperature may be at least 593.33 °C (1,100 °F), 648.89 °C (1,200 °F), 704.44 °C (1,300 °F), 760.00 °C (1,400 °F), 815.56 °C (1,500 °F), 871.11 °C (1,600 °F), 982.22 °C (1,800 °F), 1,093.33 °C (2,000 °F), or 1,371.11 °C (2,500 °F). In some embodiments, during at least a portion of the processing duration, the processing temperature may reach up to 2,800 °C.In some cases, the processing time cannot exceed 5 days, 3 days, 2 days, 1 day, 18 hours, 12 hours, 8 hours, 6 hours, or 4 hours.

[067] In some embodiments, the processing duration can be adjusted before the start of heat processing. In some embodiments, the processing duration can be adjusted substantially in real time to Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 69 / 224 36 / 87 as heat processing progresses. In some embodiments, the duration of the processing can be determined or controlled based, at least in part, on an operating parameter related to heat processing in the furnace. Exemplary operating parameters include at least one of a temperature at an opening or location within the furnace, a composition of an exhaust (or referred to as exhaust gas) from the furnace, an exhaust gas flow rate, or a temperature on an external surface of the furnace.

[068] In some embodiments, the combustion temperature and / or the duration of a combustion period in a furnace can be determined or adjusted in a coordinated manner based on one or more considerations including, for example, the input material (e.g., composition, dimension or the like, or a combination thereof), an operating parameter related to heat processing as described above, a desired property of the processed materials, of the particulates and / or of the pellets produced.

[069] In some embodiments, the furnace output rate may be in the range of 0.1 tonne per hour to 1 tonne per hour. In some embodiments, a production system may include multiple furnaces. For example, the production system may include multiple furnaces similar to furnace 100. The output rate of the production system that includes multiple furnaces may be several times the output rate of one furnace. In some embodiments, at least two of the multiple furnaces are thermally coupled so that one constitutes a heat source for the other. For example, a production system may include a first furnace and a second furnace, where both furnaces are similar to furnace 100. The second furnace may be configured to heat materials undergoing an exothermic process, and at least a portion of the heat generated in the exothermic process in the second furnace is transferred to the first furnace, which is thermally coupled to the second furnace.The duration of the exothermic process in the second furnace may overlap by at least a little. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 70 / 224 37 / 87 partially to the heat processing of the incoming material in the first furnace. In some embodiments, only a portion of the process in the second furnace may be exothermic, and the exothermic portion of the process in the second furnace may overlap at least partially with the heat processing of the incoming material in the first furnace. As another example, a production system may include three furnaces arranged side by side so that two side furnaces are located on opposite sides of the intermediate furnace; at least one of the two side furnaces may be thermally coupled to the intermediate furnace so that at least one side furnace can constitute a heat source for the intermediate furnace.

[070] In some embodiments, the processed materials may include particulates and materials of a larger dimension than particulates. By way of example only, with reference to the input material including coal, the processed materials may include coke and coke breeze. In some embodiments, the processed materials may include coke, coal, biochar, coke breeze, coal fines or the like, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the processed materials may be processed (e.g., sized) to separate the particulates from the materials of a larger dimension. In some embodiments, the particulates may be further processed by, for example, pelletizing, as described elsewhere in this disclosure.

[071] Method 600 may include recovering furnace products from the furnace (process portion 608). By removing the furnace outlet particulates, embodiments of the present technology may push the outlet particulates into a container for ease of handling or transport. For example, embodiments of the present technology may push the outlet particulates into a container having a removable top container. Embodiments of the present technology may then accelerate the cooling of the outlet particles using a liquid injection or liquid spray nozzle to expose the exterior of the container (e.g., Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 71 / 224 38 / 87 sides of the container, top of the container) water, a cooling liquid, or another type of liquid. Embodiments of the present technology may position the container on a rotating surface that rotates simultaneously or sequentially with spraying operations to accelerate cooling. In some embodiments, a production system may process furnace output particulates in multiple batches. By using a container to contain the furnace outputs, embodiments of the present technology may reduce the risk of dust contamination. V. Production Assembly

[072] FIG. 7 represents a schematic of a production system according to the embodiments of the present technology. In some embodiments, the production system 700 includes a furnace 704 and a pelletizing unit 780. The furnace 704 may be identical to the furnaces 100 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 or have any one or more of the features described in this document. In some embodiments, the furnace 704 may include a coke oven, a devolatilization oven, a pyrolysis oven, a blast furnace or similar, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, the furnace 704 may be a heat recovery furnace or a non-heating recovery furnace (e.g., a by-product furnace). An input material (or referred to as raw material) 701 may be supplied to the furnace 704 via a tray loading mechanism 702 and processed in the furnace 704 at a processing temperature of at least 1.000°F for a processing duration to produce processed materials. In some embodiments, the processing of an input material 701 in furnace 704 may include a pyrolysis process, and the processed materials include pyrolysis products. The processed materials may include a particle set 705, which may be pelletized in pelletizing unit 780 to produce a pellet population 790.

[073] In some embodiments, the processed materials may include a set of 705 particles and materials of a larger dimension than the particulates. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 72 / 224 39 / 87 In some embodiments, the processed materials may include coke, coal, biochar, coke ash, petroleum coke ash, calcined anthracite fines, coal fines, or the like, or a combination thereof. By way of example only, with reference to an input material including coal, the processed materials may include coke and coke ash. As another example, with reference to an input material including wood, the processed materials may include coal fines and coal. As a further example, with reference to an input material including biomass, the processed materials may include biochar fines and biochar. In some embodiments, the processed materials may be processed to separate the particle size assembly 705 from materials of a larger dimension. For example, the separation may be performed manually or automatically using, for example, a sieve.

[074] In some embodiments, the particle set 705 may include at least one of coal fines, coal fines, petroleum coke breeze or coke breeze. In some embodiments, the particle set 705 from the heat processing may be mixed with additional particulate material from a source other than the heat processing of the input material. Such additional particulate materials may include, for example, a coarse particulate material (e.g., iron fines, other metal fines), a particulate material from another processing (e.g., blast furnace dust, bag fines, residual materials, petroleum coke breeze, anthracite fines, calcined anthracite fines) or the like, or a combination thereof.Additional examples of such particulate materials include iron ore pellet fines, DRI pellet fines, DRI / HBI pellet fines, QPD, spilled coal and coke recovery materials, coal washing plant residue material or similar, or a combination thereof. Such particulate materials may be unsuitable for a direct application. For example, unlike coke, coke breeze is unsuitable for use. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 73 / 224 40 / 87 in a blast furnace for steelmaking. In some cases, although such particulate materials may include useful compositions, due to the difficulty involved in using them directly, they are disposed of, which often incurs a cost. Pellets including and / or made of such particulate materials can be used in various applications. Mixed particulate materials can be pelletized alone or mixed with particulates produced in the heat processing of an input material described elsewhere in this disclosure.

[075] The production system 700 may include a container 706 for transporting the particle assembly 705 after the furnace 704 produces the particle assembly 705 and a nozzle system 710 that is directed to the container 706. The container 706 may cool the particle assembly 705 after it is removed from the furnace by removing or effectively quenching the oxygen. In some embodiments, the particle assembly 705 may be cooled by means of a water spray (e.g., inside or outside the container 706), a dry quench (e.g., using carbon dioxide) or other means (e.g., dry ice).

[076] In some embodiments, the vessel 706 may be a flat pressure hot car (FPHC) or other transport vessel. In some embodiments, the FPHC may be track-controlled or autonomously controlled. For example, some embodiments may provide an input to a controller attached to the vessel to direct the vessel to a target destination. The production system 700 may also include a rotating platform 708 that is located beneath the vessel 706. During operation of the production system 700, the vessel 706 may move or be moved onto the rotating platform 708. In some embodiments of the present technology, the nozzle system 710 sprays water or other cooling material onto the vessel 706 when the rotating platform 708 rotates. In addition, the vessel 706 may include a top cover 707 that is above the walls of the vessel 706 and encloses the particle assembly 705. After the top cover 707 is closed, the Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 74 / 224 41 / 87 top cover 707 can protect the contents of container 706 from water during a subsequent cooling stage. For example, some embodiments can activate the rotating platform 708 to rotate container 706 around the center of container 706 while simultaneously spraying the exterior of container 706 to cool the particle assembly 705 and any other material inside container 706.

[077] In addition, in some embodiments, the vessel 706 may be within a tubular structure when exposed to a cooling fluid by the nozzle system 710 or when exposed to the cooling fluid. Furthermore, although not shown, the production system 700 may include an alternative cooling system. For example, after covering the top of the vessel 706 with the top cover 707, some embodiments may transport the vessel 706 into a tubular interior and activate a fan or pump that causes a cooling fluid (e.g., air, water, a polymeric cooling fluid, another type of cooling fluid) to flow through the exterior of the vessel 706. The convective cooling provided by the fluid stream flowing through the vessel 706 may dramatically cool the interior of the vessel 706.

[078] In some embodiments, prior to pelleting, the particle set 705 may be adjusted so that the pellets produced have a desired property, for example, a property specified by a downstream user or determined according to an intended use of the pellets produced. For example, an additive may be added to the particulates. By way of example only, limestone may be ground and mixed with the particle set 705. As another example, prior to pelleting, the particle set 705 may undergo one or more other pre-processing processes including, for example, adjusting the moisture content, grinding, crushing or the like, or a combination thereof.

[079] Production system 700 may include a grinder 712 which is a destination of container 706. Grinder 712 may be or otherwise include several Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 75 / 224 42 / 87 types of grinders, such as a ball mill or a rod mill. Furthermore, some embodiments can obtain a target size distribution for a particle set as a target parameter and use a predictive model to predict a set of grinder operating parameters corresponding to the target size distribution before using the grinder 712. The grinder 712 can grind or crush the particle set 705 before the particle set 705 is pelletized. Additionally, a mixture of the particle set 705 and a second particulate material from a different heat processing source of the input material 701 in the furnace 704 can be ground or milled before being pelletized. As another example, a second particulate material can be ground before being mixed with the particle set 705 and pelletized. In some embodiments, the particulate materials from the same source or different sources can have different dimensions.By crushing and / or grinding, particulate materials can be made to a suitable size for subsequent pelletizing operations. For example, if a particulate material includes a residual material whose portion is too large to be pelletized alone or with other particulate material (e.g., particle set 705), the residual material can be ground or milled to reduce its size so that it is suitable for pelletizing. As another example, a pellet product from the 700 production system may have different dimensions. The pellet product may undergo size selection to separate pellets of different dimensions; pellets whose dimensions do not meet a dimension specification (outside the desired dimension range) may be ground or milled and pelletized again alone or in combination with other particulate material (e.g., particle set 705, a particulate material from a source other than particle set 705).

[080] For simplicity, the following descriptions are provided with reference to particle set 705, regardless of whether they are a mixture of materials. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 76 / 224 43 / 87 particulates from different sources, or whether they are pre-processed and / or tuned. That is, the 705 particulate pool may include heat processing particulates from an input material described elsewhere in this disclosure alone or in combination with other particulate material from a different source, as described in this document.

[081] In some embodiments, the production system 700 includes a conveyor belt 716 and a hopper 714 that acts as a destination for the material being transported by the conveyor belt 716. In some embodiments, the conveyor belt 716 transports the particle assembly 705 out of the furnace 704. The production system 700 also includes a pelletizing assembly 780 that serves as a destination for the material being transported by the conveyor belt 716 and a hopper 714 that directs the material from the conveyor belt 716 to the pelletizing assembly 780. During the operation of the production system 700, the grinder 712 sends the particle assembly 705 to the conveyor belt 716, which can then transport the particle assembly 705 to the hopper 714. The materials positioned in the particle assembly 705 can then be processed by the pelletizing assembly 780 to perform additional operations of post-processing.

[082] Some embodiments may use a set of models to determine one or more operating parameters for the pelletizing assembly 780, wherein the set of models may include one or more analytical, semi-analytical or empirical models. An operating parameter of the pelletizing assembly 780 may include operating parameters of a dosing system 720, operating parameters of a mixing chamber 724 or operating parameters of a heat treatment system 728.

[083] The pelletizing unit 780 includes the dosing system 720 for adding materials to the particle assembly 705, the mixing chamber 724 for mixing the particle assembly 705 with the additional materials that are added. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 77 / 224 44 / 87 by the dosing system 720 and the heat treatment system 728 to receive the mixed product supplied by the mixing chamber 724. In some embodiments, the dosing system 720 may add one or more low-volatility materials, such as a calcium compound, an ash material, a slag material, or other materials to the particle assemblage 705, where the added material may be recycled from another operation. For example, some embodiments may use the dosing system 720 to mix the particle assemblage 705 with ash material and / or slag material extracted from furnace 704.

[084] In some embodiments, the dosing system 720 can be configured to add the particle assembly 705 with at least one of a quantity of water, a quantity of acid, or a binder or crosslinker using the dosing system 720. Embodiments of the present technology may use the dosing system 720 to add a buffer solution, basic solution, acidic solution, or other chemicals to the particle assembly 705 to modify a surface pH of the particle assembly 705 to meet a target pH. In some embodiments, the acids or other materials added to the particle assembly 705 by the dosing system 720 may alter a surface chemistry of the particle assembly 705, such as by adding hydroxide groups (i.e., hydroxyl groups) or carboxylic acid groups (i.e., carboxyl groups) to the surfaces of the particle assembly 705 or downstream products generated from the particle assembly 705.For example, some embodiments can generate carboxylic acid groups on the surface of the particle assembly 705 by exposing the particle assembly 705 to hydrochloric acid. Furthermore, embodiments of the present technology can accelerate the bonding activity by using the dosing system 720 to add a hydrophobic catalyst. Additionally, embodiments of the present technology can add a non-sulfonated soap, such as a fatty acid salt, to the particle assembly 705 to reduce the sulfur content or other contaminants of the assembly. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 78 / 224 45 / 87 of particles 705. Alternatively, or additionally, various other compounds may be added by the dosing system 720 to the particulates, such as another amphoteric surfactant or glycerol.

[085] In some embodiments, the dosing system 720 can control the amount of one or more binders (a binder) exposed to the particle assembly 705, where the binder can functionalize carbons of the particle assembly 705. In some embodiments, the particle assembly 705 can be linked to the binder. In some embodiments, pelleting can occur at room temperature. The binder can be hydrophobic, hydrophilic, or amphoteric and can include molasses, carboxymethyl guar, hydroxypropyl carboxymethyl guar, acacia gum, xanthan gum, starches, modified starches, sodium alginate, carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, and / or hydroxyethylmethylcellulose (tylose).Just as an example, the 705 particle assembly may have a relatively high water content, for example, 30%, 40% or 50%, and the binder may be hydrophilic so that the binder becomes cross-linked and / or extracts the water content from the 705 particle assembly, thus making the particle assembly more hydrophobic and the binder less hydrophilic. In some embodiments, it may be expelled by the binder. Advantageously, the process of reducing the water content of the 705 particle assembly can proceed at room temperature without an extra heat input or other input to remove the water content, potentially saving significant expenses that would otherwise be spent drying the 705 particle assembly. Furthermore, the ratio of the mass of any binder being used to the mass of the 705 particle assembly can be controlled so as not to exceed a certain amount.For example, some embodiments can control the amount of binder so that the mass ratio of binder to the particle set 705 used can be less than or equal to 20%. In some embodiments, the amount of binder added is selected so that the pellets 790 comprise less than 15%, 10%, 5%, etc. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 79 / 224 46 / 87 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5% or 0.1% of the binder by weight.

[086] In some embodiments, the dosing system 720 can be used to perform operations to combine the binder with the particle assembly 705 for pellet production. The operations for pellet production may include receiving processed materials comprising coke with a Coke Reactivity Index (CRI) of at least 30%. In addition, some embodiments may receive coke selected for other properties, such as coke with a maximum Coke After Reaction Resistance (CSR) (e.g., not more than 1%, not more than 2%, not more than 5%, not more than 10%, or not more than 15%). For example, the particle assembly 705 may have a CSR of 1.5% and a CRI of 50%. The CRI and CSR values ​​described in this document may correspond to materials with a size greater than or equal to a limiting size, whether or not they are subsequently ground to smaller particle sizes.The size limit may be approximately 10 mm, 13 mm, 15 mm, 17 mm, 19 mm, 21 mm, 23 mm, or another size. In some embodiments, the processed materials comprise input material (e.g., material including carbon and / or a non-metal) that has been processed in a furnace. In some embodiments, the processed materials additionally or alternatively comprise coke breeze, coal, coal fines, biochar, and / or biochar fines.

[087] The operations for combining a binder with the particle assembly 705 for pellet production may also include mixing one or more additives with the processed materials to form a mixture. In some embodiments, one or more additives comprise at least one of (i) a binder comprising at least one of molasses, carboxymethyl guar, hydroxypropyl carboxymethyl guar, acacia gum, xanthan gum, starches, modified starches, sodium alginate, carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, hydroxyethylmethylcellulose (tylose) or polyvinyl alcohol, or (ii) a crosslinker comprising at least one Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 80 / 224 47 / 87 of limestone, calcium, aluminum, magnesium, sodium, iron, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, platinum, palladium, cadmium, ammonia, zirconium or potassium. In some embodiments, one or more additives comprise a binder configured to alternate from a first state to a second state after being mixed with at least some of the processed materials, wherein the binder is more hydrophobic and less hydrophilic in the second state than in the first state.

[088] As described elsewhere in this disclosure, operations for combining a binder with the particle set 705 for pellet production may further include pelletizing, at a temperature not exceeding 93.33 °C (200 °F) (e.g., ambient temperature), the mixture to produce a population of pellets. In some embodiments, pelletizing comprises pelletizing the mixture without applying heat treatment to the mixture. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the mixing and settling of a binder with particles used to make a skin (“binding”) of pelletizing operations may occur at ambient temperature or at another temperature below 200°, 150°, or 100°. In some embodiments, the binder is hydrophobic. In some embodiments, the binder is hydrophilic.Examples of suitable binders include polysaccharides, molasses, carboxymethyl guar, hydroxypropyl carboxymethyl guar, acacia gum, xanthan gum, starches, modified starches, sodium alginate, carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, hydroxyethylmethylcellulose (tylose), water-soluble synthetic polymers (e.g., polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH, PVA or PVAl)). By way of example only, the particulates 230 may have a relatively high water content, for example, 30%, 40% or 50%, and the binder may be hydrophobic so that the water content in the particulates 230 can be expelled by the binder. The process of reducing the water content (e.g., drying) of particulates 230 can proceed without an extra input of, for example, heat, such as at room temperature or another temperature below 200°, 150° or 100°. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 81 / 224 48 / 87

[089] In some embodiments, the binder is in a first state before being mixed with the particulates 230 and / or processed materials. After being mixed with the particulates 230 and / or at least some of the processed materials, the binder can be configured to switch from the first state to a second state. The binder may be more hydrophilic in the first state than in the second state so that the binder can bind to the particulates 230, which may have a relatively high water content as discussed above. The binder may be more hydrophobic in the second state than in the first state so that the binder can expel the water content (e.g., dry) from the particulates 230 and / or processed materials without the use of heat treatments, which can be expensive.

[090] In addition, although some embodiments may use one or more components of the dosing system 720 to perform operations to combine a binder with the particle assembly 705, other components (for example, other components shown in the production system 700 or other components described in this disclosure) may be used to combine binders with pre-pellet materials used for pellet production.

[091] In some embodiments, the dosing system 720 may add a crosslinker to the particle assembly 705. For example, the dosing system 720 may inject or otherwise expose the particle assembly 705 to a solution including a crosslinker to form a crosslinked mixture. In some embodiments, a suitable crosslinker may include a homobifunctional crosslinking reagent or a heterobifunctional crosslinking reagent. Various types of materials may be used, such as polysaccharides (e.g., chitosan), zirconium carbonate, sodium borate (borax), peptides, or other crosslinking agents. In addition, various types of functional groups may be part of a crosslinking agent, such as amines, carboxylic acids, sulfhydryls, and carbonyls. In some embodiments, Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 82 / 224 49 / 87 The crosslinker may be activated by heat or by cooling after a heating stage. Alternatively or additionally, the crosslinker may be activated by other stimuli. For example, a crosslinker may be a photoreactive crosslinker, such as a compound containing benzophenone, aryl azides, and diazirine. Alternatively, or additionally, a crosslinker may be triggered by exposure to one or more classes of stimuli, such as mechanical energy input (e.g., sound waves (e.g., ultrasound)), chemical energy input, radiation energy input, and / or the like. In some embodiments, the crosslinker may include limestone, calcium, aluminum, magnesium, sodium, iron, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, platinum, palladium, cadmium, ammonia, zirconium, potassium, or a mixture thereof.Furthermore, as described elsewhere in this disclosure, some embodiments may expose a crosslinker to the particle assembly 705 or a product generated with the particle assembly 705 along with other components of the production system 700. Additionally, while the dosing system 720 may add various materials to the particle assembly 705, other components of the production system 700 may also be used to add such material to the particle assembly 705. In some embodiments, the amount of crosslinker added is selected such that the pellets 790 comprise less than 10%, 1%, 0.1%, 0.01%, 0.001%, 0.0001%, or 0.00001% of the crosslinker by weight.

[092] In some embodiments, a mixing chamber 724 of the pelletizing assembly 780 may mix the particle assembly 705 with materials added by the dosing system 720. For example, the mixing chamber 724 may mix the particle assembly 705 with at least one of the binder or crosslinker added by the dosing system 720. The particle assembly 705 (or other particulate materials to be pelletized) may have a suitable property to enable or facilitate pelletizing. Examples of such properties include surface chemistry, surface morphologies, pi stacking locations, etc., of the assembly. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 83 / 224 50 / 87 particles 705 (or other particulate materials being pelletized). By way of example only, such properties include surface areas, porosities, surface stresses, surface charges or the like, or a combination thereof, of the 705 particle set (or other particulate materials to be pelletized).

[093] In some embodiments, a heat treatment system 728 of the pelletizing assembly 780 may be used to heat the particle assembly 705 to a target mixing temperature before, during, or after the particle assembly 705 has been mixed by the mixing chamber 724. Furthermore, the mixing chamber 724 and the heat treatment system 728 may be integrated so that the particle assembly 705 is simultaneously heated to a target mixing temperature and mixed. Additionally, the heat treatment system 728 may include a micropellet forming system 729 to form a micropellet assembly 730 from the particle assembly 705 during or after the heat treatment system 728 heats the particle assembly 705 to a mixing temperature. For example, the micropellet forming system 729 may rotate portions of the particle assembly 705 to form the micropellet assembly 730.The micropellet assemblies 730 can be conveyed to a hopper 742 via the conveying system 740 and piped to a pelletizing system 750. As described elsewhere in this disclosure, some embodiments may use the micropellet assemblies 730 to form a final pellet, disc, or other target shape. Furthermore, it should be understood that while some embodiments may form the micropellet assemblies 730, other embodiments may form other molded pre-pellet mixtures that can be molded into final pellet products.

[094] The 750 pelletizing system can then be used to produce pellet products, such as 790 pellets. Various types of pelletizing mechanisms can be used. For example, the 750 pelletizing system can be a disc pelletizing system, where embodiments of the present technology can pelletize the Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 84 / 224 51 / 87 micropellet assembly 730 feeding the micropellet assembly 730 (or other molded pre-pellet mixture) into a rotating disc of the pelletizing system 750. As the disc rotates, the micropellet assembly 730 can be lifted and dropped into a stationary tray on the disc. The centrifugal force generated by the rotating disc can then compress the material into small, round pellets. Furthermore, it should be understood that the pelletizing system 750 may use or include a grinder to process incoming particles into a target size distribution, where the grinder may include various types of grinders (e.g., a ball mill grinder, a rod mill grinder, etc.). Some embodiments may even use a predictive model to determine operating parameters for a grinder based on a target size distribution.

[095] It should be understood that other pellet forming systems may be used instead of the pelletizing system 750. For example, embodiments of the present technology may directly use the output of the mixing chamber 724 in conjunction with a table feeder system. Some embodiments may convey a pre-pellet mixture to a table feeder, where the pre-pellet mixture may include micropellets produced by the micropellet forming system 729 or other material produced by the dosing system 720, the mixing chamber 724, or the heat treatment system 728. When using the table feeder, some embodiments may drive a table feeder motor to direct the pre-pellet mixture through an extruder tube of the table feeder. In some embodiments, the table feeder may include a cutter with a set of blades that cut the material to be extruded from the extruder tube at regular intervals.Some embodiments may then use the extruded briquettes as coke pellets or other pellet forms. Some embodiments may allow extruded portions to dry for use as briquettes. Alternatively, some embodiments may heat the batch of portions. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 85 / 224 52 / 87 extruded for use as briquettes.

[096] Pellets from pelletizing system 750 can be directed to a pellet drying system 754 of production system 700. The pellet drying system 754 can be configured to dry the received pellets. For example, the pellet drying system 754 can allow the pellets to dry naturally under ambient conditions, provide heat to actively dry the pellets, and / or reduce the hydrophilicity of the pellets (e.g., to transition the pellets from hydrophilic to hydrophobic).In some embodiments, the 754 pellet drying system can dynamically switch between ambient drying, active drying (e.g., drying in an oven set to 250 degrees Fahrenheit or another temperature), and / or reduction of hydrophilicity (e.g., addition of a hydrophobic catalyst, agent, or other material) based on, for example, the size, composition, moisture content, and / or other characteristics of the pellets and / or operating costs (e.g., adding heat may be expensive). The 754 pellet drying system can dry the pellets for a predetermined period of time, a period of time that depends on one or more characteristics of the pellets, until a certain condition is met (e.g., a reduction in pellet mass by a percentage threshold, addition of a specified quantity of hydrophobic material), and / or the like.In some embodiments, the 754 pellet drying system is configured to dry the pellets so that the moisture content of the pellets does not exceed 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5% or 0.1%. A low moisture content can facilitate the storage and transport of the pellets.

[097] In some embodiments, the production system 700 includes a pellet handling system 760 that is configured to receive pellets from the pelletizing system 750 and / or the pellet drying system 754. For example, some embodiments may transport the output pellets from the pellet drying system 754 to the pellet handling system 760. As described in another Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 86 / 224 53 / 87 part of this disclosure, some embodiments may use the pellet treatment system 760 to dip or otherwise expose a pellet to a crosslinker. For example, some embodiments may dip a pellet into a vat containing a crosslinker. Furthermore, if a stimulus-triggered crosslinker has been previously mixed with pellets produced by the pelletizing system 750 (e.g., being mixed with the particle assembly 705), some embodiments may use the pellet treatment system 760 to create the stimulus. For example, some embodiments may mix a photoreactive crosslinker with the particle assembly 705 so that the micropellet assembly 730 includes the photoreactive crosslinker. The pellet treatment system 760 may include an ultraviolet (UV) light emission system that exposes the photoreactive crosslinker to UV light, causing part or all of a pellet to undergo a crosslinking reaction and form a crosslinked mixture.

[098] In addition, the 760 pellet treatment system can perform coating operations to protect the structural integrity of a pellet. For example, the 760 pellet treatment system can coat the 790 pellet population with lime, dolomite, another calcium-containing material, another binder, other surface modifiers, etc. Alternatively, or additionally, some embodiments can coat a pellet with dust to reduce the adhesive properties of a pellet surface. For example, some embodiments can coat a pellet with a carbon-containing dust to reduce the adhesiveness of the pellet surface. Alternatively, or additionally, some embodiments can coat the surface of a coke pellet with a hydrophobic material, such as a paraffin, a hydrophobic polymer, or another type of hydrophobic material.

[099] Alternatively, or additionally, the 760 pellet treatment system can be used to expose a pellet to other chemical treatments, heat treatments, or other treatments that alter a material or chemical property of Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 87 / 224 54 / 87 a pellet to satisfy a set of target parameters. For example, some embodiments may expose a pellet produced by the pelletizing system 750 to an acid that alters the surface chemistry of a pellet so that the pellet surface chemistry satisfies a target surface chemistry. Some embodiments may determine one or more operating parameters of the pellet treatment system 760 or other component of the production system 700 to achieve the target surface chemistry. For example, some embodiments may determine a set of chemical treatment parameters based on the target surface chemistry. In addition, some embodiments may select a set of operating parameters that result in changes in a pellet pH or pellet hydrophobicity. For example, some embodiments may cause a resulting pellet pH to be greater than 6.0, despite having been processed with a low pH material such as hydrochloric acid.Furthermore, some embodiments may modify the cylindrical body of a pellet to include at least a hydrophilic portion (e.g., by adding hydroxyl groups to the pellet surface).

[0100] In some embodiments, the 760 pellet handling system may include additional mechanical systems for screening pellets to remove undersized or oversized pellets or physically altering the shape of a pellet to achieve a target pellet size for the pellet. For example, the 760 pellet handling system may include holes, openings, gaps, and / or mesh filters of different sizes that will filter multiple pellets so that pellets within a target size range are collected and pellets outside one or more size limits are discarded. In some embodiments, the 760 pellet handling system may screen pellets based on pellet strength. For example, pellets can be screened to obtain pellets with a target resistance of at least 4.45 N (1 pound-force (lbf)), 22.24 N (5 lbf), 44.48 N (10 lbf), 66.72 N (15 lbf), 88.96 N (20 lbf), 111.21 N (25 lbf), 133.45 N (30 lbf), 155.69 N (35 lbf) or Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 88 / 224 55 / 87 177.93 N (40 lbf). The target strength may depend, for example, on the pellet size, pellet composition, binder used and / or other factors. Pellet strength can be determined based on a crush test, a drop test, a hardness test, a compression strength test, a tensile strength test, an abrasion resistance test and / or similar tests.

[0101] Alternatively, the 760 pellet treatment system may include a grinding hopper and a grinder to modify the size of a pellet. Some embodiments may activate an electric motor of a grinder and convey a set of larger pellets to a grinder hopper of the grinder. The grinder may then grind the set of larger pellets with a grinder roller or other grinder component to reduce the set of larger pellets into a set of smaller pellets that satisfy the target pellet size. In addition, some embodiments may obtain a set of target parameter values, such as a target pellet size for a coke pellet. Some embodiments may then use an analytical, empirical, or simulation model to determine a set of predicted grinding parameters to result in the target pellet size.Some methods can then control grinding operations based on the set of grinding parameters to generate the 790 pellet population.

[0102] In some embodiments, the output rate of the 780 pelletizing unit may be at least 1 ton per hour, 2 tons per hour, 3 tons per hour, 5 tons per hour, 6 tons per hour, 8 tons per hour, 10 tons per hour, 12 tons per hour, 15 tons per hour, 16 tons per hour, 18 tons per hour or 20 tons per hour. In some embodiments, the 780 pelletizing unit may have a modular configuration in which one or more pelletizing units may be used without all pelletizing units being used.

[0103] In some forms, the 780 pelletizing unit may be Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 89 / 224 56 / 87 configured in the vicinity of furnace 704. For example, pelletizing unit 780 can be configured in a plant where furnace 704 is located. In some embodiments, pelletizing unit 780 can be configured as a portable installation so that it can be transported to where particulate materials, for example, particle set 705, one or more other particulate materials, are available for pelletizing. In some embodiments, pelletizing unit 780 can have a modular configuration so that a certain number of pelletizing units can be assembled at one location. In some embodiments, the number of pelletizing units of pelletizing unit 780 can be adjusted depending on the processing needs at that location, or a change of the same, from time to time.

[0104] It is understood that the description of production system 700 is provided for illustrative purposes and is not intended to be limiting. In some embodiments, production system 700 may omit furnace 704 and include pelletizing unit 780. Pelletizing unit 780 may pelletize particulate material from a single source or a mixture of particulate materials from multiple sources.For example, the 780 pelletizing unit can pelletize one or more particulate materials including at least one of coal fines, coal fines, petroleum coke breeze, coke breeze, iron fines, other metal fines, blast furnace dust, bag fines, residual materials, petroleum coke breeze, anthracite fines, calcined anthracite fines, iron ore pellet fines, DRI pellet fines, DRI / HBI pellet fines or similar, QPD, spilled coal and coke recovery materials, coal washing plant residue material or a combination thereof. Just as an example, the 780 pelletizing unit can pelletize blast furnace dust which includes blast furnace iron fines. VI. Production of Pellets and Pellets

[0105] FIG. 8 represents the pellets according to the modalities of Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 90 / 224 57 / 87 present technology. The embodiments of the present technology can produce a pellet population, such as the 790 pellet population, using the operations described in this disclosure, wherein the pellet population includes a set of 800 pellets. The set of 800 pellets may include a first pellet 801, a second pellet 802, and a third pellet 803. In some embodiments, the set of 800 pellets may include at least one of calcium, aluminum, magnesium, sodium, iron, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, platinum, palladium, cadmium, ammonia, zirconium, potassium, or a mixture thereof. In some embodiments, the set of 800 pellets of the pellet population may include an oxide. In some embodiments, the set of 800 pellets of the pellet population may include at least one of iron-containing pellets, nitrogen-containing pellets, carbon-containing pellets, etc.Examples of carbon-containing pellets include coke pellets, coal pellets, biochar pellets, petroleum coke pellets, anthracite pellets, calcined anthracite pellets, etc. In some embodiments, individual pellets in the pellet population may include at least one of coke breeze, coal fines, biochar fines, blast furnace dust, bag fines, petroleum coke, anthracite, calcined anthracite, QPD, spilled coal and coke recovery materials, coal washing plant residue material, or waste materials. In some embodiments, individual pellets may include a component of interest including, for example, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, an alkali metal, aluminum, iron, or a transition metal. For example, the component of interest of one or more pellets from the 800 pellet set may be at least 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of the 800 pellet set by weight.

[0106] In some embodiments, one or more pellets from the 800 pellet set may have a dimension suitable for the intended use. In some embodiments, the individual pellets may have a diameter of at least 1 / 25 in., 1 / 23 in., 1 / 20 in., 1 / 16 in., 1 / 10 in., 1 / 8 in., 1 / 5 in., 1 / 4 in., 1 / 3 in., 1 / 2 in., 3 / 4 Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 91 / 224 58 / 87 in., 1 in., or in a range of 1 / 25 inch to 1.5 inches, in a range of 1 / 5 inch to 1.5 inches, in a range of 1 / 4 inch to 1 inch, or in a range of 1 / 2 inch to 1 inch. For example, iron-containing pellets may be further processed to produce steel in, for example, an EAF; such iron-containing pellets may have a diameter of 1 / 4 inch to 1 inch or 1 / 2 inch to 1 inch. As another example, the pellets thus produced may be used as fuel for a specific type of burner, an animal feed, a fertilizer, a cleaning agent configured to filter air, water, etc., and therefore have a suitable property profile including, for example, dimension, density, surface area, porosity, and composition, or the like, or a combination thereof.

[0107] In some embodiments, the density of one or more pellets from the pellet set 800 may be different from the density of particulates produced in the furnace, such as the particle set 705. For example, the density of the first pellet 801 may be greater than the density of the particle set 705.

[0108] In some embodiments, one or more pellets of the 800 pellet set include a density of at least 1 gram per cubic centimeter (g / cm3), 1.2 g / cm3, 1.4 g / cm3, 1.6 g / cm3, 1.8 g / cm3 or 2 g / cm3 or in a range of 1.2 g / cm3 to 2.5 g / cm3 or in a range of 1.5 g / cm3 to 1.8 g / cm3.

[0109] In some embodiments, one or more pellets of the 800 pellet set include a resistance of at least 4.45 N (1 lbf), 22.24 N (5 lbf), 44.48 N (10 lbf), 88.96 N (20 lbf), 133.45 N (30 lbf), 177.93 N (40 lbf), 222.41 N (50 lbf), 266.89 N (60 lbf), 311.38 N (70 lbf), 355.86 N (80 lbf), 400.34 N (90 lbf), 444.82 N (100 lbf), 533.79 N (120 lbf) or in a range of 44.48 N to 533.79 N (10 lbf to 120 lbf), a range from 44.48 N to 444.82 N (10 lbf to 100 lbf), a range of 88.96 N to 400.34 N (20 lbf to 90 lbf) or a range of 177.93 N to 355.86 N (40 lbf to 80 lbf).

[0110] In some forms, one or more pellets from the pellet set Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 92 / 224 59 / 87 800 pellets include a total ash content between 1-20%, between 3-15%, or between 5-10%. In some embodiments, one or more pellets in the 800 pellet set include a sulfur content of less than 10%, 5%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, or 0.1%.

[0111] In some embodiments, one or more pellets of the 800 pellet set have friability such that, when broken, the pellets produce an insignificant amount of dust. For example, when broken, the pellets may produce less than 10%, 5%, 3%, 2% or 1% of airborne particles (e.g., dust) by weight. In another example, when broken, each pellet may produce pieces that (i) each comprise at least 5%, 10%, 15% or 20% of the initial weight of the pellet and / or (ii) together comprise at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80% or 90% of the initial weight of the pellet.

[0112] In some embodiments, the 800 pellet assembly includes pellets containing carbon. The 800 pellet assembly may include a heat of combustion of at least 150 kilojoules per mole (kJ / mol), 180 kJ / mol, 200 kJ / mol, 220 kJ / mol, 250 kJ / mol or 260 kJ / mol, 280 kJ / mol, 300 kJ / mol, 320 kJ / mol, in a range of 150 kJ / mol to 350 kJ / mol, in a range of 180 kJ / mol to 350 kJ / mol or in a range of 200 kJ / mol to 350 kJ / mol. In some embodiments, the 800 pellet set includes a water content of less than 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 8%, 10%, 12%, 15%, in a range of 2% to 12%, in a range of 4% to 10%, or in a range of 5% to 10%.In some embodiments, the 800 pellet set includes a sulfur content below 0.2%, 0.5%, 0.6%, 0.8%, 1%, 1.5%, 1.8%, 2%, 2.5%, 2.8%, 3%, 3.5%, 4%, in a range of 0.1% to 1%, in a range of 0.2% to 1%, in a range of 0.4% to 1%, or in a range of 0.5% to 1%, 0.1% to 1.5%, in a range of 0.2% to 1.5%, in a range of 0.4% to 1.5%, or in a range of 0.5% to 1.5%, 0.1% to 2%, in a range of 0.2% to 2%, in a range of 0.4% to 2%, or in a range of 0.5% to 2%, 1% to 1.5%, in a range of 1% to 2%, in a range of 1% to 2.5%, or in a range of 1% to 3%. In some formulations, the 800 pellet set includes a chelating agent. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 93 / 224 60 / 87 In some embodiments, one or more pellets of the 800 pellet set have the shape of a cylinder, a sphere, and / or an ovoid. In some embodiments, one or more pellets of the 800 pellet set have a predetermined degradation profile. For example, the first pellet 801 may have a predetermined degradation profile such that the individual pellets break into pieces.

[0113] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method 900 for forming coke pellets according to embodiments of the present technology. Although the steps of method 900 are described below in a particular order, one or more of the steps may be performed in a different order or omitted, and method 900 may include additional and / or alternative steps. Furthermore, although method 900 may be described below with reference to embodiments of the present technology described in this document, method 900 may be performed with other embodiments of the present technology.

[0114] Method 900 begins in block 902 by mixing biomass with a set of materials to form an infeed mixture. The biomass may have a first volatility and the set of materials may have a second volatility lower than the first volatility. The biomass may be formed by heating organic material in a low-oxygen environment and / or may be formed from a variety of feedstocks, including agricultural waste, wood chips, natural rubber, and other biomass materials. The biomass may include biochar. The set of materials may include at least one of coal fines, coal dust, crushed foundry coke breeze, petroleum coke breeze, coke breeze, or other materials with lower volatility than the biomass.

[0115] In block 904, method 900 continues preconditioning the incoming mixture by hydrating the incoming mixture to generate a first plurality of particles. In some embodiments, preconditioning the incoming mixture includes hydrating the incoming mixture based on a moisture parameter and a Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 94 / 224 61 / 87 mass of the inlet mixture to generate the first plurality of particles.

[0116] In block 906, method 900 continues loading the first plurality of particles into a furnace to produce a second plurality of particles by means of pyrolysis. In some embodiments, loading includes activating a conveyor to move a tray that supports the particles under a hammer, stamping the incoming mixture (or particles) using the hammer, and loading the incoming mixture (or particles) into the furnace after stamping the incoming mixture (or particles).

[0117] In block 908, method 900 continues by post-conditioning the second particle plurality to produce a third particle plurality by exposing the second particle plurality to at least one of an amphipathic binder, a hydrophobic binder, or a hydrophilic binder.In some embodiments, post-conditioning includes (i) exposing the second plurality of particles to an acid, wherein the exposure of the second plurality of particles to the acid comprises adding water and the acid to the second plurality of particles in a mixing chamber to generate a pre-pellet mixture, (ii) heating the mixing chamber to a mixing temperature, (iii) mechanically mixing the pre-pellet mixture while the pre-pellet mixture is at the mixing temperature, (iv) shaping the pre-pellet mixture to form a shaped pre-pellet mixture by rotating the pre-pellet mixture, and (v) adding a crosslinker to the shaped pre-pellet mixture to form the third plurality of particles, wherein the third plurality of particles comprises a crosslinked mixture.

[0118] In block 910, method 900 continues physically altering the third plurality of particles to form coke pellets. In some embodiments, the physical change includes actuating a cutter to split the crosslinked mixture to form the coke pellets.

[0119] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating another method 1000 for forming coke pellets according to embodiments of the present technology. Although the Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 95 / 224 62 / 87 steps of method 1000 are described below in a particular order, one or more of the steps may be performed in a different order or omitted, and method 1000 may include additional and / or alternative steps. Furthermore, although method 1000 may be described below with reference to embodiments of the present technology described in this document, method 1000 may be performed with other embodiments of the present technology.

[0120] Method 1000 begins in block 1002 by preconditioning the biomass by hydrating the biomass to generate a first plurality of particles. The biomass can be formed by heating organic material in a low-oxygen environment and / or can be formed from a variety of feedstocks, including agricultural residues, wood chips, natural rubber, and other biomass materials. The biomass may include biochar. In some embodiments, biomass preconditioning includes hydrating the biomass based on a moisture parameter and a biomass mass to generate the first plurality of particles.

[0121] In block 1004, method 1000 continues loading the first plurality of particles into a furnace to produce a second plurality of particles by means of pyrolysis. In some embodiments, loading includes activating a conveyor to move a tray that supports the particles under a hammer, stamping the particles using the hammer, and loading the particles into the furnace after stamping the particles.

[0122] In block 1006, method 1000 continues by post-conditioning the second plurality of particles to produce a third plurality of particles by exposing the second plurality of particles to at least one of an amphipathic binder, a hydrophobic binder, or a hydrophilic binder. In some embodiments, the post-conditioning includes (i) exposing the second plurality of particles to an acid, wherein the exposure of the second plurality of particles to the acid comprises adding water and the acid to the second plurality of particles in a chamber of Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p. 96 / 224 63 / 87 mixing to generate a pre-pellet mixture, (ii) heating the mixing chamber to a mixing temperature, (iii) mechanically mixing the pre-pellet mixture while the pre-pellet mixture is at the mixing temperature, (iv) shaping the pre-pellet mixture to form a shaped pre-pellet mixture by rotating the pre-pellet mixture, and (v) adding a crosslinker to the shaped pre-pellet mixture to form the third particle plurality, wherein the third particle plurality comprises a crosslinked mixture.

[0123] In block 1008, method 1000 continues physically altering the third plurality of particles to form coke pellets, wherein the coke pellets have a volatile matter percentage of less than 15%. In some embodiments, the physical change includes actuating a cutter to split the crosslinked mixture to form the coke pellets. VII. Conclusion

[0124] It should be understood that some embodiments may perform one or more of the operations described for a method without another of the operations described for the method or another method. For example, some embodiments may modify the moisture content of an input material using operations described by process portion 508 without performing one or more operations described by process portion 510. Furthermore, although the technology has been described in language that is specific to certain structures, materials, and methodological steps, it should be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific structures, materials, and / or steps described. Instead, the specific aspects and steps are described as ways of implementing the claimed invention. Additionally, certain aspects of the new technology described in the context of particular embodiments may be combined or eliminated in other embodiments.Furthermore, although the advantages associated with certain modalities of the technology have been described in the context of these. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 97 / 224 64 / 87 embodiments, other embodiments may also exhibit such advantages, and not all embodiments necessarily need to exhibit such advantages to fall within the scope of the technology. Consequently, the disclosure and associated technology may encompass other embodiments not expressly shown or described in this document. Thus, the disclosure is not limited, except as per the appended claims. Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers or expressions, such as those expressing dimensions, physical characteristics, etc., used in the descriptive report (except the claims) are understood to be modified in all cases by the term approximately.At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to claims, each numerical parameter recited in the descriptive report or claims that is modified by the term approximately must, at least, be interpreted in light of the number of significant digits recited and by applying common rounding techniques. Furthermore, all ranges disclosed in this document should be understood as encompassing and providing support for claims that recite any and all subranges or any and all individual values ​​included in this document.For example, a declared range of 1 to 10 should be considered as including and supporting claims that cite any and all subranges or individual values ​​that are between and / or include the minimum value of 1 and the maximum value of 10; that is, all subranges beginning with a minimum value of 1 or more and ending with a maximum value of 10 or less (e.g., 5.5 to 10, 2.34 to 3.56, and so on) or any values ​​from 1 to 10 (e.g., 3, 5.8, 9.9994, and so on). Furthermore, unless otherwise indicated, the phrases "based on" and "based at least in part on" are used interchangeably in this disclosure. For example, the function f(x,y) can be described as being based on the variable x or being based at least in part on x. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 98 / 224 65 / 87

[0125] The present technology is illustrated, for example, according to various aspects described below as numbered examples (1, 2, 3, etc.) for convenience. These are provided as examples and are not limited to the present technology. Note that any of the dependent examples can be combined in any combination and placed in a respective independent example. The other examples can be displayed in a similar manner. A.1. A method for forming coke pellets, the method comprising: Mixing biomass with a set of materials to form an input mixture, where the biomass has a first volatility and the set of materials has a second volatility that is lower than the first volatility; precondition the incoming mixture by hydrating it to generate an initial plurality of particles; Loading the first plurality of particles into a furnace to produce a second plurality of particles through pyrolysis; Post-conditioning the second plurality of particles to produce a third plurality of particles by exposing the second plurality of particles to at least one of an amphipathic binder, a hydrophobic binder, or a hydrophilic binder; and physically altering the third plurality of particles to form coke pellets. A.2. The method of modality A.1, comprising: to obtain a quantity of volatile matter (VM) in biomass and a VM release rate parameter from biomass; obtain a second VM quantity and a second VM release rate parameter assigned to the material set; to obtain a target VM quantity associated with a target pellet from the coke pellets; Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 99 / 224 66 / 87 determine a set of furnace parameters based, at least in part, on the target VM quantity; and determine a material ratio indicating a ratio of a quantity of the material set to a quantity of biomass based, at least in part, on the biomass VM quantity, the biomass VM release rate parameter, the second VM quantity, the second VM release rate parameter, and the furnace parameter set, wherein the biomass-material set mixture comprises the biomass-material set mixture based, at least in part, on the material ratio. A.3. The method of modality A.2, in which the determination of the material ratio comprises: to obtain a melting temperature of target ash; to obtain a melting point for biomass ash; and to obtain a second melting point for ash from the set of materials, wherein the determination of the material ratio comprises: Predict a candidate ash melting temperature using an ash melting prediction model based, at least in part, on the biomass ash melting temperature, the second ash melting temperature, and a candidate ratio as inputs; wherein the candidate ratio corresponds to the material ratio. A.4. The method of modality A.2, in which the determination of the material ratio comprises: to obtain a target reactivity index; to obtain a biomass reactivity index; and to obtain a second reactivity index for the set of materials, where the determination of the material ratio comprises: Predict a candidate reactivity index using a forecasting model. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pages 100 / 224 67 / 87 reactivity index based, at least in part, on the biomass reactivity index, the second reactivity index and a candidate ratio as inputs; and wherein the candidate ratio corresponds to the material ratio. A.5. The method of modality A.2, in which the set of materials is recovered from the furnace. A.6. The method of embodiment A.5, in which the set of materials comprises a coke oven containing at least one of the following: coke breeze, high-sulfur petroleum coke, anode residue, spent activated carbon, or immersion in a cooling pond. A.7. The method of embodiment A.2, in which the set of materials comprises a polymeric material. A.8. The method of embodiment A.7, in which the polymeric material comprises pitch or rubber. A.9. The method of modality A.2, in which the set of materials comprises a mineral. A.10. The method of embodiment A.9, in which the mineral comprises calcium oxides or hydroxides. A.11. The method of embodiment A.1, in which the preconditioning of the inlet mixture comprises hydrating the inlet mixture based on a moisture parameter and a mass of the inlet mixture to generate the first plurality of particles. A.12. The method of modality A.11, also comprising: determine a target particle size associated with at least one of the second particle plurality and the third particle plurality; obtain a set of furnace parameters; and determine the moisture parameter based, at least in part, on Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 101 / 224 68 / 87 furnace parameter set and target particle size using a particle size model. A.13. The method, according to modality A.11, in which: The hydration of the inlet mixture comprises: Dispensing the inlet mixture from a hopper that stores the inlet mixture in a tray through a hopper door; and simultaneously rotating the inlet mixture and hydrating the inlet mixture through a nozzle directed towards the tray by activating a rotary actuator; and loading the inlet mixture into the oven comprises: Activate a conveyor to move the tray under a hammer; Stamp the incoming mixture using the hammer; and load the incoming mixture into the oven after stamping the incoming mixture. A.14. The method of embodiment A.11, in which the hydration of the inlet mixture comprises activating a nozzle to spray water onto the inlet mixture while rotating the inlet mixture. A.15. The method of embodiment A.11, further comprising mechanically mixing the incoming mixture after hydrating the incoming mixture. A.16. The method of embodiment A.11, further comprising mechanically grinding the inlet mixture to satisfy a target particle size distribution of the inlet mixture. A.17. The method of embodiment A.11, further comprising loading the inlet mixture after hydrating the inlet mixture. A.18. The method of embodiment A.1, further comprising configuring the furnace based on a set of furnace parameters, wherein a first parameter of the furnace parameter set indicates a target temperature that is greater than 537.78 °C (1000 °F) for a first duration, wherein the loading of the first plurality of particles into the furnace comprises heating a furnace interior to at least Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 102 / 224 69 / 87 minus the target temperature for the first duration to convert the first plurality of particles into the second plurality of particles. A.19. The method of embodiment A.18, in which the furnace parameter set indicates at least one of a second duration at a temperature different from the target temperature, a stretch control parameter or a heat exchanger flow rate. A.20. The method of embodiment A.18, further comprising tilting an absorption door to increase an airflow through the furnace. A.21. The method of modality A.18, also comprising: obtain a set of target pellet parameters; and determine the set of furnace parameters based, at least in part, on the set of target pellet parameters. A.22. The method of embodiment A.21, in which the set of target pellet parameters comprises at least one of a pellet density, a pellet pore size, or a pellet geometry. A.23. The method of modality A.1, in which the post-conditioning of the second plurality of particles comprises: exposing the second plurality of particles to an acid, wherein the exposure of the second plurality of particles to the acid comprises adding water and the acid to the second plurality of particles in a mixing chamber to generate a pre-pellet mixture; Heat the mixing chamber to a mixing temperature; Mechanically mix the pre-pellet mixture while the pre-pellet mixture is at the mixing temperature; Shape the pre-pellet mixture to form a molded pre-pellet mixture by rotating the pre-pellet mixture; Add a crosslinking agent to the pre-molded pellet mixture to form the third layer. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 103 / 224 70 / 87 plurality of particles, wherein the third plurality of particles comprises a cross-linked mixture; and wherein the physical alteration of the third plurality of particles comprises acting a cutter to divide the cross-linked mixture to form coke pellets. A.24. The method of embodiment A.23, further comprising the transport of the second plurality of particles to a mixing chamber by means of a flat pressure hot car (FPHC). A.25. The method of modality A.24, also comprising: to cover a top of the FPHC to enclose the second plurality of particles; Spray the exterior of the FPHC with a fluid using a nozzle to cool the second plurality of particles; and simultaneously with spraying the exterior of the FPHC, rotate at least one part of the FPHC or the nozzle relative to a center of the FPHC. A.26. The method of modality A.24, also comprising: to cover a top of the FPHC to enclose the second plurality of particles; Transporting the FPHC through a tubular interior against a fluid stream flowing through the tubular interior; and spraying a fluid through the tubular interior while the FPHC is being transported through the tubular interior, where the fluid cools the FPHC. A.27. The method of modality A.23, also comprising: Obtain a set of target pellet parameters indicating at least one of a target pellet moisture content, a target pellet strength and a target pellet density, a target pellet size, a target pellet sulfur content or a target pellet ash melting temperature; and determine operational parameters for a binder quantity, an acid quantity or a crosslinking agent quantity to use by providing the target pellet parameter set to a prediction model, wherein the production Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 104 / 224 71 / 87 of the pre-pellet mixture comprises the production of the pre-pellet mixture based, at least in part, on the operational parameters. A.28. The method of modality A.26, also comprising: Cool the coke pellets after heating the mixing chamber; and coat the coke pellets with at least one of a calcium-containing material, a binder, or a surface modifier when the temperature of the coke pellets is lower than the mixing temperature. A.29. The method of embodiment A.23, further comprising coating the coke pellets with a carbon-containing dust. A.30. The method of embodiment A.23, in which the rotation of the prepellet mixture comprises rotating the prepellet mixture in a second direction to form a set of micropellets, wherein each respective micropellet is smaller than the coke pellets. A.31. The method of embodiment A. 23, further comprising: conveying the pre-pellet mixture to a table feeder; To activate a table feeder motor to direct the prepellet mixture through an extruder tube; Cutting extruded portions of the pre-pellet mixture to form a set of extruded briquettes, wherein the addition of the crosslinker to the pre-pellet mixture comprises exposing the crosslinker to the set of extruded briquettes; and heating the set of extruded briquettes to form the coke pellets. A.32. The method of modality A.23, in which the physical alteration of the third plurality of particles comprises: to form a set of intermediate pellets from the cross-linked mixture; Transporting the intermediate pellet assembly to a grinding hopper of a grinder; and powering an electric motor in the grinder to grind the pellet assembly. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 105 / 224 72 / 87 intermediates with a grinder roller to reduce the set of intermediate pellets to a target pellet size of coke pellets. A.33. The method of embodiment A.23, in which the production of the pre-pellet mixture comprises the addition of a calcium compound to the pre-pellet mixture. A.34. The method of embodiment A.23, in which the production of the pre-pellet mixture comprises the addition of an ash material or slag material to the pre-pellet mixture. A.35. The method of embodiment A.23, in which the production of the prepellet mixture comprises exposing coke pellets to a buffer solution to modify the surface chemistry of the coke pellets at a target pH. A.36. The method of embodiment A.23, in which the ratio of a mass of the ligand to a mass of the second plurality of particles is less than 20%. A.37. The method of modality A.23, also comprising: to obtain a set of target parameters indicating a target surface chemistry; and to determine a set of chemical treatment parameters based, at least in part, on the target surface chemistry, wherein the addition of water, binder and acid comprises the addition of acid based, at least in part, on the set of chemical treatment parameters. A.38. The method of modality A.23, also comprising: Obtain target parameter data indicating a target pellet size; select a set of grinding parameters based, at least in part, on the target parameter data; and grind the second plurality of particles based, at least in part, on the set of grinding parameters. A.39. The method of embodiment A.23, further comprising screening of the second plurality of particles with a mesh filter to remove particles that Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 106 / 224 73 / 87 do not meet a size limit. A.40. The method of embodiment A. 23, further comprising a fatty acid salt of the second plurality of particles. A.41. The method of embodiment A. 23, further comprising glycerol to the second plurality of particles. A.42. The method of embodiment A. 23, further comprising an amphoteric surfactant with a second plurality of particles. A.43. The method of embodiment A.23, in which the addition of the acid adds a hydroxyl group and a carboxyl group to the second plurality of particles. A.44. The method of embodiment A. 23, further comprising hydrophobicity of a surface of the coke pellets by exposing the coke pellets to a paraffin, a hydrophobic coating or a polymer. A.45. The method of embodiment A.1, in which the coke pellets comprise a first coke pellet, wherein: The first coke pellet is formed as a cylindrical body; The cylindrical body comprises pyrolyzed biomass and a binding material; the pH of the water content of the first coke pellet is greater than 6.0; and the surface of the cylindrical body comprises a hydrophilic portion. A.46. The method of embodiment A.1, further comprising the exposure of the second plurality of particles to an acid. A.47. The method of embodiment A.1, in which the coke pellets comprise a first coke pellet that is hydrophobic. A.48. The method of embodiment A.1, in which exposure of the second plurality of particles to the binder causes at least one of the second plurality of particles, the third plurality of particles, or the coke pellets to expel water. B. 1. A method comprising: Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 107 / 224 74 / 87 mixing biomass with a set of materials to form an input mixture, wherein the biomass has a first volatility and the set of materials has a second volatility lower than the first volatility; and conditioning the input mixture by hydrating the input mixture to generate a first plurality of particles. B.2. The method of modality B.1, also comprising: to obtain a quantity of volatile matter (VM) in biomass and a VM release rate parameter from biomass; obtain a second VM quantity and a second VM release rate parameter assigned to the material set; to obtain a target VM quantity associated with a target pellet of coke pellets; to determine a set of furnace parameters based, at least in part, on the target VM quantity; and to determine a material ratio indicating a ratio of a quantity of the material set to a quantity of biomass based, at least in part, on the biomass VM quantity, the biomass VM release rate parameter, the second VM quantity, the second VM release rate parameter, and the furnace parameter set, wherein the biomass-material set mixture comprises the biomass-material set mixture based, at least in part, on the material ratio. B.3. The method of modality B.2, in which the determination of the material ratio comprises: to obtain a melting temperature of target ash; to obtain a melting point for biomass ash; and to obtain a second melting point for ash from the set of materials, wherein the determination of the material ratio comprises: Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 108 / 224 75 / 87 predict a candidate ash melting temperature using an ash melting prediction model based, at least in part, on the biomass ash melting temperature, the second ash melting temperature, and a candidate ratio as inputs; wherein the candidate ratio corresponds to the material ratio. B.4. The method of modality B.2, in which the determination of the material ratio comprises: to obtain a target reactivity index; to obtain a biomass reactivity index; and to obtain a second reactivity index for the set of materials, where the determination of the material ratio comprises: To predict a candidate reactivity index using a reactivity index prediction model based, at least in part, on the biomass reactivity index, the second reactivity index, and a candidate ratio as inputs; wherein the candidate ratio corresponds to the material ratio. B.5. The method of embodiment B.2, further comprising loading the first plurality of particles into a furnace to produce a second plurality of particles by means of pyrolysis, wherein the set of materials is recovered from the furnace. B.6. The method of embodiment B.5, in which the set of materials comprises at least one of coke breeze, high-sulfur petroleum coke, anode residue, spent activated carbon, or immersion in a cooling pond. B.7. The method of embodiment B.2, in which the set of materials comprises a polymeric material. B.8. The method of embodiment B.7, in which the polymeric material comprises grass or rubber. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 109 / 224 76 / 87 B.9. The method of modality B.2, in which the set of materials comprises a mineral. B.10. The method of embodiment B.9, in which the mineral comprises calcium oxides or hydroxides. B.11. The method of embodiment B.1, in which the preconditioning of the inlet mixture comprises hydrating the inlet mixture based on a moisture parameter and a mass of the inlet mixture to generate the first plurality of particles. B.12. The method of modality B.11, also comprising: determine a target particle size associated with at least one of the second particle plurality and the third particle plurality; Obtain a set of furnace parameters; and determine the moisture parameter based, at least in part, on the set of furnace parameters and the target particle size using a particle size model. B.13. The method of modality B.11, in which: The hydration of the inlet mixture comprises: Dispensing the inlet mixture from a hopper that stores the inlet mixture in a tray through a hopper door; and simultaneously rotating the inlet mixture and hydrating the inlet mixture through a nozzle directed towards the tray by activating a rotary actuator; and loading the inlet mixture into the oven comprises: Activate a conveyor to move the tray under a hammer; Stamp the incoming mixture using the hammer; and load the incoming mixture into the oven after stamping the incoming mixture. B.14. The method of embodiment B.11, in which the hydration of the inlet mixture comprises activating a nozzle to spray water onto the inlet mixture. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pages 110 / 224 77 / 87 while rotating the intake mixture. B.15. The method of embodiment B.11, further comprising mechanically mixing the incoming mixture after hydrating the incoming mixture. B.16. The method of embodiment B.11, further comprising loading the inlet mixture after hydrating the inlet mixture. B.17. The method of embodiment B.1, further comprising mechanically grinding the inlet mixture to satisfy a target particle size distribution of the inlet mixture. B.18. The method of embodiment B.17, in which the grinder is at least one of either a ball mill grinder or a rod mill grinder. B.19. The method of embodiment B.17, further comprising determining a set of operating parameters of the grinder to satisfy a target particle size distribution. B.20. The method of embodiment B.1, further comprising configuring the furnace based on a set of furnace parameters, wherein a first parameter of the furnace parameter set indicates a target temperature that is greater than 537.78 °C (1,000 °F) for a first duration, wherein loading the first plurality of particles into the furnace comprises heating a furnace interior to at least the target temperature for the first duration to convert the first plurality of particles into the second plurality of particles. B.21. The method of embodiment A.20, in which the furnace parameter set indicates at least one of a second duration at a temperature different from the target temperature, a stretch control parameter or a heat exchanger flow rate. B.22. The method of embodiment B.20, further comprising tilting an absorption door to increase an airflow through the furnace. B.23. The method of modality B.20, also comprising: Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pages 111 / 224 78 / 87 obtain a set of target pellet parameters; and determine the set of furnace parameters based, at least in part, on the set of target pellet parameters. B.24. The method of embodiment B.23, in which the set of target pellet parameters comprises at least one of a pellet density, a pellet pore size, or a pellet geometry. B.25. The method of embodiment B.1, further comprising: (i) loading the first plurality of particles into a furnace to produce a second plurality of particles by means of pyrolysis and (ii) cooling the second plurality of particles after the second plurality of particles has been removed from the furnace. C.1. A method comprising: conditioning a first plurality of particles to produce a second plurality of particles by exposing the first plurality of particles to a binder, wherein the binder is at least one of a hydrophilic binder, hydrophobic binder or amphipathic binder; and physically altering the second plurality of particles to form coke pellets. C.2. The method of embodiment C.1, in which the first plurality of particles comprises a carbonaceous species. C.3. The method of embodiment C.1, in which the first plurality of particles comprises coke. C.4. The method of embodiment C.1, in which the coke pellets are hydrophobic. C.5. The method of embodiment C.1, in which exposure of the first plurality of particles to the binder causes at least one of the first plurality of particles, the second plurality of particles, or the coke pellets to expel water. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 112 / 224 79 / 87 C.6. The method of embodiment C.1, further comprising the exposure of the first plurality of particles to an acid. C.7. The method of modality C.1, in which the post-conditioning of the first plurality of particles comprises: to transport the first plurality of particles to a mixing chamber via a transport vessel; exposing the first plurality of particles to an acid, wherein the exposure of the first plurality of particles to the acid comprises adding water, a binder and the acid to the first plurality of particles in the mixing chamber to generate a pre-pellet mixture; Heat the mixing chamber to a mixing temperature; Mechanically mix the pre-pellet mixture while the pre-pellet mixture is at the mixing temperature; Shape the pre-pellet mixture to form a molded pre-pellet mixture by rotating the pre-pellet mixture; Adding a crosslinker to the pre-molded pellet mixture to form the second plurality of particles, wherein the second plurality of particles comprises a crosslinked mixture; and wherein the physical alteration of the second plurality of particles comprises acting a cutter to divide the crosslinked mixture to form coke pellets. C.8. The method of modality C.7, also comprising: to cover the top of the transport container to enclose the first plurality of particles; Spray the exterior of the transport container with a fluid using a nozzle to cool the first plurality of particles; and simultaneously with spraying the exterior of the transport container, rotate at least one of the transport container or the nozzle relative to a Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 113 / 224 80 / 87 center of the transport container. C.9. The method of modality C.7, also comprising: to cover the top of the transport container to enclose the first plurality of particles; transporting the carrier vessel through a tubular interior against a stream of fluid flowing through the tubular interior; and spraying a fluid through the tubular interior while the carrier vessel is being transported through the tubular interior, whereby the fluid cools the carrier vessel. C. 10. The method of modality C. 7, also comprising: Obtain a set of target pellet parameters indicating at least one of a target pellet moisture content, a target pellet strength and a target pellet density, a target pellet size, a target pellet sulfur content or a target pellet ash melting temperature; and determine operational parameters for an amount of binder, an amount of acid or an amount of crosslinker to use by providing the set of target pellet parameters to a prediction model, wherein the production of the pre-pellet mixture comprises the production of the pre-pellet mixture based, at least in part, on the operational parameters. C.11. The method of modality C.8, also comprising: Cool the coke pellets after heating the mixing chamber; and coat the coke pellets with at least one of a calcium-containing material, a binder, or a surface modifier when the temperature of the coke pellets is lower than the mixing temperature. C.12. The method of embodiment C.7, further comprising coating the coke pellets with a carbon-containing dust. C.13. The method of embodiment C.7, in which the rotation of the pre-pellet mixture Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pages 114 / 224 81 / 87 comprises rotating the pre-pellet mixture in a second direction to form a set of micropellets, wherein each respective micropellet is smaller than the coke pellets. C.14. The method of embodiment C.7, further comprising: conveying the pre-pellet mixture to a table feeder; To activate a table feeder motor to direct the prepellet mixture through an extruder tube; Cutting extruded portions of the pre-pellet mixture to form a set of extruded briquettes, wherein the addition of the crosslinker to the pre-pellet mixture comprises exposing the crosslinker to the set of extruded briquettes; and heating the set of extruded briquettes to form the coke pellets. C. 15. The method of modality C. 7, in which the physical change of the second plurality of particles comprises: to form a set of intermediate pellets from the cross-linked mixture; Transport the intermediate pellet assembly to a grinding hopper of a grinder; and feed an electric motor of the grinder to grind the intermediate pellet assembly with a grinder roller to reduce the intermediate pellet assembly to a target pellet size of coke pellets. C. 16. The method of embodiment C. 7, in which the production of the pre-pellet mixture comprises the addition of a calcium compound to the pre-pellet mixture. C. 17. The method of embodiment C. 7, in which the production of the pre-pellet mixture comprises the addition of an ash material or slag material to the pre-pellet mixture. C. 18. The method of embodiment C. 7, in which the production of the prepellet mixture comprises exposing coke pellets to a buffer solution to modify the surface chemistry of the coke pellets to a target pH. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 115 / 224 82 / 87 C. 19. The method of embodiment C. 7, in which the ratio of a mass of the ligand to a mass of the first plurality of particles is less than 20%. C. 20. The method of modality C. 7, also comprising: to obtain a set of target parameters indicating a target surface chemistry; and to determine a set of chemical treatment parameters based, at least in part, on the target surface chemistry, wherein the addition of water, binder and acid comprises the addition of acid based, at least in part, on the set of chemical treatment parameters. C.21. The method of modality C.7, also comprising: Obtain target parameter data indicating a target pellet size; select a set of grinding parameters based, at least in part, on the target parameter data; and grind the first plurality of particles based, at least in part, on the set of grinding parameters. C.22.The method of embodiment C.7, further comprising screening the first plurality of particles with a mesh filter to remove particles that do not meet a size threshold. C.23.The method of embodiment C.7, further comprising a fatty acid salt to the first plurality of particles. C. 24. The method of embodiment C. 7, also comprising glycerol in the first plurality of particles. C. 25. The method of modality C. 7, further comprising an amphoteric surfactant for the first plurality of particles. C.26.The method of embodiment C.7, in which the addition of the acid adds a hydroxyl group and a carboxyl group to the first plurality of particles. C. 27. The method of modality C. 7, further comprising a Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 116 / 224 83 / 87 hydrophobicity of a coke peptide surface by exposing the coke peptides to a paraffin, a hydrophobic coating or a polymer. C. 28. The method of embodiment C. 1, in which the coke pellets comprise a first coke pellet, wherein: The first coke pellet is formed as a cylindrical body; The cylindrical body comprises pyrolyzed biomass and a binding material; the pH of the first coke pellet is greater than 6.0; and the surface of the cylindrical body comprises a hydrophilic portion. D.1 A pellet production system comprising: A pelletizing unit including: A dosing system configured to add one or more materials to a biomass particle assembly, a mixer configured to mix one or more materials with the biomass particle assembly, a heat treatment system configured to heat the biomass particle assembly, wherein the heat treatment system includes a micropellet forming system configured to form a micropellet assembly from the biomass particle assembly and one or more materials, and a pelletizing system positioned downstream of the heat treatment system and configured to produce pellet products from the micropellet assembly. D.2 The system of modality D.1, in which the set of biomass particles has a first volatility and one or more materials have a second volatility lower than the first volatility. D. 3 The system of embodiment D. 1, in which one or more materials include at least one of the following: water, a binder, a crosslinker, a buffer solution, an acidic solution, or a basic solution. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 117 / 224 84 / 87 D. 4 The system of embodiment D. 1, in which the heat treatment system is configured to heat the biomass particle assembly while the mixer mixes one or more materials with the biomass particle assembly. D. 5 The system of embodiment D. 1, in which the micropellet forming system is configured to rotate portions of the biomass particle assembly to form the micropellet assembly. D. 6 The system of modality D. 1, where the pelletizing system includes a disc pelletizing system. D. 7 The system of modality D. 1, in which the pelletizing unit also includes: A hopper positioned upstream of the pelletizing system; and a conveying system configured to transport the batch of micropellets from the heat treatment system to the hopper. D.8 The system of modality D.1, in which the pelletizing unit also includes a drying system positioned downstream of the pelletizing system and configured to dry the pellet products. D.9 The system of embodiment D.1, in which the pelletizing assembly further comprises a pellet treatment system positioned downstream of the pelletizing system and configured to expose the pellet products to at least one chemical treatment, a heat treatment or a screening mechanism. D.10 The system of modality D.1, also comprising: A furnace configured to process incoming materials to form the biomass particle assembly; and a grinder positioned downstream of the furnace and upstream of the pelletizing assembly and configured to grind or crush the biomass particle assembly. E.1 A composition, comprising: a plurality of coke pellets, in which the coke pellets Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pages 118 / 224 85 / 87 comprise (i) biomass with a first percentage of volatile matter, (ii) a set of materials with a second percentage of volatile matter lower than the first percentage of volatile matter and (iii) a binder, wherein the coke pellets have a third percentage of volatile matter lower than 15%. E.2 The composition of claim E.1, wherein the third percentage of volatile matter is less than 6%. E.3 The composition of claim E.1, wherein the third percentage of volatile matter is less than 3%. E.4 The composition of claim E.1, wherein the first percentage of volatile matter is between 10-90% and the second percentage of volatile matter is between 0-15%. E.5 The composition of claim E.1, wherein the first percentage of volatile matter is between 20-80% and the second percentage of volatile matter is between 1-10%. E.6 The composition of claim E.1, wherein the coke pellets have a friability such that, when broken, each coke pellet produces a plurality of pieces that (i) each comprise at least 5%, 10%, 15% or 20% of an initial weight of the coke pellet and (ii) together comprise at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80% or 90% of the initial weight of the coke pellet. E. 7 The composition of claim E. 1, wherein the coke pellets have such friability that, when broken, the coke pellets produce an insignificant amount of dust. E. 8 The composition of claim E. 1, wherein the coke pellets, when broken, produce less than 1% of airborne particles by weight. E. 9 The composition of claim E. 1, wherein the coke pellets have a moisture content of less than 3%. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 119 / 224 86 / 87 E. 10 The composition of claim E. 1, wherein the coke pellets have a strength of at least 44.48 N (10 lbf), 88.96 N (20 lbf), 133.45 N (30 lbf) or 177.93 N (40 lbf) E. 11 The composition of claim E. 1, wherein the coke pellets have a density of at least 1.1 g / cm3, 1.3 g / cm3, 1.5 g / cm3, 1.8 g / cm3 or 2.1 g / cm3. E. 12 The composition of claim E. 1, wherein the coke pellets have a total ash content of between 1-20%, between 3-15% or between 5-10%. E. 13 The composition of claim E. 1, wherein the coke pellets have a sulfur content of less than 10%, 5%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5% or 0.1%. F. 1 A method for forming coke pellets, the method comprising: hydrating biomass to generate a first plurality of particles; loading the first plurality of particles into a furnace to produce a second plurality of particles by means of pyrolysis; exposing the second plurality of particles to at least one of an amphipathic binder, a hydrophobic binder, or a hydrophilic binder to produce a third plurality of particles; and physically altering the third plurality of particles to form coke pellets, wherein the coke pellets have a volatile matter percentage of less than 15%. F. 2 The method of claim F. 1, where the method does not include mixing biomass with a set of materials having lower volatility than biomass. F. 3 The method of claim F. 1, in which the biomass has a second percentage of volatile matter of less than 15%. F. 4 The method of claim F. 1, wherein the third percentage of volatile matter is less than 6%. F. 5 The method of claim F. 1, further comprising adding a Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 120 / 224 87 / 87 hydrophobic material in the first, second or third plurality of particles. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 121 / 224

Claims

1 / 6 CLAIMS 1. Composition CHARACTERIZED in that it comprises: a plurality of coke pellets, wherein the coke pellets comprise (i) biomass with a first percentage of volatile matter, (ii) a set of materials with a second percentage of volatile matter less than the first percentage of volatile matter and (iii) a binder, wherein the coke pellets have a third percentage of volatile matter less than 15%.

2. Composition according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the third percentage of volatile matter is less than 6%.

3. Composition, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the first percentage of volatile matter is between 20-80% and the second percentage of volatile matter is between 1-10%.

4. Composition according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the coke pellets have a friability such that, when broken, each coke pellet produces a plurality of pieces that (i) each comprise at least 10% of an initial weight of the coke pellet and (ii) together comprise at least 50% of the initial weight of the coke pellet.

5. Composition according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the coke pellets, when broken, produce less than 1% of airborne particles by weight.

6. Composition, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the coke pellets have a moisture content of less than 3%.

7. Composition according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the coke pellets have a strength of at least 44.48 N (10 lbf).

8. Composition, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the coke pellets have a density of at least 1.5 g / cm3. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 122 / 224 2 / 6 9. Composition, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the coke pellets have a total ash content between 3-15%.

10. Composition, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the coke pellets have a sulfur content of less than 1%.

11. Method for forming coke pellets, CHARACTERIZED in that the method comprises: mixing biomass with a set of materials to form a starter mixture, wherein the biomass has a first volatility and the set of materials has a second volatility lower than the first volatility; pre-conditioning the starter mixture by hydrating the starter mixture to generate a first plurality of particles; loading the first plurality of particles into a furnace to produce a second plurality of particles by means of pyrolysis; post-conditioning the second plurality of particles to produce a third plurality of particles by exposing the second plurality of particles to at least one of an amphipathic binder, a hydrophobic binder or a hydrophilic binder; and physically altering the third plurality of particles to form coke pellets.

12. Method, according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that it further comprises: obtaining a quantity of volatile biomass matter (VM) and a VM release rate parameter from biomass; obtaining a second quantity of VM and a second VM release rate parameter assigned to the set of materials; obtaining a target quantity of VM associated with a target pellet from the coke pellets; Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p.123 / 224 3 / 6 determine a set of furnace parameters based, at least in part, on the target VM quantity; and determine a material ratio indicating a ratio of a quantity of the material set to a quantity of biomass based, at least in part, on the biomass VM quantity, the biomass VM release rate parameter, the second VM quantity, the second VM release rate parameter, and the furnace parameter set, wherein the biomass-material set mixture comprises the biomass-material set mixture based, at least in part, on the material ratio.

13. Method according to claim 12, CHARACTERIZED in that the determination of the material ratio comprises: obtaining a target ash melting temperature; obtaining a biomass ash melting temperature; and obtaining a second ash melting temperature from the material set, wherein the determination of the material ratio comprises predicting a candidate ash melting temperature using an ash melting prediction model based, at least in part, on the biomass ash melting temperature, the second ash melting temperature and a candidate ratio as inputs, and wherein the candidate ratio corresponds to the material ratio.

14. Method according to claim 12, CHARACTERIZED in that the determination of the material ratio comprises: obtaining a target reactivity index; obtaining a biomass reactivity index; and obtaining a second reactivity index from the material set, wherein the determination of the material ratio comprises: predicting a candidate reactivity index using a prediction model of Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, page 124 / 224 4 / 6 reactivity index based, at least in part, on the biomass reactivity index, the second reactivity index and a candidate ratio as inputs; and wherein the candidate ratio corresponds to the material ratio.

15. Method, according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that the preconditioning of the inlet mixture comprises hydrating the inlet mixture based on a moisture parameter and a mass of the inlet mixture to generate the first plurality of particles.

16. Method according to claim 15, CHARACTERIZED in that it further comprises: determining a target particle size associated with at least one of the second particle plurality and the third particle plurality; obtaining a set of furnace parameters; and determining the moisture parameter based, at least in part, on the set of furnace parameters and the target particle size using a particle size model.

17. Method according to claim 15, CHARACTERIZED in that: hydrating the inlet mixture comprises: dispensing the inlet mixture from a hopper storing the inlet mixture onto a tray through a hopper door; and simultaneously rotating the inlet mixture and hydrating the inlet mixture through a nozzle directed towards the tray by activating a rotary actuator; and loading the inlet mixture into the oven comprises: activating a conveyor to move the tray under a hammer; stamping the inlet mixture using the hammer; and loading the inlet mixture into the oven after stamping the inlet mixture. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 125 / 224 5 / 6 18. Method according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that it further comprises configuring the furnace based on a set of furnace parameters, wherein a first parameter of the furnace parameter set indicates a target temperature that is greater than 537.78 °C (1,000 °F) for a first duration, wherein loading the first plurality of particles into the furnace comprises heating a furnace interior to at least the target temperature for the first duration to convert the first plurality of particles into the second plurality of particles.

19. Method according to claim 18, CHARACTERIZED in that the furnace parameter set indicates at least one of a second duration at a temperature different from the target temperature, a stretch control parameter or a heat exchanger flow rate.

20. Method according to claim 18, CHARACTERIZED in that it further comprises tilting an absorption door to increase an airflow through the furnace.

21. Method according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that the post-conditioning of the second plurality of particles comprises: exposing the second plurality of particles to an acid, wherein the exposure of the second plurality of particles to the acid comprises adding water and the acid to the second plurality of particles in a mixing chamber to generate a pre-pellet mixture; heating the mixing chamber to a mixing temperature; mechanically mixing the pre-pellet mixture while the pre-pellet mixture is at the mixing temperature; shaping the pre-pellet mixture to form a molded pre-pellet mixture by rotating the pre-pellet mixture; and adding a crosslinker to the molded pre-pellet mixture to form the third Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, p.126 / 224 6 / 6 plurality of particles, wherein the third plurality of particles comprises a cross-linked mixture, wherein the physical alteration of the third plurality of particles comprises acting a cutter to divide the cross-linked mixture to form coke pellets.

22. Method according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that: the coke pellets comprise a first coke pellet, the first coke pellet is formed as a cylindrical body, the cylindrical body comprises pyrolyzed biomass and a binding material, the pH of the water content of the first coke pellet is greater than 6.0, and the surface of the cylindrical body comprises a hydrophilic portion.

23. Method according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that it further comprises exposing the second plurality of particles to an acid.

24. Method according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that the coke pellets comprise a first coke pellet that is hydrophobic.

25. Method according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that exposure of the second plurality of particles to the binder causes at least one of the second plurality of particles, the third plurality of particles, or the coke pellets to expel water. Petition 870260051000, dated 05 / 28 / 2026, pp. 127 / 224

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