Coal blending, foundry coke products, and related systems, apparatuses, and methods

Abstract

Disclosed herein are methods and systems for coking coal blending to produce foundry coke products. A method for producing a coke product can include charging a coal blend into a coke oven; and heating the charged coal blend such that the crown temperature of the coke oven is higher than the lower limit coking temperature. A pyrolysis duration begins when the crown temperature of the furnace is above the lower limit coking temperature, and ends when the crown temperature of the furnace is below the lower limit coking temperature.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 382,446, filed on November 4, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to coal blending, foundry coke products, and related systems, apparatus, and methods. Background Art

[0004] Coke can be divided into several subcategories. Foundry coke has a larger size and superior quality compared to blast coke, including a relatively low impurity content and a relatively high carbon content, strength, and stability. Foundry coke is used in foundry cupolas to melt iron and produce cast iron and ductile iron products. However, foundry coke has a high production cost, including manufacturing, transportation, and environmental costs. Therefore, there is a need in the art to improve production processes to obtain high-quality foundry coke with higher yields or at lower costs.

[0005] Coke is a solid carbon fuel and carbon source produced from coal and used in steel production. Coal can be obtained from a combination of different coal sources and often has very different qualities and compositions. These resources can be used as fuel or feedstock for a variety of applications, such as steel production, cement production, and power generation. In addition, various regulatory environments or economic incentives may further impose additional requirements on the type of coal allowed to be used in a specific foundry, plant, or facility. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] The features, aspects, and advantages of the technology disclosed in this disclosure may be better understood with reference to the following drawings.

[0007] Figure 1 An illustrative schematic system for obtaining coal parameters for multiple coal types and determining coal blending formulations in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technique is shown.

[0008] Figure 2 Depicted is an isometric partial cutaway view of a portion of a horizontal heat recovery coke facility according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0009] Figure 3 is a table indicating the volatile matter (VM) fractions of different types of coals that may be used in coal blending according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0010] Figure 4 is a table indicating properties associated with different types of coal used in coal blending according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0011] Figure 5 is a table indicating compositions associated with different types of coal used in coal blending according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0012] Figure 6 is a table indicating additional measurements associated with different types of coal used in coal blending according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0013] Figure 7 is a flow chart of a process for determining a coal blending profile in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0014] Figure 8 is a flow chart of a process for producing a coke product using a coke oven according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0015] Figure 9 is a graph showing the combustion characteristics of a blast coke production operation.

[0016] Figure 10 is a graph illustrating combustion profiles for foundry coke product operations according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0017] Figure 11 Coke particles configured to be heated in a casting cupola are shown in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technique.

[0018] Figure 12 Depicted are example foundry coke products and a table of foundry coke properties according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0019] Figure 13 is a graph indicating the yield of foundry coke products according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0020] Figure 14 is a chart indicating particle sizes according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0021] Figure 15 is a graph indicating 4 inch drop breakage rate properties according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0022] Figure 16 is a graph indicating 6 inch drop breakage rate properties according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0023] Figure 17 is a graph indicating ash mass fraction according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0024] Figure 18is a graph indicating moisture mass fraction according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0025] Figure 19 is a graph indicating sulfur mass fraction according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0026] Figure 20 is a graph depicting the mass fraction of SiO 2 versus the mass fraction of Al 2 O 3 in the ash of foundry coke products according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0027] Figure 21 is a graph depicting the mass fraction of Fe2O3 versus the mass fraction of CaO in the ash of foundry coke products according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0028] Figure 22 is a graph depicting ash softening temperature versus model ash melting temperature for various batches of foundry coke products according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0029] Figure 23 is a graph depicting ash softening temperature versus ash mass fraction for various batches of foundry coke products according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0030] Figure 24 is a graph depicting observed ash melting temperatures versus modeled ash melting temperatures for various batches of foundry coke products according to one or more embodiments of the present technology.

[0031] Those skilled in the relevant art will understand that the features shown in the drawings are for illustrative purposes and that variations, including different or additional features and their arrangements, are possible. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] I. Overview

[0033] Foundry coke is a coke with a large size and excellent quality, such as low impurity content, high fixed carbon content, strength and stability. Foundry coke is used in cupolas to melt iron and recycled steel, and as a carbon source to produce cast iron and ductile iron products. However, the production cost of foundry coke is high, including manufacturing cost, transportation cost and environmental cost. Therefore, there is a need in the art to improve the production process so that high-quality foundry coke can be obtained with higher yield or lower cost. Conventionally manufactured coke typically has an ash melting temperature (AFT) above 2650 degrees Fahrenheit (℉). Due to this high temperature, the ash melts more deeply in the cupola, which reduces the available surface area of the coke exposed to the molten metal. As a result, less carbon is transferred to the iron.

[0034] The coke products disclosed herein for use with the present technology have an AFT below 2600°F and therefore melt more rapidly in the cupola, thereby increasing the amount of carbon surface exposed to the molten metal. Furthermore, from a viscosity perspective, the low AFT allows the molten ash to move more quickly through the carbon bed and creates better phase separation in the well portion of the cupola, thereby allowing more carbon and molten metal to come into contact. As used herein, the term "molten metal" refers to molten iron, molten steel, or the final molten mixture of molten iron and molten steel.

[0035] AFT can be obtained in a variety of ways and can be divided into different types of AFT. In some embodiments, AFT can be measured from an ash sample generated from the complete combustion of coal, coal blending or coke products. Ash elemental analysis can be performed for each element, for example, a single silicon atom produces a signal in an analytical instrument. In order to obtain mass percentage values for model ash melting calculations, some embodiments of the present technology may treat all elements as fully oxidized and determine the mass percentage based on the oxidized form. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can determine the mass of SiO2, but not the mass of Si. In some embodiments, the mass percentages of SiO2, Al2O3, FeO3, CaO, other compounds, etc. can be normalized to a total of 100%.

[0036] Alternatively or in addition, AFT can be determined by an AFT test (such as standard American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) method D1857). For example, some embodiments of the present technology can determine the initial deformation temperature (IDT), softening temperature (ST), hemisphere temperature (HT), and flow temperature (FT). These measured temperatures can have different values from each other and can be used to characterize a particular coal, coal blend, or coke product. In addition, as discussed elsewhere, the composition of the ash remaining after combustion of a coal or coal blend is considered to be the same as the ash remaining after combustion of a coke product produced from the coal or coal blend. Some embodiments can characterize the coal blend ash composition as a weighted average of the ash compositions of the coal components weighted by their respective mass fractions in the coal blend.

[0037] In addition, conventional operations may also add CaCO3-containing rock to the feed to act as a flux to remove ash. The CaCO3 permeates the ash, thereby reducing the AFT, or the ash itself dissolves in the CaCO3-containing rock. This is an inefficient method of introducing flux, given the very low surface area to volume ratio at which fluxing occurs. Based on the unexpected discovery disclosed herein of the effect of low AFT on the desired carbon transfer, the coke can be "pre-fluxed" by selecting a coal or coal blend that has proportionally more ash in low-melting oxides (such as CaO, MgO, Fe2O3, Na2O, and K2O) than in high-melting oxides (Al2O3 and SiO2).

[0038] In a foundry cupola, coke is used as a fuel and carbon source to produce cast iron. Coke provides four functions in the cupola: (1) providing combustion heat to melt the iron or steel; (2) supplying carbon to the iron; (3) providing structural support for the iron or steel charge; and (4) forming a permeable layer that allows gases to travel upward and diffuse, providing good contact with the iron or steel.

[0039] Some embodiments may perform the operations described in this disclosure to produce a coke product that allows for a higher carbon transfer rate to iron or steel during casting operations, which can provide better cupola performance. Some embodiments may produce the coke product using one of various types of furnaces, such as a heat recovery furnace, a non-recovery furnace, a Thompson oven, another type of horizontal furnace, a vertical by-product furnace, etc.

[0040] II. Coal Blending for Producing Foundry Coke Products and Related Systems and Methods

[0041] Some embodiments of the present technology can be operated to improve the efficiency of coke product production operations in a manner that can reduce energy consumption and increase yield. These operations can include determining the composition of the coal blend for producing coke products, wherein the composition of the coal blend can include coal from different coal sources. Some embodiments can select specific coal for the VM content of the coal, wherein the VM content and distribution can determine the effects on coke product yield, coke product properties, etc. When using a coke oven to produce coke products, some embodiments can also perform specific processes, wherein such processes can include opening or closing the valves of the coke oven to maintain certain temperature relationships within the parts of the coke oven. These outputs can generate coke products that are unique in reactivity, size, or other properties compared to other coked products.

[0042] Figure 1An illustrative system 100 is shown for obtaining coal parameters of multiple types of coal 112, 113, 114, 116 (collectively referred to as "coal 110") and determining a coal blend 140 formulation according to one or more embodiments. Various facilities and equipment can be used to blend the coal 110 from different sources to form the coal blend 140. In some embodiments, rather than Figure 1 All of the coal types shown in are used to form the coal blend 140 (e.g., only type A coal 112 and type B coal 113 are used). A coal parameter measurement system 120 can be used to test each coal 110 to determine coal parameters, such as VM mass fraction, ash composition measurements, sulfur composition measurements, inert material composition, etc. When selecting the type or amount of coal for coal blending, some embodiments may also use other properties of the coal, such as the fluidity of the tar in the coal and the AFT, vitrinite reflectance, etc. of the coal. Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments of the present technology may obtain coal parameters from a third party data source (e.g., a database application program interface (API) or manual input by a user to an input device (such as a keyboard or touch screen, etc.)).

[0043] In some embodiments, coal parameters may take into account measured values of reactive components or subtypes of reactive components, such as vitrinite, fusinite, and reactive semi-filamentous bodies. Coal parameters may also include measuring or selecting the amount of inert materials to be included in the coal blend, such as coal dust, inert semi-filamentous bodies, filamentous bodies, coarse particles, and minerals. In some embodiments, the inert content of the coal blend may be greater than or equal to 32.0%, or may be limited to a specific range, such as between 28.0% and 40.0%, or between 33.0% and 35.0%. Some embodiments may determine the types and amounts of coal, coal dust, and other components of the coal blend to meet a set of target coal blend parameters or corresponding target coke blend parameters, such as target coal blend parameters indicative of strong uniform coke. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may select the type of vitrinite present in the coal blend, where the type of vitrinite may include one or more of V9, V10, V11, V12, V13, V14, V15, V16, V17, V18, and V19.

[0044] After obtaining the coal parameters of coal 110, some embodiments of the present technology may determine a combination of coal types for coal 110. For example, a first combination of coal types may include 20% coal type A 112, 30% coal type B 113, 40% coal type C 114, and 10% coal type D 115. Some embodiments may represent each combination of coal types with a vector in an n-dimensional mixing space, where "n" may represent an integer equal to or less than the number of available coal types that can be used to generate the coal blend. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may represent the first combination with a vector [0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.1] representing mixing points, where the mixing points may indicate the proportional amount of each type of coal in the coal blend. Additionally, some embodiments of the present technology may add additives to the coal blend. Such additives may include calcium oxide, limestone, calcium-containing materials, natural alkali, soda ash, caustic soda, slag (e.g., low-ash molten slag, basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag, cupola slag, etc.), iron, nickel, potassium, magnesium, sodium, calcium sulfate, asbestos, biochar or biomass (e.g., low AFT biomass). Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments of the present technology may add mineral additives such as dolomite, various other calcium-containing minerals, iron-containing minerals, magnesium-containing minerals or sodium-containing minerals. Some embodiments may use metal oxides as additives for coal blending, such as Al2O3, SiO2, Fe2O3, MgO, Na2O or TiO, transition metal oxides, calcined minerals. Some embodiments may add metal halide additives such as CaCl2, MgCl2, NaCl. Some embodiments may add metal sulfate additives to the coal blending, such as CaSO4. Some embodiments may add aluminum or silicon mineral additives to the coal blending, such as quartz, muscovite or feldspar. Some embodiments may add additives from industrial waste or recycling streams, such as blast furnace slag, foundry cupola slag, metal fines, wallboard waste, flue gas desulfurization facility gas byproducts (e.g., fly ash), coal combustion facility fly ash, heat recovery steam generator wash sludge, or unwashed coal.

[0045] After adding the additive, the coal blend may have a calcium mass fraction, lime mass fraction, natural alkali mass fraction, soda ash mass fraction, caustic soda mass fraction, low ash molten slag mass fraction, BOF slag mass fraction, cupola slag mass fraction, iron mass fraction, nickel mass fraction, potassium mass fraction, magnesium mass fraction, sodium mass fraction, calcium sulfate mass fraction, asbestos mass fraction, biochar mass fraction, biochar mass fraction, biomass mass fraction, or another additive mass fraction that is greater than 0% but less than a predetermined threshold. The threshold value may vary depending on the specific embodiment and may be configured such that the additive mass fraction is less than 10.0%, less than 5.0%, less than 3.0%, less than 1.0%, etc. By using a small amount of additive, some embodiments of the present technology can significantly reduce the ash fusion value or improve another property of the efficiency of the coke product. Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments of the present technology may include more additives, wherein the coal blend may include more than 10.0% additives. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may use an additive having a calcium oxide mass fraction greater than 70.0%, wherein the inclusion of the additive can increase the calcium oxide mass fraction of the coal blend to greater than 10.0%. Unless otherwise specified, the mass fraction of an element may refer to the element itself, a compound containing the element, or both. For example, the mass fraction of calcium may refer to the mass fraction of calcium alone, the mass fraction of calcium oxide, the mass fraction of another calcium-containing compound, or any combination thereof in the material.

[0046] In many cases, the VM of the coal includes vitrinite, where the vitrinite can be classified based on its reflectance or other physical properties. Some systems may classify vitrinite by vitrinite types V8 to V18, where different coals may include different distributions of vitrinite types. As used in the present disclosure, high volatile coal may be characterized as having a VM mass fraction greater than a VM mass fraction threshold, where different systems may use different thresholds to define high volatile coal. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may characterize high volatile coal as coal having a VM mass fraction greater than or equal to 28.0%. Some embodiments may use other VM mass fraction thresholds to characterize high volatile VM, such as 25.0%, 27.0%, 30.0%, 31.0%, or some other threshold greater than or equal to 25.0%.

[0047] As used in the present disclosure, a low volatile coal may be characterized as having a VM mass fraction less than a VM mass fraction threshold, where different systems may use different thresholds to define a low volatile coal. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may characterize a low volatile coal as a coal having a VM mass fraction less than or equal to 20.0%, but other values other than 20% may be used, such as 14.0%, 15.0%, 17.0%, 21.0%, etc. Some embodiments of the present technology may use other VM mass fraction thresholds to characterize a high volatile VM as a VM greater than a mass fraction threshold. The mass fraction threshold may be equal to a value such as 14.0%, 15.0%, 21.0%, 22.0%, 23.0%, or some other threshold less than or equal to 25.0%.

[0048] Some embodiments of the present technology may characterize or partially characterize low volatile coals from high volatile coals by using a predetermined difference, where the predetermined difference may include a value greater than 1.0%, such as 2.0%, 3.0%, 4.0%, 8.0%, or some other value. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may set the difference between a first threshold (used as a threshold for high volatile coal) and a second threshold (used as a threshold for low volatile coal) to be equal to 4.0%, where selecting 30% as the first threshold may cause the system to automatically select 26% as the second threshold. Alternatively, some embodiments of the present technology may determine or allow for an alternative value as the second threshold, such as 21%. By setting a threshold value for defining high volatile coals and low volatile coals or defining a difference between two thresholds, some embodiments of the present technology may also automatically define medium volatile coals as those coals that are not high volatile coals or low volatile coals.

[0049] The present disclosure relates to the AFT of a blended coal or coke product. The AFT of a coke product can be determined in a variety of ways, such as via experimental observation (observed AFT) or using an empirical model (model AFT). Unless otherwise indicated, the term "ash melting" can refer to an empirical model of ash melting or observed ash melting. As will be discussed elsewhere, the AFT can be less than or equal to 2600°F, less than or equal to 2450°F, less than or equal to 2400°F, less than or equal to 2350°F, less than or equal to 2300°F, less than or equal to 2250°F, less than or equal to 2200°F, less than or equal to 2150°F, less than or equal to 2100°F, less than or equal to 2050°F, less than or equal to 2000°F, less than or equal to 1950°F, less than or equal to 1900°F, less than or equal to 1850°F or less than or equal to 1800°F.

[0050] In some embodiments, an empirical model of AFT can be determined based on the residual compounds of the ash generated by the combustion of the coke product. When the value of AFT is constrained to a certain range, these empirical models can be used to form composition boundaries in a multidimensional composition parameter space. The composition parameters of the parameter space can represent the amount of elements or compounds in a material or group of materials, where the amount can include the compound mass fraction, volume fraction, etc. of their corresponding compounds. By using different empirical models or different ranges of AFT, some embodiments constrain the ash of the coke product to different regions in the composition parameter space, which can then constrain the composition of the coke product itself. For example, an empirical model for ash melting may be defined in the following equations 1-3, where "AFT" may be the model ash melting temperature in degrees Celsius (°C), "SiO mass fraction" may be the SiO mass fraction of the coke product ash ("coke product ash"), "AlO mass fraction" is the AlO mass fraction of the coke product ash, "FeO mass fraction" is the FeO mass fraction of the coke product ash; "CaO mass fraction" is the CaO mass fraction of the coke product ash; "MgO mass fraction" is the MgO mass fraction of the coke product ash; and "KO mass fraction" is the KO mass fraction of the coke product ash:

[0051] AFT = 19 × (Al2O3_mass fraction) + 15 × (SiO2_mass fraction + TiO2_mass fraction) Equation 1

[0052] mass fraction) + 10 × (CaO mass fraction + MgO mass fraction

[0053] number) + 6 × (Fe2O3_mass fraction + Na2O_mass fraction)

[0054] AFT = 19 × (Al2O3_mass fraction) + 15 × (SiO2_mass fraction + TiO2_mass) Equation 2

[0055] fraction) + 10 × (CaO_mass fraction + MgO_mass fraction

[0056] number) + 6 × (Fe2O3_mass fraction + Na2O_mass fraction + K2O_mass fraction

[0057] Fraction)

[0058] AFT = 401.5 + (26.3 × SiO2_mass fraction + 40.7 × Al2O3_mass fraction) - Equation 3

[0059] 11.0×Fe2O3_mass fraction-7.9×CaO_mass fraction-

[0060] 112×MgO_mass fraction

[0061] Some embodiments may apply different models based on different compositions. For example, based on a determination that the mass fraction of Al2O3 and SiO2 in the ash composition of the blended coal is between 65% and 80%, some embodiments of the present technology may use Equation 3 to calculate Model AFT, and otherwise use Equation 2 to calculate Model AFT. Some embodiments may use different models for different optimization operations. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may use Equation 3 to optimize the blended coal selected for coke production so that the blended coal has low levels of Al2O3 and SiO2 while having high levels of Fe2O3 and CaO. In addition, while some embodiments of the present technology may use known Model AFT, some embodiments of the present technology may use new Model AFT equations. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may use Equation 1 to determine AFT, where Equation 1 can be found at Cupola Handbook ,6th Edition, 1999, Chapter 8 of the American Foundrymen's Society, Inc., which is incorporated herein by reference. Some embodiments of the present technology may use other AFT models, such as those described in Equation 2 or Equation 3. Various other restrictions may be imposed on the mass fractions of the components of the coal blend. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may produce coal blends having an alumina, Al2O3, content in the ash of the coal blend of less than 10.0%, less than 7.0%, less than 6.0%, less than 5.0%, etc.

[0062] By limiting the AFT to specific boundaries, some embodiments of the present technology can limit the composition of the ash. In some embodiments, the specific boundaries can cover temperature regions such as 982°C (1800°F) to 1204°C (2200°F), 1204°C (2200°F) to 1426°C (2600°F), or 982°C to 1426°C. If the ash is an ash product generated by burning a coke product, the result of limiting the composition of the ash is a limitation on the coke product itself. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can produce a coke product with a certain amount of Al, Si, Ti, Ca, Mg, Fe, Na or K such that the combustion of the coke product generates an ash with a composition that satisfies Equation 2. Various compositional boundaries for coke product ash can be used. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can generate a coke product such that the model AFT of the coke product determined by Equation 3 is within the AFT boundaries. For example, the AFT boundaries may be the following temperature ranges: between 1260° C. (2300° F.) and 1427° C. (2600° F.), between 1260° C. and 1371° C. (2500° F.), between 1260° C. and 1316° C. (2400° F.), or between 1260° C. and 1427° C. In some embodiments, the lower temperature limit may be a different value, such as 982° C. (1800° F.) or a value below 1288° C., such as 816° C. (1500° F.), 649° C. (1200° F.), or some other value below 1288° C.

[0063] In addition, some embodiments of the present technology can limit the AFT to an approximate target value, where a parameter is approximately a target value if the parameter is within 10% of the absolute value of the target value. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can limit the AFT to approximately 982°C (1800°F), 1204°C (2200°F), 1260°C (2300°F), 1288°C (2350°F), 1316°C (2400°F), 1343°C (2450°F), 1371°C (2500°F), 1399°C (2550°F), or 1427°C (2600°F).

[0064] In some embodiments, a coal blend may include specific properties, such as an ash fusion value less than or equal to 2400°F (equivalent to less than 1316°C). Some embodiments may recommend or produce a coal blend that contains low VM mass fraction coal and high VM mass fraction coal, but not necessarily medium VM mass fraction coal. For example, a coal blend may have a bimodal spectrum of high VM coal and low VM coal within the blend. In such a bimodal spectrum, the coals of the blend may include only first and second group coals, wherein the first group coals of the blend may include only high VM coals having a VM mass fraction greater than 30.0%, and the second group coals of the blend may include only low VM coals having a VM mass fraction less than 22.0%.

[0065] Some embodiments may map a blending point to a corresponding coal parameter point in a coal parameter space ("coal parameter point"), where each dimension in the coal parameter space may represent a coal parameter. In some embodiments, the dimensions of a coal parameter point may be determined as a linear combination of the coals 110 weighted by the values of the corresponding blending point. For example, a coal blend may include a mixture of two coal types, the mixture including 50% coal type A 112 and 50% coal type B 113. If coal type A 112 has a VM mass percentage equal to 15% and coal type B has a VM mass percentage equal to 25%, then the VM mass percentage of the coal blend may be equal to the average of the two VM mass percentages, 20%.

[0066] Some embodiments can obtain a set of target coal parameters, wherein the target coal parameters can be provided as default values, provided by manual data entry, obtained from a third-party data store, provided via an electronic message, etc. For example, the target coal parameters can include a coke reactivity index (CRI) or a coke strength after reaction (CSR) value. In some embodiments, the CRI or CSR can be manually input by a user, obtained from a database, received via an API, etc. Some embodiments can use a model based on a set of coal parameters to determine a set of corresponding coke parameters. The model can include a statistical model, a semi-empirical analysis model, a neural network model, a physical simulation model, etc. As described elsewhere in this disclosure, some embodiments of the present technology can use a model that explains the nonlinear relationship between coal parameters and coke parameters. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can use a neural network (such as a feedforward neural network) to predict a set of coke parameters.

[0067] In some embodiments, the neural network can be trained with past data. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can train a neural network based on past blends and blend results, where the results can include coke properties such as CSR, weight loss percentage, CRI, or another coke parameter that is linear with respect to the relevant coal parameter. Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments of the present technology can use analytical physics-based models or semi-analytical models to predict coke parameters. Due to the nonlinear effects of the correlation between coal parameters and coke parameters, it can be advantageous to use a neural network or other nonlinear method to predict coke parameters based on coal parameters. In addition, some embodiments of the present technology can provide additional inputs to the neural network model, such as coal dust parameters, the amount of coal dust used, etc.

[0068] Some embodiments can adapt to changes in the availability of different coal types. For example, the source mine for coal type A 112 may be closed, the transportation route carrying coal type A 112 may experience substantial delays, the regulatory environment may make the use of certain coals infeasible, etc. In response to determining that a coal type used in a coal blend is unavailable or expected to become unavailable, some embodiments of the present technology can generate an alternative coal blend that maps to a location in the coal parameter space within a certain distance threshold of a first point in the coal parameter space. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can initially use a first coal blend of 20% by weight of coal type A, where the first coal blend maps to a first point in the coal parameter space that includes, for example, a VM mass fraction of 25%, a sulfur mass fraction of 0.4%, and an ash mass fraction of 6%. After receiving a message indicating that coal type A is restricted to 5% (e.g., as a result of declining inventories), some embodiments of the present technology can perform a set of operations to determine one or more additional combinations of coal type usage restrictions and coal parameter space that satisfy the coal type usage restrictions. In the event that a first coal parameter point is not achievable and is limited by coal type availability, some embodiments of the present technology may determine an alternative coal blending formulation that maps to a coal parameter point within a coal parameter space distance threshold to the first coal parameter point.

[0069] Some embodiments may use the mixing point to determine a mixture of coals to add and process for coal blending 140. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may use the operations described in this disclosure to determine a mixing point indicative of a coal mixture comprising 20% coal type A 112, 30% coal type B 113, 40% coal type C 114, and 10% coal type D 115, and combine these respective proportions of coal into coal blend 140. Some embodiments may then provide the mixed coal to a coke oven 150, where some embodiments of the present technology may add coke coal dust 111 to the coke oven 150 to produce a coke product having coke properties that are similar to or the same as a set of target coke properties.

[0070] Figure 2An isometric, partial cross-sectional view of a portion of a horizontal heat recovery coke facility according to one or more embodiments of the present technology is depicted. A furnace 200 of the coke facility may include various conduits, chambers, valves, sensors, or other components. For example, the furnace 200 may include an open cavity defined by a furnace floor 202, a pusher-side furnace door 204, a coke-side furnace door 206 opposite the pusher-side furnace door 204, opposing sidewalls 208 extending upward from the furnace floor 202 and between the pusher-side furnace door 204 and the coke-side furnace door 206, and a furnace crown 210, which forms the upper surface of the open cavity of a furnace chamber 212. Furthermore, the furnace 200 may include a set of furnace crown air inlets 214 that allow primary combustion air to enter the furnace chamber 212. In some embodiments, the set of furnace crown air inlets 214 may penetrate the furnace crown 210 and allow fluid communication between the open furnace chamber 212 and the environment external to the furnace 200. In some embodiments, air flow through an air inlet or air duct (e.g., an uptake duct) can be controlled by a damper that can be configured to be in any of a variety of states between a fully open state and a fully closed state to vary the amount of air flow. For example, the crown air inlet 214 can include a damper that can be configured to be in different states to allow air flow into the crown 210, such as the crown air inlet damper 216 that operates in a similar manner. While embodiments of the present technology may specifically use the crown air inlet 214 to provide primary combustion air into the furnace chamber 212, other types of air inlets, such as door air inlets, may be used in certain embodiments without departing from aspects of the present technology.

[0071] As discussed above, ventilation control in the furnace 200 or other operations in the furnace 200 can be implemented by a control system. Such operations can include operation of a coking cycle, which can include charging the blended coal into the furnace 200, controlling the configuration of the updraft door 236 to any of a variety of states between fully open and fully closed, etc. Upon completion of the coking cycle, some embodiments of the present technology can coke the blended coal to produce a coke product that can be used to produce steel in a cupola. In some embodiments, the foundry coke product can be used in a cupola using the operations described in U.S. application Ser. No. 18 / 052,739, entitled "FOUNDRY COKE PRODUCTS AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS AND PROCESSING METHODS VIACUPOLAS," the disclosure of which is incorporated herein as Appendix A. In some embodiments, the coke product can be removed from the furnace 200 through the coke side door 206 using a pusher ram or another mechanical extraction system. In some embodiments, the coke may be quenched (eg, wet or dry quenched) and classified before being delivered to a user.

[0072] Figure 3 is a table indicating the volatile matter (VM) fractions of different types of coal that can be used in coal blending according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. The vitrinite content of various types of coal and their corresponding categories are shown in Table 300. The coals listed in row 301 include coal types "T1", "T2", "T3", "T4", "T5", "T6", "T7" and "T8". As shown in Table 300, some coals can be considered low volatile coals, wherein the low volatile coal primarily includes vitrinite with low volatility, such as vitrinite V14, V15, V16, V17 or V18. As shown in Table 300, some coals can be considered high volatile coals, wherein the high volatile coal primarily includes vitrinite with high volatility, such as vitrinite V8, V9 or V10. Some coals can be considered medium volatile coals, wherein the medium volatile coal primarily includes vitrinite with a volatility that is not considered high or low volatility, such as vitrinite V11, V12 or V13.

[0073] As described elsewhere in this disclosure, some embodiments of the present technology may select a coal blend that primarily includes high-volatility or low-volatility coals. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may determine, recommend, or select the coals indicated in Table 300 for inclusion in the coal blend, where the selected coals include low-volatility coals T1 and T2 and high-volatility coals T8 and T9. As shown in columns 311-312, the low-volatility coal may be characterized by a proportionally higher amount of low-volatility vitrinite (such as V15 vitrinite and V16 vitrinite) relative to higher-volatility vitrinite (such as V13 vitrinite). Similarly, as shown in column 313, the high-volatility coal may be characterized by a relatively higher amount of V8, V9, and V10 vitrinite relative to the other vitrinites in the coal.

[0074] As described elsewhere in this disclosure, some embodiments of the present technology can produce unique coal blends by omitting medium volatile coal from the coal blend to increase the yield of coke product produced with the coal blend. Although conventional methods produce and use coal blends that include medium volatile coal, such coal blends can be unique due to the lack of medium volatile coal, which is due to the conventional assumption that medium volatile coal is required to balance vitrinite during the pyrolysis reactions to produce coke. For example, the coal blend can include high volatile coal and low volatile coal. The high volatile coal can have a high volatile vitrinite fraction such that a majority of the vitrinite fraction of the high volatile vitrinite fraction is composed of high volatile vitrinite, such that the sum of the V8 vitrinite fraction, the V9 vitrinite fraction, the V10 vitrinite fraction, and the V11 vitrinite fraction is greater than 50%. The low volatile coal may have a low volatile vitrinite fraction such that a majority of the vitrinite fraction of the low volatile vitrinite fraction is composed of low volatile vitrinite, such that the sum of the V14 vitrinite fraction, the V15 vitrinite fraction, the V16 vitrinite fraction, the V17 vitrinite fraction, and the V18 vitrinite fraction is greater than 50%. As used in this disclosure, the V16 vitrinite fraction (which may include having a volume fraction greater than 50%, a mass fraction greater than 50%, etc.) may be relative to the total amount of the coal's maceral content or the total mass of the coal.

[0075] In some embodiments, the coals of a coal blend may have different ash melting values, as shown in Table 400. As will be indicated elsewhere in this disclosure, the output ash melting in the coal blend may be lower than one or more of the constituent coals of the coal blend. For example, as described elsewhere herein, a coal blend comprising coal type T1, coal type T2, and coal type T9 may have an ash melting value that is different from any of these values. As discussed elsewhere in this disclosure, some embodiments of the present technology may consider various coal parameters when determining a mixture of coals for coal blending. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may obtain a set of coal parameters for coal types T1-T9, as indicated in Table 400. Some embodiments may then determine the amount of coal, coal dust, or other additives for the coal blend. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may obtain a set of sulfur values shown in row 413 of Table 400 and a set of ash melting values shown in row 420. Some embodiments may then obtain a target ash melting value as a target coal blend parameter and determine the coal blend composition based on coals T1-T9.

[0076] As described elsewhere in this disclosure, some embodiments of the present technology may constrain or otherwise limit the use of coals that are low volatile or high volatile coals, while not using medium volatile coals. For example, if coal of coal type TI is a low volatile coal, coal of coal type T5 is a medium volatile coal, and coal of coal type T9 is a high volatile coal, then when determining which coals to use for coal blending, some embodiments of the present technology may be limited to using coal of coal type T5. In addition, some embodiments of the present technology may limit the use of coal of a particular coal type or require the use of coal of a particular coal type. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may receive an instruction to use coal with a VM mass fraction between 0% and 20%, which may limit the coal blending to coal that includes at least one of coal type T1 or coal type T2. In addition, some embodiments of the present technology may obtain multiple target coal blending parameters or a range or multiple ranges of target coal blending parameters. Some embodiments may provide a corresponding number of possible combinations of coals of different coal types that meet these groups of target coal blending parameters or coal blending parameter ranges.

[0077] Figure 4 is a table indicating properties associated with different types of coal used in coal blending according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. As shown in table 400, coals of different coal types may have different properties, where some embodiments of the present technology may use the properties as coal parameters for meeting target parameters. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may receive program instructions to meet target parameters representing the VM required for coal blending. In response, some embodiments of the present technology may determine a range of VM values represented by row 411 of table 400 that meets the VM required for coal blending or a range of desired VM values. Some embodiments of the present technology may perform similar operations for each coal property listed in rows 411 through 428.

[0078] Figure 5 is a table indicating the compositions associated with different types of coal used in coal blending according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. As shown in table 500, different coal types can have different compositions. Some embodiments may use material composition as a coal parameter for meeting target coal parameters. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may receive program instructions to meet target coal parameters representing a desired calcium oxide value or range of calcium oxide values. In response, some embodiments of the present technology may determine a range of coal compositions for coal types T1-T9 that meet the desired calcium oxide value or range of calcium oxide values.

[0079] Figure 6is a table indicating additional measurements associated with different types of coal used in coal blending, according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. As shown in table 600, a coal blend can include various compounds. Due to heterogeneity and sources of variation within coal sources, blends of the same coal type at the same ratio can produce different sample values for each coal blend sample tested.

[0080] Figure 7 is a flow chart of a process for determining a coal blending composition according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. Some embodiments may obtain a set of coal parameters for a set of available coals, as indicated by block 704. As described elsewhere, coal parameters may include various properties or compositions associated with a particular type of coal. For example, a coal blend may include VM, ash, sulfur, total inert material, mineral matter, model AFT, AFT ST value, AFT HT value, solidification temperature, expansion, the amount of a particular type of volatile material (e.g., the amount of V8 vitrinite, V9 vitrinite, etc.), or relative or absolute measurements of other coal parameters. Some embodiments may obtain coal parameters from user input, from a historical record of values stored in a database, from an application program interface (API), etc.

[0081] Some embodiments of the present technology may obtain a set of target coal blending parameters, as indicated by box 708. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may obtain the target coal blending parameters based on input provided by a user via a graphical user interface (GUI). Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments of the present technology may obtain the target coal blending parameters from a stored configuration file, a record of historical values, or an API. Some embodiments may estimate, predict, or otherwise determine the target coal blending parameters based on the target coke parameters. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may obtain target reactivity and sulfur mass fraction as target coke parameters. Some embodiments may then provide a machine learning prediction model with the target coke parameters to determine a set of target coal blending parameters.

[0082] Some embodiments of the present technology may determine a coal blending formulation based on the set of coal parameters and the set of target coal blending parameters, as indicated in box 712. Some embodiments may determine a percentage or other type of ratio indicating the amount of coal type to be used in the coal blend by manipulating the type and amount of coal to be used to match a set of target coal parameters. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may receive program instructions or parameters for a profile of target coal parameters indicating a target VM content. Some embodiments may then perform a set of operations to calculate a mixing point representing a mixture of different coals corresponding to different coal types. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may perform an optimization operation to determine a region in coal parameter space that can be satisfied by selecting different coals from a set of available coals.

[0083] Some embodiments of the present technology may be limited to determining a coal blend that includes a medium volatile coal, such as a coal having a VM mass fraction such that V11, V12, or V13 vitrinite is the dominant component of the VM mass fraction or maceral content of the coal blend. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may first receive a target coal parameter indicating a target VM mass fraction of 0.25 or some other value greater than or equal to 10%, 20%, 25%, etc. Some embodiments may then explore a coal parameter space formed by possible mixtures of different coal types to meet the target VM mass fraction, wherein the exploration may include low volatile coal types or high volatile coal types while excluding medium volatile coal types. Some embodiments may determine a coal blend such that the mass fraction of the low volatile coal of the blend is greater than or equal to a first mass fraction threshold and the mass fraction of the high volatile coal of the blend is greater than or equal to a second mass fraction threshold, wherein the first mass fraction threshold may be greater than or equal to 50% and the second mass fraction threshold may be less than or equal to 50%. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may determine a coal blend such that the mass fraction of the low volatile coal in the coal blend is greater than or equal to 60%, and the mass fraction of the high volatile coal in the coal blend is greater than or equal to 15%. Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments of the present technology may determine a coal blend such that the mass fraction of the high volatile coal in the coal blend is greater than or equal to a first mass fraction threshold, and the mass fraction of the low volatile coal in the coal blend is greater than or equal to a second mass fraction threshold, wherein the first mass fraction threshold may be greater than or equal to 50%, and the second mass fraction threshold may be less than or equal to 50%. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may determine a coal blend such that the mass fraction of the high volatile coal in the coal blend is greater than or equal to 60%, and the mass fraction of the low volatile coal in the coal blend is greater than or equal to 15%.

[0084] As described elsewhere in this disclosure, low volatility coal types may have corresponding volatility less than or equal to a first volatility threshold, and high volatility coal types may have corresponding volatility greater than or equal to a second volatility threshold, where the first volatility threshold may be less than the second volatility threshold. Figure 3 Some embodiments of the present technology can generate a coal blend indicative of a blend including coal dust, coal type T1, coal type T2, and coal type T9. However, despite this unconventional mixture for coal blending, some embodiments of the present technology can produce a resulting coke product having an ash fusion value within a useful parameter range (such as an ash fusion value equal to 25-26°F), or a coke product having an enhanced CRI (such as a CRI greater than or equal to 30%, greater than or equal to 35%, or greater than or equal to 40%).

[0085] As described elsewhere in this disclosure, some embodiments of the present technology may recommend a coal blend that includes coke coal dust. Some embodiments may select coke coal dust or the amount of coke coal dust for inclusion based on coal dust parameters associated with the coke coal dust. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may obtain the VM mass fraction of the coal dust, the ash mass fraction of the coal dust, or the sulfur mass fraction of the coal dust. Some embodiments may then determine the amount of coke coal dust to include in the coal blend based on the obtained set of coal dust parameters. In some embodiments, the amount of coke coal dust included in the coal blend may range between 1% and 20% coke coal dust, although other ranges are possible. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may recommend a coal blend that includes 10% coke coal dust based on the determination that the amount of coke coal dust, combined with other coals, meets a set of target coal blend parameters.

[0086] Some embodiments of the present technology may identify coal blends having relatively high ash mass fractions. While some embodiments of the present technology may use low ash mass fractions (e.g., less than 10.0%) in coal blends, some embodiments of the present technology may recommend coal blends having ash mass fractions greater than or equal to 10.0%, wherein ash mass fractions greater than 10.0% may be considered high ash content for coal blends. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may identify coal blends having ash mass fractions greater than or equal to 10.0%, 11.0%, 15.0%, or 20%. By increasing the use of ash in the coal blend, some embodiments of the present technology may increase the effective strength of the coke product produced from the coal blend. In addition, by reducing the reliance on additional additives in the coal blend, recovering the ash by-product from the coking operation increases the resource efficiency of the operation of producing coke products from the coal blend.

[0087] Some embodiments of the present technology may recommend a coal blend that includes coke briquets that are limited to a particular size or size range. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may recommend a first coal blend that includes coke briquets that are limited to coke briquets that are 10 mesh or larger, or a second coal blend that includes coke briquets that are limited to 20 mesh or larger. In some embodiments, different coal blends may be recommended where the size restriction may be inversely correlated to the amount of coke briquets recommended for inclusion in the coal blend. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may limit coal blending to coke briquets characterized as 10 mesh or larger, such that less than 5.0% of the coke briquets used are characterized as 10 mesh or larger. Alternatively or alternatively, some embodiments of the present technology may use coke briquets characterized as having 20 mesh or larger, such that less than 10.0% of the coke briquets used are characterized as 20 mesh or larger. Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments of the present technology may use coke coals characterized as having 90 mesh coke coals or smaller coke coals, such that less than 10.0%, less than 15.0%, or less than 25.0% of the coke coals used are characterized as 90 mesh coke coals or smaller coke coals.

[0088] As described elsewhere, some embodiments of the present technology may determine a coal blend that includes multiple coal types, such as a first coal type, a second coal type, and a third coal type. Some embodiments may select coal types for use using optimization operations that meet one or more target coal blending parameters, where these optimization operations may compensate for limitations on coal availability, coal quantity, or coal variation between different batches of coal. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may recommend a coal blend having a first amount of a first coal and a second amount of a second coal. The first coal may be a low volatility coal such that the mass fraction of V16 vitrinite is greater than 25% of the total VM mass fraction of the first coal, and the second coal may be a high volatility coal such that the sum of the higher volatility vitrinites, such as the sum of the fractions of V8 vitrinite, V9 vitrinite, and V10 vitrinite, is greater than 40% of the total VM mass of the second coal. While some embodiments of the present technology may use 40% as a threshold value, other values are possible, such as 50%, 60%, 70%, or other percentages greater than 40%.

[0089] While VM content is an important consideration for coal blending, coal blending may also consider other properties such as ash melting value, sulfur mass fraction, calcium mass fraction, or ash mass fraction. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may provide a coal blending formulation that indicates that the sulfur oxide mass fraction of the coal blend is greater than 5.0%, or the calcium oxide mass fraction of the coal blend is greater than 5.0%. As will be discussed elsewhere in this disclosure, some embodiments of the present technology may benefit from using coal blends with higher reactivity or larger size to compensate for elevated calcium or sulfur values. By allowing larger component values, such as sulfur or calcium, during coal blending, some embodiments of the present technology may provide additional robustness that was not feasible with previous coal blending operations because the coal blends produced by such previous operations would have calcium or sulfur content that was too high for casting operations. Furthermore, while some target properties may be components, some properties may be based on other physical phenomena. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can produce a coal blend having a fluidity between 100 dial divisions per minute (ddpm) and 1200 ddpm, or some other fluidity range, such as 200 ddpm and 1200 ddpm. Other fluidity ranges for the coal blend are also possible. For example, the fluidity of the coal blend can be greater than or equal to 100 ddpm.

[0090] As described elsewhere, some embodiments of the present technology may use a coke oven to produce a coke product or a population of coke products from a coal blend. As used in this disclosure, the ash melting of a coal blend may be equivalent to the ash melting of the coke product produced from the coal blend, and the two terms may be used interchangeably. Some embodiments may recommend coal blends having an AFT within a certain range. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may recommend a coal blend having another temperature or another AFT threshold equal to 2326°F or less than 2500°F. In some embodiments, the AFT threshold may vary based on other target coke product parameters. In many cases, a coal blend may be used to produce a coke product with relatively reduced ash melting, where the reduced ash melting may provide downstream advantages during casting operations because fewer casting resources or less coke product is required to produce steel or other cast products.

[0091] Various types of optimization algorithms can be used to determine the mixing point of the coal blends of various components so as to meet the target coal blend parameters when constrained within the parameter space of the coal parameters. Some embodiments can use a linear solver to determine a vector representing the mixing point in the parameter space. For example, a set of coke parameters can include a first subset of coke parameters and a second subset of coke parameters, wherein the first subset of coke parameters is nonlinear with respect to any parameter of the coal parameter space, and wherein the second subset of coke parameters is linear with respect to at least one coal parameter. Some embodiments can use a lower-upper (LU) decomposition of a matrix representing the coal parameters to solve the vector representing the second subset of coke parameters to determine the mixing point, wherein the solution vector can represent the first mixing point. Some embodiments can then predict coke parameters, such as CSR, based on the first mixing point. The determination that the predicted nonlinear coke parameters do not meet the criteria based on the target nonlinear coke parameters (e.g., not equal to the target parameter, greater than or less than the target parameter by a value greater than an allowable threshold, etc.) can result in some embodiments selecting additional mixing points. Some embodiments may then determine a set of coal parameters corresponding to each additional blending point and simulate or otherwise predict additional coke parameters based on the set of coal parameters. Some embodiments may then select one or more additional blending points for use as a coal blend based on the predicted additional coke parameters.

[0092] Some embodiments of the present technology may determine a coal blend so that the overall VM mass fraction of the resulting coal blend will meet a target VM mass fraction or a range of target values. In some embodiments, a range of target values for the target VM mass fraction may be predetermined. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may receive program instructions to recommend a coal blend so that the overall VM mass fraction is between 17.0% and 25.0%. Some embodiments may then recommend a coal blend that meets that range. For example, referring to Figure 3 and Figure 5 Some embodiments of the present technology may recommend a coal blend comprising 12% coke dust, 48% T1 coal, 20% T2 coal, and 20% T9 coal. While a VM range of 17.0% to 25.0% is described above, other thresholds are possible. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may limit the VM mass fraction of the coal blend to less than 27.0%, 30.0%, or some other value.

[0093] Some embodiments of the present technology can control a blending system to produce a coal blend based on a coal blend recommendation. Some embodiments can implement a control system to retrieve, process, and mix different types of coal to produce a coal blend according to the ratios and materials indicated by the coal blend. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can determine a coal blend that includes 12% coke coal dust, 48% T1 coal, 20% T2 coal, and 20% T9 coal. Some embodiments can then activate a set of control mechanisms to mix 12 tons of coke coal dust, 48 tons of T1 coal, 20 tons of T2 coal, and 20 tons of T9 coal into a mixing chamber to produce the coal blend.

[0094] III. Coking Coal Blending for Producing Foundry Coke Products and Related Systems and Methods

[0095] Figure 8 is a flow chart of a process for producing coke products using a coke oven according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. Some embodiments may increase the moisture content of the coal blend, as indicated by block 812. Figure 2 The blended coal loaded into the furnace chamber 212 may first be exposed to water to increase the moisture content of the blended coal. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may activate a pump or valve to spray the blended coal with water or another fluid, thereby increasing the moisture content of the blended coal as it is transported along the conveyor belt. It should be understood that throughout this disclosure, the aqueous fluid may be described as water.

[0096] In some embodiments, a pump, valve, or other mechanism may be controlled to inject a fluid or otherwise expose the blended coal to a fluid to increase the moisture mass fraction of the blended coal to a value between 1.0% and 20.0%. Some embodiments may allow a certain degree of tolerance when increasing the moisture mass fraction of the blended coal. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may increase the moisture mass fraction of the blended coal to greater than or equal to 8.0% and less than or equal to 13%. Some embodiments may use tighter tolerances, such as exposing the blended coal to a certain amount of water so that the moisture mass fraction of the blended coal is set between 10% and 12%. Some embodiments may determine the amount of water to be sprayed based on the VM mass fraction of the blended coal. Some embodiments may add water so that a 1% decrease in the moisture mass fraction compared to the baseline moisture content allows the VM to decrease by 1% compared to the baseline value. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may add water to the blended coal so that the moisture mass fraction of the blended coal is equal to the VM mass fraction of the blended coal minus a preset value, such as 10%. Furthermore, while some embodiments use 10% as the preset value, other values are possible, such as 15%, 14%, 10%, 8%, 5%, or some other threshold less than 50%.

[0097] Some embodiments of the present technology may include a sensor to test the moisture content of the blended coal, and further increase or change the moisture mass fraction of the blended coal based on the measured moisture content. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may determine that the measured moisture content of the blended coal is less than a first moisture threshold value, and in response, add additional fluid to the blended coal. Alternatively, some embodiments of the present technology may determine that the measured moisture content is greater than a second moisture content, and in response, add additional dry blended coal to the wetted blended coal. In some embodiments, the first moisture threshold value may be a value greater than or equal to 1.0%, such as 5.0%, 10.0%, 12.0%, etc., and the second moisture threshold value may be a value less than or equal to 15.0%, such as 15.0%, 13.0%, etc.

[0098] Some embodiments of the present technology may open the dampers of the coke oven, as indicated by block 824. Some embodiments may maintain the dampers of the coke oven open during the initial heating of the coke oven. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may use a set of controllers to send instructions to damper actuators to open a set of flue dampers. Once set to the open state, the flue dampers enable fluid communication between the open atmosphere and the flue of the coke oven before and while the coal blend is placed in the coke oven. Additionally, as described elsewhere in this disclosure, some embodiments of the present technology may use the set of controllers to send instructions to the same actuator or different actuators to change the state of the dampers to a partially closed state or a fully closed state.

[0099] Some embodiments of the present technology may charge the blended coal into the coke oven, as indicated by block 828. As described elsewhere in this disclosure, some embodiments of the present technology may use the coke oven to produce a coke product from the blended coal. Some embodiments may charge the blended coal using a pusher loader and operations associated with the pusher loader.

[0100] Some embodiments of the present technology can utilize heat recovery coke ovens to reduce the fuel or electricity consumption of the coke ovens. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can determine, based on the measured temperature of the coke oven, that a minimum temperature associated with the coke oven has been reached. The minimum temperature can vary based on the specific implementation or coke oven and can be a temperature greater than 500°F, such as 1000°F, 1500°F, or some other temperature greater than 500°F. In response to determining that the measured temperature of the coke oven has reached the minimum temperature, some embodiments of the present technology can initiate a heat recovery operation, such as a steam recovery operation, and reduce the fuel consumption of the coke oven.

[0101] Some embodiments of the present technology may perform damper operations to maintain the coking temperature of the top and bottom flues of the coke oven during the pyrolysis duration of the coking cycle, as indicated by box 832. Some embodiments may perform a set of opening operations and closing operations of a set of dampers during one cycle. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may initially heat the coke oven during the coking cycle while a set of updraft dampers of the coke oven is in a fully open configuration. Some embodiments may then initiate a closing operation that causes the set of updraft dampers to switch to a second configuration, where the second configuration may be a partially open configuration or a fully closed configuration. In some embodiments, the pyrolysis duration (sometimes referred to as the coking duration) may be considered to have begun once a lower limit coking temperature is reached, where the lower limit coking temperature may be a value characterizing a casting coking temperature, where the coking temperature may be a temperature above the by-product temperature of 1800°F or a temperature below the blast temperature of 2500°F. For example, the lower limit coking temperature can be a value within a range, where the range can be within 1200℉ to 2300℉, within 1800℉ to 2300℉, or within 2000℉ to 2400℉. For example, the lower limit coking temperature can be 1990℉. In some embodiments, once the coking reaction has ended, the pyrolysis duration can be considered to have ended, where the coal or coal blend that has reached the end of the coking reaction can be referred to as "coking". Some embodiments of the present technology can detect the end of the coking reaction in the furnace based on a temperature reduction in the furnace crown temperature or the furnace bottom flue temperature. In some embodiments, the duration of the coking cycle can be determined as the sum of the durations of the pyrolysis time and the soak time, where the soak time represents the amount of time that the coke product remains in the furnace before the coke product is removed from the furnace at the end of the pyrolysis duration.

[0102] Some embodiments may use sensor measurements to determine whether to open or close a valve. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may retrieve a set of crown temperature measurements from a crown temperature sensor. Some embodiments may then determine whether the set of crown temperature measurements meets a set of crown temperature criteria by determining whether one or more of the temperature measurements have met a crown temperature threshold. Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments of the present technology may determine whether the set of crown temperature measurements meets a set of crown temperature criteria by determining whether the change in a series of crown temperature measurements meets a temperature rate threshold. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may determine whether the rate of temperature change of the crown temperature has increased to a temperature rate threshold that is greater than 50°F / hour or to some other value that is less than or equal to 50°F / hour (e.g., a temperature rate threshold of 35°F / hour). In response to a determination that the rate of temperature change meets the temperature rate threshold by being greater than or equal to the temperature rate threshold, some embodiments of the present technology may use a controller to actuate the damper to close or partially close in order to reduce the amount of air flow entering the coke oven.

[0103] Some embodiments may maintain a temperature inequality between the coke oven crown temperature and the coke oven floor flue temperature during the pyrolysis duration. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may maintain the crown temperature within a range of 2000°F to 2400°F during the pyrolysis duration, where the crown temperature may vary within a predetermined range. Furthermore, narrower temperature ranges for the crown temperature are possible. For example, the crown temperature may vary between 1149°F (2100°F) and 1316°F (2300°F). Furthermore, the target temperature may vary for different coking operations. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may maintain a temperature range within 100°F of a first target temperature of 2000°F, such that the crown temperature or another coking temperature in the coke oven does not vary by more than 100°F from 2000°F during the pyrolysis duration or a predetermined sub-duration of the pyrolysis duration. Furthermore, other temperature differences or target temperatures are possible for approximately isothermal pyrolysis durations or sub-durations, where the temperature difference may be less than 200°F and the target temperature may be a temperature between 1300°F and 2600°F. For example, the temperature difference may be less than 25°F, 50°F, 100°F, 150°F, or 200°F, and the target temperature may be less than 1850°F, 1950°F, 2050°F, 2200°F, 2400°F, or 2600°F.

[0104] Despite variations in the crown temperature, some embodiments of the present technology may adjust the crown temperature and the bottom flue temperature so that the crown temperature is greater than the bottom flue temperature throughout the duration of pyrolysis. Some embodiments may achieve this control by actuating an updraft damper that controls the flow through the updraft duct or a bottom flue damper that controls the flow through the bottom flue. For each corresponding sub-period of the pyrolysis duration, some embodiments may control the period between the damper state change and the damper specific state. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may execute a sequence of closing the updraft damper or the bottom flue damper from a fully open configuration to a partially closed configuration before reopening the damper to a fully open configuration. In some embodiments, the sequence of damper closing and damper opening operations may be more complex than a simple open and close operation. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may maintain the damper open for a first period of time, partially close the damper within four hours of being shut down (e.g., initiating a shut down operation within two hours of the start of the pyrolysis duration), reopen the damper to a fully open configuration, close the damper to a fully closed configuration, reopen the damper to a partially open configuration, fully open the damper for the fully open duration, and then fully close the damper to a fully closed configuration.

[0105] In some embodiments, the pyrolysis duration or coking cycle can be greater than or equal to 12 hours, greater than or equal to 24 hours, greater than or equal to 48 hours, greater than or equal to 72 hours, or greater than or equal to 96 hours. In some embodiments, increasing the moisture content of the coal blend can allow the furnace to maintain a longer pyrolysis duration, such as approximately 96 hours, approximately 72 hours, approximately 48 hours, or another duration greater than 24 hours. For example, after increasing the moisture content of the coal blend as described in block 812, some embodiments of the present technology can increase the amount of time the coal blend is exposed to coking temperatures from 24 hours to 48 hours or more.

[0106] Some embodiments may maintain a relatively isothermal temperature profile for the crown temperature during the pyrolysis duration, where a relatively isothermal temperature profile may mean that the crown temperature is within a predetermined range of 10% or 20% of a median or mean value. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may maintain a crown temperature that satisfies a 50°F temperature range of 2000°F for the duration, such that the crown temperature is between 1950°F and 2050°F during the pyrolysis duration. Alternatively, some embodiments of the present technology may maintain the crown temperature within a crown temperature range during a sub-duration of the pyrolysis duration. For example, during a 24-hour pyrolysis duration, when the pyrolysis duration is at least 12 hours long, some embodiments of the present technology may operate a set of valves to maintain the crown temperature between 2000°F and 2080°F for a sub-duration. The temperature range boundaries may include various temperature ranges, such as 20°F, 40°F, or some other value below 200°F. Furthermore, the temperature range may be centered around a specific value, such as 1900°F, 2000°F, 2100°F, or some other temperature value. Furthermore, some embodiments of the present technology may be pre-configured to use a specific temperature range.

[0107] Some embodiments may retrieve a population of coke products from the coke oven, as indicated by box 844. The coke oven may produce a population of coke products, including foundry coke products, egg-shaped coke products, and coke briquettes. The operations described in the present disclosure may result in various advantageous properties, sizes, or other attributes of a population of coke products (e.g., foundry coke products). Some embodiments may control the coke oven to design a targeted distribution of coke products among the population of coke products. For example, operation is maintained for an approximately isothermal pyrolysis duration such that at least 60.0% of the population is foundry coke products and at least 20% of the population is briquettes products or egg-shaped coke products. By using operations that convert a majority of the output of the coking operation into foundry coke products, some embodiments of the present technology may improve the efficiency of downstream casting operations. In addition, as used in the present disclosure, the egg-shaped coke product may include the coke product remaining after screening between 2 inches and 4 inches.

[0108] As will be discussed elsewhere in this disclosure, some embodiments of the present technology can produce cast coke products having favorable drop breakage properties. Coke products with greater drop breakage retention can maintain a useful product shape during downstream casting operations. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can produce coke products having a 4-inch drop breakage greater than or equal to 80%, where the 4-inch drop breakage indicates the expected portion of the coke product that does not show significant breakage when dropped from a height of 4 inches. Similarly, the same coke product or a different coke product can have a 2-inch drop breakage greater than or equal to 90%, where a drop breakage greater than 90% can indicate significant product strength.

[0109] As will be discussed elsewhere in this disclosure, some embodiments of the present technology can produce foundry coke products with favorable fluidity values. Products with greater drop breakage resistance help maintain a useful product shape during downstream casting operations. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can produce coke products with fluidity greater than a fluidity threshold (such as a fluidity greater than or equal to 200 ddpm). Greater fluidity can improve reaction efficiency during downstream casting operations.

[0110] As will be discussed elsewhere in this disclosure, some embodiments of the present technology can produce foundry coke products with favorable AFT and coke products with smaller AFT. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can produce coke products with fluidity greater than a fluidity threshold (such as greater than or equal to 100 dial divisions per minute (ddpm), greater than or equal to 150 ddpm, or greater than or equal to some other value, 200 ddpm, such as 250 ddpm, 260 ddpm, 270 ddpm, 280 ddpm, 290 ddpm, or a fluidity in the range of 250-300 ddpm). Greater fluidity can improve reaction efficiency during downstream casting operations.

[0111] Figure 9 Graph 900 illustrates the combustion characteristics of a coke oven during a coking cycle. Line 950 shows the position of the coke oven's air damper. As shown by the first sub-duration depicted by first region 901, the oven damper remains fully open for over 12 hours. As shown by the drop in line 950 at the end of the first sub-duration, the damper can be controlled and positioned to various partially closed positions over the next 36 hours, as shown by the second sub-duration depicted in second region 902. The damper is then fully closed, as shown by the third sub-duration depicted in third region 903.

[0112] As shown by crown temperature measurement line 910, the crown temperature of the blast coke can vary significantly over time and can vary by more than 400°F. For example, the crown temperature can be 2004°F at time point 911 and can be 2449°F at time point 912. In addition, during the coking cycle represented by graph 900, the relative difference between the crown temperature and the absorption temperature can switch. As shown by absorption temperature line 920, the absorption temperature is below the crown temperature until the time represented by time point 921, remains above the crown temperature until the time represented by time point 922, and remains below the crown temperature until the time represented by time point 923. Both the temperature variations in the crown temperature and the repeated switching of relative temperatures can result in non-uniformity and lower crystallinity in any coke product produced by the operation shown in graph 900.

[0113] Figure 10 1 is a graph illustrating combustion characteristics of a foundry coke production operation according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. Graph 1000 illustrates foundry coke production operation of a coke oven during a coking cycle. Line 1050 illustrates the position of the coke oven's rising damper. As indicated by the first sub-duration depicted by first region 1001, the oven damper remains fully open for approximately two hours. As indicated by the dip in line 1050 at the end of the first sub-duration, the damper is controlled and positioned to a first partially closed state, i.e., a closed state greater than 50% closed, and remains in this state for a second sub-duration represented by second region 1002.

[0114] After the initial closing operation, the damper can remain open for a predetermined time period (e.g., 10 hours, 20 hours, or another duration greater than 2 hours). Alternatively or additionally, the damper can be triggered to reopen at a later time based on a temperature measurement. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can detect that the crown temperature represented by line 1050 meets a temperature threshold (e.g., exceeds a maximum threshold or is less than a minimum threshold) and, in response, perform an opening operation of the damper. As shown by the times represented by regions 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, and 1007, the damper can be repeatedly operated to open and close the damper according to a predetermined schedule or set of thresholds, wherein the opening operation or closing operation can change the damper to a fully open state, a partially closed state, or a fully closed state. The operation of opening or closing the damper, shown by line 1050, is shown in graph 1000 as (1) closing the damper to a first partially closed state, (2) reopening the damper to a fully open state, (3) closing the damper to a second partially closed state, (4) reopening the damper to a fully open state, (5) closing the damper to a second partially closed state, (6) closing the damper to a fully closed state, (7) reopening the damper to a second partially closed state, (8) reopening the damper to a fully open state, and then (9) closing the damper to a fully closed state. However, other sequences of damper operation are possible, such as closing to a fully closed state for a second sub-duration represented by second region 1002.

[0115] Some embodiments may deem the start of the pyrolysis duration to be when the furnace temperature reaches a lower coking temperature threshold, during which the majority of the coking reactions that produce coke product from the blended coal in the coke oven are occurring. Some embodiments may have multiple criteria for determining that the start of the pyrolysis duration has occurred, such as a first criterion requiring the crown temperature to reach a temperature threshold and a second criterion requiring the crown temperature to be greater than the furnace bottom flue temperature. Comparing the crown temperature 1010 and the furnace bottom flue temperature 1020 shows that, when implementing a casting coke product operation, the crown temperature can be greater than the furnace bottom flue temperature for the entire pyrolysis duration. Furthermore, as can be seen from graph 1000, during the pyrolysis sub-duration represented by regions 1003-1006, the crown temperature 1010 can be relatively isothermal relative to the target temperature of 2100°F and the allowable temperature differential of 100°F. By maintaining this relatively isothermal temperature, some embodiments of the present technology can improve crystallization efficiency, which can allow for more efficient carbon release during casting operations.

[0116] IV. Foundry Coke Products and Related Systems, Apparatus, and Methods

[0117] Figure 11 Coke particles configured to be heated in a casting cupola are shown according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. Figure 11As shown, C(b) = bulk carbon, S(b) = bulk sulfur, ash(b) = bulk ash, C(s) = surface carbon, S(s) = surface sulfur, ash(s) = surface ash (accumulated from the shrinking core), Fe(s) = surface iron, C*(s) = surface active carbon, FeC, S*(s) = surface active sulfur, FeS, C(l) = liquid carbon, and S(l) = liquid sulfur. Coke particle 1100 includes a core 1105 that shrinks due to carbon dissolution in the cupola, wherein the coke particle 1100 may be surrounded by bulk liquid 1120. As the core 1105 of the coke particle 1100 shrinks, for example due to oxidation and / or combustion of the carbon in the coke particle 1100, a diffusion layer containing ash and iron begins to form radially outward of the core 1105. For example, the coke particle 1100 can include a first or ash diffusion layer 1110 ("first diffusion layer 1110") and a second or iron diffusion layer 1115 ("second diffusion layer 1115"), wherein the first diffusion layer comprises ash located radially outward from the core 1105 and at least partially surrounding the core 1105, and the second diffusion layer is located radially outward from the core 1105 and the first diffusion layer 1110 and at least partially surrounding the first diffusion layer 1110.

[0118] First diffusion layer 1110 can be solid or liquid and effectively blocks the coke surface or reduces the mass transfer area through the coke surface into the surrounding liquid metal. Additionally or alternatively, first diffusion layer 1110 delays the oxidation and / or combustion of carbon in the coke particles in time and / or temperature, such that the coke does not generate carbon monoxide in the drying zone, but is instead oxidized and burned in the reaction zone of the cupola. First diffusion layer 1110, which contains ash, is formed in part due to the ash melting temperature of the coke product, which is directly related to the composition of the coke particles 1100. As described elsewhere herein, the ash fusion temperature of the coke is lower than conventional coke products and may not exceed 2650°F, 2600°F, 2550°F, 2500°F, 2450°F, 2400°F, 2350°F, 2300°F, 2250°F, 2200°F, 2150°F, 2100°F, 2050°F, 2000°F, 1950°F, 1900°F, 1850°F, or in the range of 1800°F to 2600°F, 1800°F to 2500°F, 1900°F to 1300°F, or 2000°F to 2200°F. Such relatively low ash fusion temperatures may enable the formation of a diffuse ash layer, for example, in the drying zone of the cupola, which prevents cooking of the coke, or specifically the core 1105, prior to the reaction zone. Additionally or alternatively, once the metal is melted and becomes molten at the reaction zone of the cupola, this relatively low ash melting temperature can optimize the contact time between the coke 1100 and the metal within the cupola. As a result, more carbon can be transferred from the coke 1100 to the metal. This is in contrast to conventional coke products, which may have a higher ash melting temperature, resulting in ash formation deeper in the reaction zone (i.e., downstream), thereby limiting the contact time between the coke and the molten metal and resulting in relatively less carbon transfer.

[0119] As the coke particles 1100 are heated within the cupola and the coke core 1105 contracts, a second diffusion layer 1115 forms. The second diffusion layer can further limit the cooking of the coke within the drying zone and / or help ensure that the majority of the combustion and oxidation of the coke does not occur before the coke 1100 reaches the reaction zone. Additionally or alternatively, carbon and sulfur can compete with each other for passage through the second diffusion layer 1115. That is, the presence of sulfur can undesirably reduce the rate of carbon transfer into and out of the coke 1100.

[0120] In some embodiments, the coke may be pre-fluxed and / or contain (e.g., doped with) additives that serve as catalytic materials (e.g., calcium, iron, calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, iron oxide, sodium oxide, and potassium oxide, and / or other oxides with relatively low melting points). For example, sodium may serve as a pre-flux, and iron may serve as both a pre-flux and a catalyst. The catalytic material may capture sulfur and be used therein to melt the sulfur out of the coke. In some embodiments, pre-fluxed coke is the result of selecting coal to produce coke with an ash material that has a higher proportion of the oxides described above. This is in contrast to coke products that can add calcium oxide or calcium carbonate particles / rock as fluxes to remove ash, as such methods are inefficient due to the very low surface area to volume ratio where fluxing actually occurs. Additionally, the pre-fluxed coke and / or catalyst may promote carbon deposition via the Boudouard reaction, thereby generating more heat and increasing the amount of carbon present in the reaction zone (e.g., combustion zone) of the cupola. Without wishing to be bound by theory, the preflux may modify the slag (e.g., slag 116; Figure 1 ), or more specifically, the liquidus temperature of ash at the surface or inside of the coke blended into the bulk slag can be changed.

[0121] Improvements in coke chemistry are intended to increase carbon dissolution from the coke particles 1100 to the metal (i.e., iron or steel) within the cupola. In operation, as carbon dissolves into the bulk liquid iron within the cupola, the coke core 1105 shrinks and ash and impurities accumulate at the surface. In addition, both carbon and sulfur dissociate from the surface, which can be achieved with the catalytic activity of Fe, Ni, and other metals. A lower ash melting temperature (expressed as the ash melting temperature (as described elsewhere herein)) allows for improved ash removal and reduced ash resistance by converting ash to the liquid phase more quickly. Carbon and sulfur diffuse through a thin iron diffusion layer. In addition, carbon and sulfur are competitive and difficult to dissolve or transfer into each other. Therefore, a low sulfur content in coke improves carbon transfer. Furthermore, coke products with a high coke reactivity index (CRI) or low coke strength after reaction (CSR) (as described elsewhere herein) allow more reactive carbon forms to dissociate from the surface, thereby increasing the carbon dissolution rate.

[0122] Various metals added to the foundry coke product produced from the blended coal or introduced into the foundry coke product through the ash in the blended coal can provide a catalytic function that increases the carbon dissolution rate. In some embodiments, multiple oxidation state elements (e.g., metals) can change the oxidation state in the coke product to provide catalytic activity. For example, the coke product can contain sodium, which can be converted from an unoxidized state, Na, to a first ionic oxidation state, Na. + Alternatively or additionally, the coke product may contain iron, which may be converted from unoxidized Fe to oxidized Fe. 2+ or Fe3+ In addition, the coke product may contain multiple oxidation state elements in oxidized form. For example, the coke product may contain Na + or Fe in the form of Fe2O3 3+ The coke product may also contain other types of metals such as nickel, copper, etc. The catalytic material embedded in the coke product increases carbon dissolution during the steel production process because at least some of the catalytic material will remain in contact with the interface between the coke product and the liquid iron bath during the steel production process.

[0123] Figure 12 Depicted are example foundry coke products and a table of foundry coke properties according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. Some embodiments may use a coke oven such as Figure 2 200) to produce cast coke product 1200. In some embodiments, cast coke product 1200 can have a generally oval shape and can have different or similar dimensions along first length 1212, second length 1214, or third length 1216. For example, first length 1212 can be greater than 6.0 inches (e.g., 9.0 inches), second length can be greater than 2.5 inches (e.g., 4.0 inches), and third length can be greater than 2.5 inches (e.g., 4.0 inches). In some embodiments, one or more lengths of the shape of cast coke product 1200 can be limited to a maximum value. For example, first length 1212 can be between 6.0 inches and 12.0 inches.

[0124] Due to the variations in the specific shapes of cast coke products, cast coke products can be characterized by a range of hydraulic diameters. For example, cast coke product 1200 can have a hydraulic diameter greater than or equal to 1.0 inches, greater than or equal to 2.0 inches, or greater than or equal to 3.0 inches, etc. In some embodiments, due to the cross-sectional geometry of the cast coke product, the hydraulic diameter of the cast coke product can be greater than the actual diameter of the cast coke product.

[0125] Table 1250 includes a set of properties for the cast coke product 1200. The properties of the cast coke product shown in Table 1250 can characterize the coke product produced by the operations described in the present disclosure. These properties can be advantageous for casting operations, such as having lower AFT values compared to conventional coke products. Such lower AFT values can be expressed in various forms, such as IDT or ST values. For example, sample "S4" shown in Table 1250 has an ash melting IDT equal to 2150°F (1177°C). Some embodiments can operate to reduce to low ash melting of the coke product based on an AFT threshold or target ash melting range.

[0126] In some embodiments, the target AFT value or AFT range may vary based on the type of ash melting value used. In some embodiments, the coke product produced may have an IDT between 2100°F and 2400°F. Some embodiments may include tighter limits on the coke product. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may include a coke product with an IDT between 2100°F (1149°C) and 2250°F (1232°C). Some embodiments may vary the coal blend, soak time, or duration at different damper positions to meet the target IDT. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may select a coal blend or determine furnace operation based on a target IDT value of approximately 2100°F, approximately 2150°F, approximately 2200°F, approximately 2250°F, approximately 2300°F, approximately 2350°F, or approximately 2400°F. In some embodiments, the soak time may be set to begin after the peak crown temperature or other peak temperature is reached. Alternatively, the soak time may be set to begin after the furnace bottom flue temperature or crown temperature begins to drop in the absence of any airflow. Furthermore, as the charring time of the pyrolysis duration increases, the soaking time can be reduced, wherein the soaking time can be less than 10.0 hours, less than 5.0 hours, or even less than 1.0 hour. Furthermore, some embodiments of the present technology can use various total cycle times and can characterize the operation based on the ratio of the soaking time to the pyrolysis duration, wherein the ratio can be less than 33.0%, less than 15.0%, less than 5.0%, or less than some other threshold value of less than 50%.

[0127] Similarly, some embodiments of the present technology may use the operations described in this disclosure to produce a coke product with an ST within a specified range, such as between 2150°F and 2500°F. Some embodiments may implement operations that meet a tighter ST range, such as a modification operation that produces a coke product with an ST between 2150°F and 2300°F. In addition, some embodiments of the present technology may vary the coal blend, soak time, or duration at different damper positions to meet the target ST. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may select a coal blend or determine furnace operation based on a target ST value of approximately 2100°F, approximately 2150°F, approximately 2200°F, approximately 2250°F, approximately 2300°F, approximately 2350°F, approximately 2400°F, approximately 2450°F, or approximately 2500°F. In addition, some embodiments of the present technology may set a target IDT value as a function of the target ST value.

[0128] Similarly, some embodiments of the present technology may use the operations described in this disclosure to produce a coke product having an HT within a specified range, such as between 2200°F and 2350°F. Some embodiments may implement operations that meet a tighter HT range, such as a modification operation that produces a coke product having an HT between 2150°F and 2300°F. In addition, some embodiments of the present technology may vary the coal blend, soak time, or duration at different damper positions to meet the target HT. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may select a coal blend or determine furnace operations based on a target HT value of approximately 2200°F, approximately 2250°F, approximately 2300°F, approximately 2350°F, approximately 2400°F, approximately 2450°F, or approximately 2500°F.

[0129] Similarly, some embodiments of the present technology may use the operations described in this disclosure to produce a coke product having a FT within a specified range, such as a FT between 2250°F and 2600°F. Some embodiments may implement operations that meet a tighter FT range, such as a modified operation that produces a coke product having a FT between 2250°F and 2400°F. In addition, some embodiments of the present technology may vary the coal blend, soak time, or duration at different damper positions to meet the target FT. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may select a coal blend or determine furnace operations based on a target FT value of approximately 2250°F, approximately 2300°F, approximately 2350°F, approximately 2400°F, approximately 2450°F, approximately 2500°F, approximately 2550°F, or approximately 2600°F.

[0130] Some embodiments can produce coke products that meet multiple target ranges for different types of AFT values. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can include coke products with an IDT between 2100°F and 2250°F, an ST between 2150°F and 2300°F, a HT between 2200°F and 2350°F, or a FT between 2250°F and 2400°F. Alternatively or additionally, various other combinations of target ranges for coke products are possible. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can include coke products with an IDT between 2100°F and 2250°F, an ST between 2150°F and 2300°F, a HT between 2200°F and 2350°F, and a FT between 2250°F and 2400°F.

[0131] Some embodiments may produce a coke product having an AFT within various composition boundaries to meet AFT values. For example, some embodiments produce a coke product having an AFT greater than 2300°F or less than 2600°F. Some embodiments may include tighter tolerances for the production or selection of coke products for downstream use, such as between 1800°F and 2600°F, between 2200°F and 2500°F, between 2300°F and 2400°F, between 2400°F and 2600°F, or between 2500°F and 2600°F.

[0132] Some embodiments can use the operations described in this disclosure to produce coke products characterized by specific types of AFT values. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can produce coke products having an AFT ST between 982°C (1800°F) and 1427°C (2600°F), between 1177°C (2150°F) and 1371°C (2500°F), or between 1204°C (2200°F) and 1371°C (2500°F), or between 1232°C (2250°F) and 1371°C (2500°F).

[0133] As shown in Table 1250, the CRI value of the foundry coke product can be 36.5% or another value greater than 35%. Some embodiments may implement a coke production operation that produces a batch of foundry coke that meets one or more CRI thresholds. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may vary the duration between damper configuration changes or select between different damper positions based on the CRI threshold. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may produce castings having a CRI of at least 25.0%, at least 30.0%, at least 35.0%, at least 40.0%, at least 45.0%, or another value of at least 30.0%. Some embodiments may operate to select coke products having a CRI greater than a minimum CRI threshold for downstream use. In some embodiments, the CRI of a coke product may indicate mass loss from a reaction, wherein a greater CRI of a coke product may indicate a higher efficiency or usefulness of the coke product. In some embodiments, the CRI may be calculated using a model based on known properties of the coke product or the coal blend used to generate the coke product. Alternatively or additionally, the CRI can be obtained experimentally as a measured weight loss using established testing protocols. For example, some embodiments can determine CRI values using a CRI determination method such as ASTM method D5341.

[0134] As shown in table 1250, the CSR value of the foundry coke product can be 26%, 15.6%, or another value greater than a CSR threshold value, such as 7.0%. Some embodiments can implement a coke production operation that produces a foundry coke batch that meets one or more CSR threshold values. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can vary the duration between damper configuration changes or select between different damper positions based on meeting a target CSR threshold value, such as a CSR threshold value requiring the foundry coke to have a CSR less than or equal to 40.0%, less than or equal to 35.0%, less than or equal to 30.0%, less than or equal to 25.0%, less than or equal to 20.0%, less than or equal to 15.0%, less than or equal to 10.0%, or less than or equal to 7.0%.

[0135] As shown in Table 1250, the SiO2 composition of the coke product ash can be 49.4%, 48.9%, 48.8%, 49.1%, or 46.0%. Other embodiments can include other SiO2 mass fractions in the ash, such as other values less than 70%, less than 50.0%, less than 45.0%, etc. In some embodiments, a mass fraction of approximately 50.0% SiO2 in the coke product ash can correspond to a small amount of SiO2 in the coke product itself.

[0136] In addition, some embodiments of the present technology can produce coke products with a fixed carbon content (e.g., a fixed carbon mass fraction) greater than or equal to a fixed carbon threshold. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can produce foundry coke products with a fixed carbon mass fraction greater than 80.0%, 85.0%, 90.0%, 90.5%, 91.0%, or some other value. In some embodiments, the fixed carbon content can be a target range. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can perform a set of operations to produce coke products with a fixed carbon content less than or equal to 94.5% but greater than or equal to 85.0% (although other value ranges are also possible), such as between 94.5% and 85.0%. Various other target ranges are also possible, such as a range for coke products between 90.0% and 95.0%, between 85% and 99%, etc.

[0137] In addition, some embodiments of the present technology can produce coke products with ash mass fractions within a target bounded or unbounded range. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can produce foundry coke products with ash mass fractions greater than or equal to 1.0%, 5.0%, 8.0%, 9.0%, 10.0%, or values greater than 10.0%. In addition, some embodiments of the present technology can include upper limits on ash mass fractions. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can produce foundry coke products with ash mass fractions less than 1.0%, 5.0%, 9.0%, 10.0%, or values greater than 10.0%. Some embodiments can combine these upper and lower limits on ash mass fractions so that the coke products produced have ranges of 5.0% to 10.0%, 8.5% to 9.0%, 8.0% to 10.0%, 5.0% to 15.0%, and the like.

[0138] Figure 13 It is a graph indicating the yield of cast coke products according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. As shown in graph 1300, the casting yield of different batches of coke products produced by coal blending using the operation described in this disclosure can vary. As shown in range 1302, in some embodiments, the yield can be in the range of about 40% and 60%, wherein the yield can be a dry yield (that is, the dry mass fraction of the cast coke product can be 40% or 60% of the dry mass fraction of the coke product as a whole). As shown in data point 1353, some embodiments carry out operations to obtain a yield of about 57%, although in other cases the yield can be lower. For example, as shown in data point 1351, the yield of some coke production operations can be lower, such as as low as 41%. In many cases, some embodiments of the present technology can implement operations that meet the minimum yield threshold, such as operations that obtain a yield of at least 25%, at least 30%, at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, etc. While some embodiments of the present technology may implement controller optimization operations to increase yield, some embodiments of the present technology may allow the predicted yield to be less than the expected maximum yield in order to meet other target coke product parameters.

[0139] Figure 14It is a chart indicating the particle size according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. As shown in graph 1400, the average batch length (in inches) of different batches of coke products produced by the coal blending operation described in this disclosure can vary. As shown in range 1402, in some embodiments, the coke product average length can be in the range of about 5.5 inches to about 7.5 inches. As shown in data point 1453, some embodiments carry out the operation of obtaining an average length of coke products of about 7.4 inches, although the average length of coke products can be lower in other cases. For example, as shown in data point 1451, the average length of coke products in some coke production operations can be lower, such as as low as 5.5 inches. In many cases, some embodiments of the present technology can implement the operation of meeting the minimum average length threshold of coke products, such as obtaining an average length of coke products of at least 2.5 inches, 4.0 inches, 5.0 inches, 6.0 inches, 7.0 inches, 8.0 inches, 9.0 inches or some other lengths. In some embodiments, larger coke products can therefore produce more efficient casting operations. While some embodiments of the present technology may implement controller optimization operations to increase the average coke product length, some embodiments of the present technology may allow the predicted average coke product length to be less than the expected maximum average coke product length to meet other target coke product parameters.

[0140] Figure 15 is a graph indicating the 4-inch drop breakage rate properties according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. As shown in graph 1500, the 4-inch drop breakage rate of different batches of coke products produced from coal blending using the operations described in the present disclosure can vary. As shown in range 1502, in some embodiments, the 4-inch drop breakage rate can be in the range of about 80% to about 95%. As shown in data point 1553, some embodiments perform operations to obtain a 4-inch drop breakage rate of about 93%, although the 4-inch drop breakage rate can be lower in other cases. For example, as shown in data point 1551, the 4-inch drop breakage rate in some coke production operations can be lower, such as as low as 81%. In many cases, some embodiments of the present technology can implement operations that meet a minimum 4-inch drop breakage rate threshold, such as operations that obtain a 4-inch drop breakage rate of at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, or at least 95%, or at least some other 4-inch drop breakage rate threshold. In many cases, a greater drop breakage recovery rate is beneficial to downstream casting operations because more coke product can be recovered during transportation and downstream processing.

[0141] Figure 16is a graph indicating the 6-inch drop breakage rate properties according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. As shown in graph 1600, the 6-inch drop breakage rate of different batches of coke product produced from coal blending using the operations described in this disclosure can vary. As shown in range 1602, in some embodiments, the 6-inch drop breakage rate can range from about 30% to about 80%. As shown in data point 1653, some embodiments perform operations to obtain a 6-inch drop breakage rate of about 80%, although the 6-inch drop breakage rate can be lower in other cases. For example, as shown in data point 1651, the 6-inch drop breakage rate in some coke production operations can be lower, such as as low as 30%. In many cases, some embodiments of the present technology can implement operations that meet a minimum 6-inch drop breakage rate threshold, such as operations that obtain a 6-inch drop breakage rate of at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, or at least some other 6-inch drop breakage rate threshold, where the 6-inch drop breakage rate threshold can be less than the 4-inch drop breakage rate threshold.

[0142] Figure 17 is a graph indicating the ash mass fraction according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. As shown in graph 1700, the ash mass fraction of different batches of coke products produced from the coal blending using the operations described in the present disclosure can vary. As shown in range 1702, in some embodiments, the ash mass fraction can be in the range of between about 7% and about 10%. As shown in data point 1753, some embodiments operate to obtain an ash mass fraction of about 9.7%, although in other cases the ash mass fraction can be lower. For example, as shown in data point 1754, the ash mass fraction in some coke production operations can be 8.8%. Additionally or alternatively, as shown in data point 1751, the ash mass fraction in some coke production operations can be lower, such as as low as 7.2%.

[0143] In some embodiments, the ash content of the coke products produced using the operations described in the present disclosure can be less than a threshold ash mass fraction, where the threshold ash mass fraction can be 10.0%, 9.0%, 8.5%, 8.0%, 7.5%, or another value less than 50.0%. In some embodiments, the ash mass fraction can be very high, such as greater than 10.0%. Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments of the present technology can produce coke products with a certain ash mass fraction threshold that meets an ash mass fraction threshold of less than 10.0%, less than 9.0%, less than 8.5%, less than 8.0%, less than 7.5%, or less than 7.0%. Some embodiments can include ash within a certain range, such as between 5.5% and 7.0%, between 6.0% and 6.5%, between 8.0% and 10.0%, or between some other values. In addition, some embodiments of the present technology can produce a group of coke products that meet the target mass fraction value. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can produce a coke product having an ash mass fraction that meets a target ash mass fraction, where the target ash mass fraction can be about 9.0%, about 8.5%, about 8.0%, about 7.5%, or about 7.0%.

[0144] In some embodiments, some embodiments of the present technology can implement operations to produce a coke product that meets a minimum ash mass fraction threshold, such as a coke product having an ash mass fraction of at least 7.0%, at least 8.0%, at least 9.0%, or at least some other ash mass fraction. Additionally, some embodiments of the present technology can determine coal blends or conduct coke oven operations with an ash mass fraction within a predefined range, such as between 7.0% and 10.0%.

[0145] Figure 18is a graph indicating moisture mass fractions according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. As shown in graph 1800, the coke product moisture mass fractions of different batches of coke products produced from coal blending using the operations described in this disclosure can vary. As shown in range 1802, in some embodiments, the coke product moisture mass fraction can range from about 0% to about 15%. As shown in data point 1853, some embodiments perform operations to obtain a coke product moisture mass fraction of about 15%, although in other cases the coke product moisture mass fraction can be lower. In addition, as shown in data point 1851, the coke product moisture mass fraction in some coke production operations can be lower, such as as low as 0.5%. In many cases, some embodiments of the present technology can implement operations that meet a minimum coke product moisture mass fraction threshold, such as operations to obtain a coke product moisture mass fraction of at least 7.0%, at least 8.0%, at least 9.0%, or at least some other coke product moisture mass fraction. In addition, some embodiments of the present technology can determine coal blending or coke oven operation with a coke product moisture mass fraction within a predefined range, such as between 7.0% and 10.0%. In addition, some embodiments of the present technology can determine coal blending or coke oven operation with a coke product moisture mass fraction less than a predefined value, such as less than or equal to 10.0%, less than or equal to 8.0%, less than or equal to 7.0%, less than or equal to 5.0%, etc.

[0146] Figure 19 is a graph indicating sulfur mass fractions according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. As shown in graph 1900, the sulfur mass fraction of different batches of coke product produced from coal blending using the operations described in this disclosure can vary. As shown in range 1902, in some embodiments, the sulfur mass fraction can range from about 0.60% to about 0.75%. As shown in data point 1953, some embodiments are operated to achieve a sulfur mass fraction of about 0.73%, although in other cases the sulfur mass fraction can be lower. Additionally, as shown in data point 1951, the sulfur mass fraction in some coke production operations can be even lower, such as as low as 0.63%.

[0147] In some embodiments, the sulfur content of the coke product can be less than a sulfur mass fraction threshold. For example, the sulfur content of the coke product can be less than 1.0%, less than 0.9%, less than 0.8%, less than 0.7%, less than 0.6%, less than 0.5%, less than 0.3%, less than 0.2%, or less than 0.1%. Some embodiments determine a coal blend, a soaking time, or a damper control schedule to reduce the amount of sulfur in the coke product. In addition, the coke product can be produced based on a target sulfur content value (such as a target sulfur mass fraction of 0.65%). As described elsewhere, by reducing the sulfur content of the coke product, some embodiments of the present technology can improve the efficiency of casting operations.

[0148] Figure 20 2000 is a graph depicting the mass fraction of SiO2 versus the mass fraction of Al2O3 in the ash of foundry coke products according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. In some embodiments, coke products can be characterized based on their mass fractions of SiO2 and Al2O3, or the ratio of these mass fractions. As shown in graph 2000, different samples of coke ash can indicate different mass fractions or ratios of SiO2 and Al2O3. For example, point 2050 indicates a sample having a mass fraction of SiO2 of approximately 48.0% and a mass fraction of Al2O3 of approximately 24.3%, indicating that the ash of certain coke products can have a mass fraction ratio of SiO2 to Al2O3 of approximately 2:1. As shown in range 2001, in some embodiments, the mass fraction of SiO2 of different samples can range between 48.0% and 51.0%. As shown in range 2002, in some embodiments, the mass fraction of SiO2 of different samples can range between 24.3% and 28.4%.

[0149] Some embodiments can produce a coke product that minimizes or has low amounts of combined Al2O3 and SiO2. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can operate to produce a coke product such that the ash of the coke product has a combined Al2O3 mass fraction and SiO2 mass fraction of less than or equal to 65%. By reducing the amount of Al and Si in the coke product, some embodiments of the present technology can improve the efficiency of the casting operation by reducing the interference of Al and Si with carbon dissolution during the casting operation.

[0150] Some embodiments can produce a coke product or a coal blend that is used to produce a coal blend that meets other thresholds for Al2O3 or SiO2. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can produce a coke product such that the ash of the coke product, or the ash of the coal blend used to produce the coke product, has an Al2O3 mass fraction of less than or about 30%, less than or about 25%, or less than or about 20%. Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments of the present technology can produce a coke product such that the ash of the coke product, or the ash of the coal blend used to produce the coke product, has an SiO2 mass fraction of less than or about 50%, less than or about 45%, less than or about 40%, or less than or about 35%.

[0151] Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments of the present technology can produce a coke product such that the sum of the SiO2 mass fraction and the Al2O3 mass fraction of the ash of the coke product or the ash of the blended coal used to produce the coke product is less than or about 80%, less than or about 75%, less than or about 70%, or less than or about 65%.

[0152] Figure 21 2100 is a graph depicting the mass fraction of Fe2O3 versus the mass fraction of CaO in the ash of foundry coke products according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. In some embodiments, coke products can be characterized based on their mass fractions of Fe2O3 and CaO, or the ratio of these mass fractions. As shown in graph 2100, different data points representing coke ash samples can represent different mass fractions and ratios of the mass fractions of Fe2O3 and CaO. For example, point 2151 indicates a sample having a mass fraction of Fe2O3 of approximately 12.1% and a mass fraction of CaO of approximately 2.4%. Additionally, point 2152 indicates a sample having a mass fraction of Fe2O3 of approximately 15.0% and a mass fraction of CaO of approximately 2.8%. Furthermore, point 2153 indicates a sample having a mass fraction of Fe2O3 of approximately 12.0% and a mass fraction of CaO of approximately 4.5%. In summary, in some embodiments, point 2151 indicates that the mass fraction ratio of Fe2O3 to CaO for some samples can range from approximately 5:1 to approximately 5:2. Furthermore, as shown in range 2101, in some embodiments, the Fe2O3 mass fraction of different samples can range between 11.0% and 15.0%. Furthermore, as shown in range 2102, in some embodiments, the Fe2O3 mass fraction of CaO can range between 2.5% and 4.5%.

[0153] Some embodiments may produce a coke product using an operation that increases the amount of CaO in the coke product. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may perform an operation to produce a coke product so that the ash of the coke product has a CaO mass fraction greater than or equal to 3.0%. Alternatively or in addition, other maximum CaO thresholds may be used. For example, some embodiments of the present technology may produce a coke product so that the ash of the coke product has a CaO mass fraction greater than or equal to 10.0%, greater than or equal to 9.0%, greater than or equal to 8.0%, greater than or equal to 7.0%, greater than or equal to 6.0%, greater than or equal to 5.0%, greater than or equal to 4.0%, greater than or equal to 3.0%, greater than or equal to 2.0%, greater than or equal to 1.0%, etc. Some embodiments may produce a coke product from a blended coal with a high content of CaO, where the content can be determined by the ash composition. This high content of CaO can increase the carbon dissolution rate of the coke product.

[0154] Figure 22 2200 is a graph depicting the ash softening temperature versus the model ash melting temperature for different batches of foundry coke products according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. In some embodiments, the coke products can be characterized based on their ash ST value, model AFT value, or a ratio of these two values. As shown in graph 2200, different samples of coke ash can have different ST and model AFT values. For example, point 2251 indicates a sample having an ash ST value of approximately 2300°F and a model AFT value of approximately 2460°F. Furthermore, point 2252 indicates a sample having an ash ST value of approximately 2550°F and a model AFT value of approximately 2580°F. Furthermore, as indicated by range 2201, in some embodiments, the ash ST values of different samples can range between 2300°F and 2600°F. Furthermore, as indicated by range 2202, in some embodiments, the model AFT values of some samples can range between 2450°F and 2600°F.

[0155] Figure 232300 is a graph depicting the ash softening temperature versus ash mass fraction for different batches of foundry coke products according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. In some embodiments, coke products can be characterized based on their ash mass fraction or observed ash ST values. As shown in graph 2300, different samples of coke ash can indicate different ash mass fractions and observed ST values for different ash samples. For example, point 2351 indicates a sample with an ST value of approximately 2350°F and an ash mass fraction of approximately 7.8%. Additionally, point 2152 indicates a sample with an ST value of approximately 2560°F and an ash mass fraction of approximately 8.1%. Furthermore, point 2153 indicates a sample with an ST value of approximately 2500°F and an ash mass fraction of approximately 8.8%. Some embodiments can produce coke products with lower ash content and lower AFT than coke products produced using conventional coal blends or conventional operations. By reducing the ash content of the coke product, which can accumulate on the coke surface, some embodiments of the present technology can improve the carbon dissolution rate during casting operations. Similarly, by lowering the ash fusion temperature of the coke product, some embodiments of the present technology can increase the ash dissolution rate by reducing the temperature required for ash removal from the coke surface during casting operations.

[0156] In some embodiments, as shown in range 2301, the ash content values of different samples can range between 2300°F and 2560°F. Additionally, as shown in range 2302, the ash content can range between approximately 7.8% and 8.8%. As shown in graph 2300, some embodiments of the present technology can produce a coke product having an ash mass fraction of less than 10.0%, less than 9.0%, or less than another maximum ash mass fraction threshold. Additionally, some embodiments of the present technology can be operated to maintain a minimum amount of ash product. For example, some embodiments of the present technology can implement coke oven operations to produce a coke product having at least 1.0% ash, 5.0% ash, 7.0% ash, etc.

[0157] Figure 24 2400 is a graph depicting observed ash melting temperatures versus modeled ash melting temperatures for various batches of foundry coke products according to one or more embodiments of the present technology. Graph 2400 includes a first range 2401 indicating that observed AFT values range from approximately 1990°F to approximately 2800°F. Graph 2400 includes a second range indicating that modeled AFT values range from 1900°F to 2750°F. As shown in graph 2400, the coke products can exhibit a near direct correlation between modeled and observed AFT values.

[0158] It will be appreciated from the foregoing that, although specific embodiments of the present technology have been described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present technology. In addition, certain aspects of the new technology described in the context of a particular embodiment may be combined or eliminated in other embodiments. In addition, although the advantages associated with certain embodiments of the present technology have been described in the context of those embodiments, other embodiments may also exhibit these advantages, and not all embodiments must exhibit these advantages to fall within the scope of the present technology. Therefore, the present disclosure and associated technology may encompass other embodiments not explicitly shown or described herein. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited except as set forth in the appended claims.

[0159] V. Conclusion

[0160] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that, without departing from the basic principles of the present disclosure, the details of the above-described embodiments may be changed. In some cases, well-known structures and functions are not shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily confusing the description of the embodiments of the present technology. Although the steps of the method may be provided in a particular order herein, alternative embodiments may perform these steps in a different order. Similarly, certain aspects of the present technology disclosed in the context of a particular embodiment may be combined or eliminated in other embodiments. In addition, although the advantages associated with certain embodiments of the present technology have been disclosed in the context of those embodiments, other embodiments may also exhibit these advantages, and not all embodiments must exhibit these advantages or other advantages disclosed herein to fall within the scope of the present technology. Therefore, the present disclosure and related technology may encompass other embodiments not explicitly shown or described herein, and the present invention is not limited except as set forth in the appended claims.

[0161] Reference herein to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "some embodiments," or similar expressions means that a particular feature, structure, operation, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present technology. Therefore, the appearance of such phrases or expressions herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, various particular features, structures, operations, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0162] Unless otherwise indicated, all numerals and other numerical values representing weight percentage, concentration, composition used in the specification and claims should be understood to be modified by the term "about" in all cases. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, the numerical parameters set forth in the following specification and the appended claims are approximate values, which can change according to the desired properties sought to be obtained by the present technology. As used in this disclosure, unless otherwise disclosed, if the difference between a value and the target value is less than or equal to 10% of the target value, then the value can be considered to be approximately equal to the target value. At the lowest level and without attempting to limit the application of the principle of equivalent scope to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should at least be interpreted according to the numerical value of the reported significant figures and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. In addition, all ranges disclosed herein should be understood to encompass any and all subranges included therein. For example, the range "1 to 10" includes any and all subranges (and including end values) between a minimum value of 1 and a maximum value of 10 (that is, any and all subranges with a minimum value equal to or greater than 1 and a maximum value equal to or less than 10, such as 5.5 to 10).

[0163] Although the present invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration based on what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it should be understood that such detail is intended for that purpose only and that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but rather is intended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements within the scope of the appended claims. For example, it should be understood that the present invention contemplates that, to the extent possible, one or more features of any embodiment can be combined with one or more features of any other embodiment.

[0164] As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than a mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). The words "comprise," "comprising," "include," "including," "includes," etc., mean including, but not limited to. As used throughout this application, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "an element" or "an element" includes combinations of two or more elements, although other terms and phrases such as "one or more" are used to refer to one or more elements.

[0165] Various other aspects, features and advantages will be understood through the detailed description of the present disclosure and the accompanying drawings. It should also be understood that the description of the present disclosure is an example, rather than limiting the scope of the invention. As used in the specification and claims, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "one", "a kind of" and "the" include plural referents. In addition, as used in the specification, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, "a portion" refers to a part or all (i.e., an entire portion) of a given item (e.g., data). In addition, "set" can refer to singular or plural form, so that a "set of items" can refer to one item or multiple items.

[0166] Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the term "or" is non-exclusive (i.e., encompasses both "and" and "or"). Terms describing conditional relationships (e.g., "in response to X, Y," "after X, Y," "if X, then Y," "when X, Y," etc.) encompass causal relationships where the antecedent is a necessary causal condition, the antecedent is a sufficient causal condition, or the antecedent is a contributing causal condition to the outcome (e.g., "state X occurs after condition Y is achieved" broadly refers to "X occurs only after Y" as well as "X occurs after Y and Z"). Such conditional relationships are not limited to outcomes immediately following the antecedent, as some outcomes can be delayed, and in conditional statements, antecedents are related to their outcomes (e.g., the antecedent is related to the likelihood of the outcome occurring). Unless otherwise specified, a statement in which multiple attributes or functions are mapped to multiple objects (e.g., one or more processors that perform steps / operations A, B, C, and D) encompasses both the case where all such attributes or functions are mapped to all such objects, and the case where a subset of the attributes or functions are mapped to a subset of the objects (e.g., all processors each perform steps / operations AD, and both the case where processor 1 performs step / operation A, processor 2 performs step / operation B and a portion of step / operation C, and processor 3 performs step / operation C and a portion of step / operation D). Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, a statement that a value or action is "based on" another condition or value encompasses both the case where the condition or value is the only factor, and the case where the condition or value is one factor among multiple factors.

[0167] Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, a statement that "each" instance of a set has a certain property should not be read to exclude the instance where some other identical or similar members of the larger set do not have that property (i.e., each does not necessarily mean each and every one). Limitations regarding the order of recited steps should not be read into the claims unless expressly indicated (e.g., using explicit language such as "after doing X, doing Y"), in contrast to statements that could inappropriately be argued to imply order limitations (e.g., "do X on the item, do Y on the item that has done X"), which are used to make the claims more readable rather than to specify an order. Statements referring to "at least Z of A, B, and C" and the like (e.g., "at least Z of A, B, or C") refer to at least Z of the listed categories (A, B, and C) and do not require that each category have at least Z units. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, it should be understood that throughout the discussion of this specification, terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," etc., are used to refer to actions or processes of a specific apparatus, such as a special-purpose computer or similar special-purpose electronic processing / computing device.

[0168] Listed implementation plans

[0169] For example, for convenience, the present technology is presented according to various aspects described below as numbered embodiments (1, 2, 3, etc.). These are provided as examples and do not limit the present technology. It is worth noting that any of the dependent embodiments can be combined in any combination and placed in the corresponding independent embodiments.

[0170] A1. A coal blending method comprising:

[0171] a first coal having a first volatile matter mass fraction less than or equal to a first threshold; and

[0172] a second coal having a second volatile matter mass fraction greater than or equal to a second threshold,

[0173] in:

[0174] The first threshold is at least 4.0% less than the second threshold;

[0175] The ash fusion temperature of the blended coal is less than 2600°F; and

[0176] The coal blend has an overall volatile matter mass fraction between 15% and 25%.

[0177] A2. A coal blending method comprising:

[0178] a first coal having a first vitrinite fraction, the first vitrinite fraction comprising a V8 vitrinite fraction, a V9 vitrinite fraction, a V10 vitrinite fraction, and a V11 vitrinite fraction, wherein the sum of the V8 vitrinite fraction, the V9 vitrinite fraction, the V10 vitrinite fraction, and the V11 vitrinite fraction is greater than 50%; and

[0179] A first coal having a first vitrinite fraction, wherein the first vitrinite fraction includes a V14 vitrinite fraction, a V15 vitrinite fraction, a V16 vitrinite fraction, a V17 vitrinite fraction, and a V18 vitrinite fraction, wherein the sum of the V14 vitrinite fraction, the V15 vitrinite fraction, the V16 vitrinite fraction, the V17 vitrinite fraction, and the V18 vitrinite fraction is greater than 50%.

[0180] A3. The coal blend of any one of Embodiments A1 to A2, wherein the coal blend does not contain any coal having a volatile matter mass fraction greater than the first threshold and less than the second threshold.

[0181] A4. The coal blend of any one of embodiments 1 to A3, wherein the coal blend comprises only the first coal and the second coal.

[0182] A5. The coal blending according to any one of embodiments A1 to A4, wherein the first threshold is less than 21.0% and the second threshold is greater than 25.0%.

[0183] A6. The coal blend of any one of embodiments A1 to A5, wherein the ash fusion temperature of the coal blend does not exceed 2450°F, 2400°F, 2350°F, 2300°F, 2250°F, 2200°F, or 1800°F.

[0184] A7. The coal blend of any one of Embodiments A1 to A6, further comprising coke coal fines.

[0185] A8. The coal blend of embodiment 6, wherein the coke coal dust comprises 1% to 20% of the coal blend.

[0186] A9. The coal blend of any one of embodiments A7 to A8, wherein 5.0% or less of the coke coal fines are characterized as 10 mesh or larger coke coal fines.

[0187] A10. The coal blend of any one of embodiments A6 to A8, wherein 10.0% or less of the coke coal fines are characterized as 20 mesh or larger coke coal fines, or as 90 mesh or smaller coke coal fines (15-25%).

[0188] A11. The coal blending according to any one of embodiments A1 to A10, wherein:

[0189] The first coal is greater than or equal to 60% of the blended coal; and

[0190] The second coal accounts for greater than or equal to 15% of the blended coal.

[0191] A12. The coal blending according to any one of embodiments A1 to A11, wherein:

[0192] The first coal is greater than or equal to 15% of the blended coal; and

[0193] The second coal accounts for greater than or equal to 60% of the blended coal.

[0194] A13. A coal blend as described in any of embodiments A1 to A12, wherein at least one of the calcium oxide mass fraction, lime mass fraction, natural alkali mass fraction, soda ash mass fraction, caustic soda mass fraction, low-ash molten slag mass fraction, basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag mass fraction, blast furnace slag mass fraction, iron mass fraction, nickel mass fraction, potassium mass fraction, magnesium mass fraction, sodium mass fraction, calcium sulfate mass fraction, asbestos mass fraction or biomass mass fraction of the coal blend is less than 5.0%, or less than 3.0%, or less than 1.0%.

[0195] A14. The coal blend according to any one of embodiments A1 to A13, wherein the ash mass fraction of the coal blend is greater than 10.0%, or between 8.0% and 10.0%, or between 5.5% and 7.0%.

[0196] A15. The coal blend of any one of embodiments A1 to A14, wherein the fluidity of the coal blend is at least 100 dial divisions per minute (ddpm), 150 ddpm, 200 ddpm, 250 ddpm, 260 ddpm, 270 ddpm, 280 ddpm, 290 ddpm, or in the range of 250 to 300 ddpm.

[0197] A16. The coal blend of any one of embodiments A1 to A15, further comprising a third coal having a third volatile mass fraction less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0198] A17. The coal blend of any one of Embodiments A1 to A16, wherein the first coal has a V16 vitrinite mass fraction greater than 25%.

[0199] A18. The coal blend of any one of Embodiments A1 to A17, wherein the sum of the V8 vitrinite fraction, the V9 vitrinite fraction, and the V10 vitrinite fraction of the second coal is greater than 40%.

[0200] A19. The coal blend of any one of embodiments A1 to A18, wherein the coal blend has a sulfur mass fraction of at least 5.0%.

[0201] A20. The coal blend of any one of Embodiments A1 to A19, wherein the coal blend has a calcium weight fraction of at least 5.0%.

[0202] A21. The coal blend of any one of embodiments A1 to A20, wherein the inert content of the coal blend is greater than or equal to 32.0%, between 33.0% and 35.0%, or between 28.0% and 40.0%.

[0203] A22. The coal blend of any one of Embodiments A1 to A21, wherein the alumina content of the ash of the coal blend is less than 7.0%.

[0204] A23. The coal blend of any one of embodiments A1 to A22, wherein the first threshold is 20% and the second threshold is 30%.

[0205] A24. A coal blending method comprising:

[0206] a first coal having a first volatile matter mass fraction less than or equal to a first threshold; and

[0207] a second coal having a second volatile matter mass fraction greater than or equal to a second threshold,

[0208] in:

[0209] The first threshold is less than 21.0%;

[0210] The second threshold is greater than 25.0%;

[0211] The ash fusion temperature of the blended coal is less than 2600°F or less than 2450°F; and

[0212] The overall volatile matter mass fraction of the blended coal is between 15% and 25%.

[0213] A25. The coal blend of embodiment A24, wherein the ash melting temperature is less than 2300°F.

[0214] A26. The coal blend of any one of embodiments A24 to A25, wherein the ash fusion temperature is less than 2100°F.

[0215] A27. The coal blend of any one of embodiments A24 to A26, further comprising a third coal having a third volatile mass fraction less than or equal to the first threshold, wherein the first coal and the third coal each comprise V14 vitrinite, V15 vitrinite, V16 vitrinite, and V17 vitrinite.

[0216] A28. The coal blending according to any one of embodiments A24 to A27, wherein:

[0217] The first coal comprises V14 vitrinite, V15 vitrinite and V16 vitrinite;

[0218] The fraction of the V16 vitrinite of the first coal is greater than the fraction of the V15 vitrinite of the first coal; and

[0219] The fraction of the V15 vitrinite of the first coal is greater than the fraction of the V14 vitrinite of the first coal.

[0220] A29. The coal blend of any one of embodiments A24 to A28, wherein the first threshold is less than 20.0%.

[0221] A30. The coal blend of any one of embodiments A24 to A29, wherein the second threshold is greater than 28%.

[0222] A31. The coal blend of any one of embodiments A24 to A30, wherein the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold is greater than 10%.

[0223] A32. A method for determining a coal blend for coke product production, comprising:

[0224] A plurality of coal parameters corresponding to the first coal and the second coal are obtained, wherein:

[0225] The first coal has a first volatile matter mass fraction that is less than or equal to a first threshold; and

[0226] the second coal having a second volatile matter mass fraction greater than or equal to a second threshold, wherein the first threshold is at least 4.0% less than the second threshold;

[0227] Obtaining target coke product parameters;

[0228] determining a plurality of coke product parameters based on the plurality of coal parameters and the target coke product parameters; and

[0229] A coal blend comprising a combination of the first coal and the second coal is determined based on the plurality of coke product parameters.

[0230] A33. The method of embodiment A32, further comprising obtaining coal parameters of the coke coal, wherein:

[0231] The coal parameter indicates at least one of a coal volatile mass fraction, a coal ash mass fraction, or a coal sulfur mass fraction; and

[0232] Determining the coal blend includes determining an amount of coke fines to add to the coal blend based on the coal fines parameters.

[0233] A34. A method as described in any of embodiments A32 to A33, wherein the first threshold is less than 21.0%, and wherein the second threshold is greater than 28.0%.

[0234] B1. A method for producing a coke product, the method comprising:

[0235] adding water to the coal blend to increase the moisture content of the coal blend;

[0236] charging the blended coal into a coke oven; and

[0237] The charged blended coal is heated so that the crown temperature of the coke oven is above the lower coking temperature during the pyrolysis duration of the coking cycle of the charged blended coal, wherein:

[0238] The lower coking temperature is in the range of 1200°F to 2300°F;

[0239] The pyrolysis duration begins when the crown of the furnace is above the lower coking temperature;

[0240] When the crown temperature of the furnace is lower than the lower limit coking temperature, the pyrolysis duration ends; and

[0241] The pyrolysis duration is greater than 24 hours.

[0242] B2. The method of embodiment B1, wherein the lower coking temperature is in the range of 1800°F to 2200°F.

[0243] B3. The method of any of embodiments B1 to B2, wherein the upper limit of the crown temperature is limited by an upper coking temperature greater than 2300°F.

[0244] B4. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B3, wherein the upper limit of the crown temperature is limited by an upper coking temperature greater than 2500°F.

[0245] B5. A method as described in embodiment B4, wherein the crown temperature is greater than the bottom flue temperature of the coke oven throughout the entire pyrolysis duration.

[0246] B6. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B5, wherein the crown temperature of the coke oven is between 2100°F and 2300°F during the pyrolysis duration.

[0247] B7. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B6, wherein the crown temperature is within a 100°F temperature range during at least twelve hours of the pyrolysis duration.

[0248] B8. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B7, wherein the furnace flue temperature is less than 2000°F, 1900°F, 1800°F, or 1700°F during the pyrolysis duration.

[0249] B9. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B8, wherein the furnace flue temperature is between 1400 and 1800°F during the pyrolysis duration.

[0250] B10. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B9, wherein the soaking time of the charged blended coal is less than 1.0 hour, 5.0 hours, or 10.0 hours.

[0251] B11. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B10, wherein adding water to the coal blend comprises:

[0252] determining whether the test moisture of the coal blend meets a set of target moisture values; and

[0253] In response to determining that the test moisture of the coal blend does not meet the set of target moisture values, the coal blend is exposed to more water.

[0254] B12. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B11, wherein the moisture weight fraction of the blend coal charged to the coke oven is at least 8.0%, 9.0%, 10.0%, 11.0%, 12.0%, or between 8.0 and 13%.

[0255] B13. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B12, wherein adding water to the blended coal comprises adding water to a belt carrying the blended coal.

[0256] B14. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B13, wherein the addition of water to the coal blend is based on the volatiles of the coal blend.

[0257] B15. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B14, wherein adding water to the coal blend comprises adding water so that the moisture content of the charged coal is approximately equal to or within 1 to 5% of the volatile matter mass fraction of the coal blend.

[0258] B16. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B15, wherein the pyrolysis duration is about 48 hours.

[0259] B17. The method of embodiment B16, wherein the pyrolysis duration is approximately 72 hours.

[0260] B18. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B17, wherein the blended coal has a volatile matter mass fraction of less than 27.0%.

[0261] B19. A method as described in any of embodiments B1 to B18, wherein the coke oven includes an updraft door capable of moving to multiple positions between open and closed, and wherein heating the coal blend includes maintaining the updraft door of the coke oven in a position less than half open during most of the first 24 hours of the coking cycle.

[0262] B20. A method as described in any of embodiments B1 to B19, wherein the coke oven includes an updraft door capable of moving to multiple positions between open and closed, and wherein heating the coal blend includes maintaining the updraft door of the coke oven in a position less than half open during most of the coking cycle.

[0263] B21. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B20, wherein heating the blended coal comprises:

[0264] opening an updraft damper at the start of the coking cycle;

[0265] Within two hours of loading the coal blend, a first closing operation of the updraft gate from a first configuration to a second configuration is performed, wherein the flow rate through the updraft duct of the coke oven when the updraft gate is in the second configuration is less than the flow rate through the updraft duct when the updraft gate is in the first configuration.

[0266] B22. The method of embodiment B21, wherein heating the coal blend is based on a rate of temperature change no greater than a temperature rate threshold, wherein the temperature rate threshold is less than or equal to 50°F / hour.

[0267] B23. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B22, wherein heating the blended coal comprises closing a furnace bottom flue damper or maintaining the furnace bottom flue damper in a closed position for a majority of the duration of the pyrolysis.

[0268] B24. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B23, wherein heating the blended coal comprises closing a flue damper or maintaining the flue damper in a closed position for a majority of the coking cycle.

[0269] B25. The method of any one of embodiments B1 to B24, wherein the ratio of the soaking time to the cycle duration of the charged blended coal is less than 33.0%, 15%, or 5%.

[0270] B26. A method comprising:

[0271] During the pyrolysis duration of coking, the coal blend in the coke oven is heated to the coking temperature.

[0272] in:

[0273] When the crown of the furnace is above the lower limit coking temperature, the pyrolysis duration begins;

[0274] When the crown of the furnace is below the lower limit coking temperature, the pyrolysis duration ends;

[0275] The lower coking temperature is in the range of 1200°F to 2300°F.

[0276] B27. The method of embodiment B26, wherein the charring temperature does not vary by more than 75°F, 60°F, 50°F, 40°F, or 35°F for the pyrolysis duration of at least 12 hours.

[0277] B28. The method of any one of embodiments B26 to B27, further comprising:

[0278] opening the rising air door of the coke oven;

[0279] at least two hours, four hours, six hours, eight hours, ten hours, or twelve hours after opening the rise damper, initiating a closing operation of the rise damper, wherein the closing operation closes the rise damper to a position less than half open; and

[0280] The updraft damper is maintained open no further than the position for at least twelve hours, sixteen hours, or twenty hours after commencing the closing operation.

[0281] B29. A method as described in any of embodiments B26 to B28, wherein the coal blend comprises coke coal dust, and wherein the ash mass fraction of the coke coal dust is greater than or equal to 6.5%, 7.0%, 10.0%, 13%, 15% or 20%.

[0282] B30. The method of any one of embodiments B26 to B29, wherein the coal blend comprises coke coal fines, and wherein the coke coal fines have an ash mass fraction greater than or equal to 15.0%.

[0283] B31. The method of any one of embodiments B26 to B30, wherein the ash fusion temperature of the blended coal does not exceed 2400°F, 2350°F, 2300°F, 2250°F, 2200°F, 2000°F, or 1800°F.

[0284] B32. A method as described in any of embodiments B26 to B31, wherein the fluidity of the blended coal is at least 100 dial divisions per minute (ddpm), 150 ddpm, 250 ddpm, 260 ddpm, 270 ddpm, 280 ddpm, 290 ddpm, 300 ddpm, 350 ddpm, 400 ddpm, or 100 to 400 ddpm.

[0285] B33. The method of any one of embodiments B26 to B35, wherein the overall volatile mass fraction of the blended coal is between 18% and 22%.

[0286] B34. A coke oven comprising:

[0287] The furnace chamber includes the furnace crown and the furnace bottom flue;

[0288] a riser conduit in fluid communication with the furnace chamber, the riser conduit being configured to receive exhaust gas from the furnace chamber;

[0289] an updraft damper in fluid communication with the updraft duct, the updraft damper being positionable in any one of a plurality of positions including fully open and closed, wherein manipulation of the updraft damper between positions configures airflow through the updraft duct;

[0290] a damper actuator configured to change a position of the updraft damper between the plurality of positions;

[0291] a common passage in fluid communication with the riser conduit, the common passage being configured to receive exhaust gas from the riser conduit; and

[0292] A controller configured to perform operations during a coking cycle, the operations comprising heating a coal blend within a coke oven to a coking temperature during a pyrolysis duration of the coking cycle, wherein:

[0293] When the crown of the furnace is above the lower limit coking temperature, the pyrolysis duration begins;

[0294] When the crown of the furnace is below the lower limit coking temperature, the pyrolysis duration ends;

[0295] The lower coking temperature is in the range of 1200°F to 2300°F; and

[0296] During the entire pyrolysis duration, the furnace bottom flue temperature is kept lower than the furnace crown temperature.

[0297] B35. The coke oven according to embodiment B34, wherein the controller is further configured to perform operations comprising:

[0298] opening an updraft damper at the start of the coking cycle;

[0299] Within two hours of loading the coal blend, a first closing operation of the updraft gate from a first configuration to a second configuration is performed, wherein the flow rate through the updraft duct of the coke oven when the updraft gate is in the second configuration is less than the flow rate through the updraft duct when the updraft gate is in the first configuration.

[0300] B36. The coke oven of any one of embodiments B34 to B35, wherein the moisture weight fraction of the coal blend is between 10% and 12% before heating the coal blend.

[0301] C1. A coke product configured to be burned in a cupola, wherein the coke product is produced by an operation comprising:

[0302] heating the coal blend in the coke oven to a lower limit coking temperature, wherein a pyrolysis duration begins when a crown temperature of the coke oven reaches the lower limit coking temperature, and wherein during the pyrolysis duration, the crown temperature is greater than a bottom flue temperature of the coke oven; and

[0303] A coke product produced from the coal blend is removed from the coke oven, wherein the coke product has a coke reactivity index of at least 30%.

[0304] C2. The coke product of embodiment C1, wherein the coke product comprises:

[0305] oblong shape;

[0306] a first size between 6.0 inches and 12.0 inches; and

[0307] A second dimension, which is perpendicular to the first dimension, is greater than 2.5 inches.

[0308] C3. The coke product of any one of embodiments C1 to C2, wherein the operation further comprises:

[0309] Prior to heating the blended coal, the blended coal is charged into the coke oven, wherein:

[0310] The coal blending comprises a first coal and a second coal;

[0311] The first coal has a first volatile matter mass fraction less than or equal to 21.0%;

[0312] The second coal has a second volatile matter mass fraction greater than or equal to 27.0%;

[0313] The coal blend does not contain coal having a volatile matter mass fraction between 15.0% and 27.0%.

[0314] C4. The coke product of any one of embodiments C1 to C3, wherein the coking rate is less than 1 ton of blended coal charged per hour, less than 0.75 ton of blended coal charged per hour, or less than 0.50 ton of blended coal charged per hour.

[0315] C5. The coke product of any one of embodiments C1 to C4, wherein the ash fusion temperature of the coke product is less than 1800°F or 2450°F.

[0316] C6. The coke product of any one of embodiments C1 to C5, wherein the coke product has a coke reactivity index of at least 35.0%, 40.0%, or 45.0%.

[0317] C7. The coke product of any one of embodiments C1 to C6, wherein the coke product has a coke strength after reaction (CSR) greater than or equal to 1.0%.

[0318] C8. The coke product of any one of embodiments C1 to C7, wherein the coke product has a coke reactivity index (CRI) between 25% and 65% and a coke strength after reaction (CSR) greater than or equal to 1%.

[0319] C9. The coke product of any one of embodiments C1 to C8, wherein the coke product has a 2-inch drop breakage rate greater than or equal to 90%.

[0320] C10. The coke product of any one of embodiments C1 to C9, wherein the coke product has a 4-inch drop breakage rate greater than or equal to 80%.

[0321] C11. The coke product of any one of embodiments C1 to C10, wherein producing the coke product further comprises performing a closing operation of an updraft door of the coke oven within four hours of the start of the pyrolysis duration.

[0322] C12. A population of coke products, wherein the population of coke products is produced by an operation comprising:

[0323] heating the coal blend in the coke oven to a lower limit coking temperature, wherein the pyrolysis duration begins when the crown temperature of the coke oven reaches the lower limit coking temperature; and

[0324] The closing operation of the updraft damper of the coke oven is performed within four hours of the start of the pyrolysis duration, wherein the crown temperature is greater than the bottom flue temperature of the coke oven during the pyrolysis duration, and wherein the coke product group includes cast coke products, egg-shaped coke products and coke coal dust products having a coke reactivity index of at least 30%.

[0325] C13. A population of coke products according to any one of embodiments C12, wherein:

[0326] said foundry coke products comprise at least 40% of said population of coke products; and

[0327] The egg-shaped coke product and the coke breeze product comprise at least 20% of the population.

[0328] C14. A population of coke products according to embodiment C13, wherein:

[0329] said foundry coke products comprise at least 60% of said population of coke products; and

[0330] The egg-shaped coke product and the coke breeze product comprise at least 20% of the coke product population.

[0331] C15. A population of coke products as described in any one of embodiments C12 to C14, wherein the mass fraction of ash in the foundry coke products is between 5.0% and 10.0%.

[0332] C16. A population of coke products as described in any one of embodiments C12 to C15, wherein the volatile mass fraction of the foundry coke product is less than 1.0%.

[0333] C17. A population of coke products as described in any one of embodiments C12 to C16, wherein the products of the cast coke products have a 4-inch drop breakage rate greater than or equal to 80%.

[0334] C18. A population of coke products as described in any one of embodiments C12 to C17, wherein the coal blend has between 15% and 40% volatiles, and wherein the coal blend has a fluidity greater than or equal to 100 dial divisions per minute.

[0335] C19. A population of coke products as described in any one of embodiments C12 to C18, wherein the egg-shaped coke products have a hydraulic diameter of less than 2.0 inches.

[0336] C20. A coke product, wherein the coke product is produced by an operation comprising heating a blended coal to a lower coking temperature in a coke oven to produce the coke product, wherein:

[0337] When the crown temperature of the coke oven reaches the lower limit coking temperature, the pyrolysis duration begins;

[0338] During the pyrolysis duration, the crown temperature is greater than the bottom flue temperature of the coke oven; and

[0339] The coke product has an ash fusion temperature of less than 2300°F, less than 2400°F, or less than 2600°F.

[0340] C21. The coke product of embodiment C20, wherein the operation further comprises:

[0341] increasing the moisture content of the coal blend to at least 5.0%, 7.5%, or 10.0% moisture; and

[0342] After increasing the moisture content of the blended coal, the blended coal is charged into the coke oven.

[0343] D1. A coke product comprising:

[0344] A coke reactivity index (CRI) of at least 30%; and

[0345] The ash fusion temperature (AFT) is not greater than 1316°C.

[0346] D2. A coke product comprising:

[0347] Ash having a composition satisfying the following equation:

[0348] Ash melting temperature (AFT) = 19×(Al2O3_mass fraction) + 15×(SiO2_mass fraction + TiO2_mass fraction) + 10×(CaO_mass fraction + MgO_mass fraction) + 6×(Fe2O3_mass fraction + Na2O_mass fraction),

[0349] in:

[0350] The AFT is a value between 1204°C and 1426°C;

[0351] The SiO2_mass fraction is the SiO2 mass fraction of the ash;

[0352] The Al2O3_mass fraction is the Al2O3 mass fraction of the ash;

[0353] The Fe2O3_mass fraction is the Fe2O3 mass fraction in the ash;

[0354] The CaO_mass fraction is the CaO mass fraction of the ash; and

[0355] The MgO_mass fraction is the MgO mass fraction in the ash.

[0356] D3. A coke product comprising:

[0357] Ash having a composition satisfying the following equation:

[0358] Ash melting temperature (AFT) = 19×(Al2O3_mass fraction) + 15×(SiO2_mass fraction + TiO2_mass fraction) + 10×(CaO_mass fraction + MgO_mass fraction) + 6×(Fe2O3_mass fraction + Na2O_mass fraction + K2O_mass fraction),

[0359] in:

[0360] The AFT is a value between 982°C and 1426°C;

[0361] The SiO2_mass fraction is the SiO2 mass fraction of the ash;

[0362] The Al2O3_mass fraction is the Al2O3 mass fraction of the ash;

[0363] The Fe2O3_mass fraction is the Fe2O3 mass fraction in the ash;

[0364] The CaO_mass fraction is the CaO mass fraction of the ash;

[0365] The MgO_mass fraction is the MgO mass fraction of the ash; and

[0366] The K2O mass fraction is the K2O mass fraction of the ash.

[0367] D4. A coke product comprising:

[0368] Ash having a composition satisfying the following equation:

[0369] Ash melting temperature (AFT) = 401.5 + 26.3 × SiO2 mass fraction + 40.7 × Al2O3 mass fraction - 11.0 × Fe2O3 mass fraction - 7.9 × CaO mass fraction - 112 × MgO mass fraction,

[0370] in:

[0371] The AFT is a value between 982°C and 1204°C;

[0372] The SiO2_mass fraction is the SiO2 mass fraction of the ash;

[0373] The Al2O3_mass fraction is the Al2O3 mass fraction of the ash;

[0374] The Fe2O3_mass fraction is the Fe2O3 mass fraction in the ash;

[0375] The CaO_mass fraction is the CaO mass fraction of the ash;

[0376] The MgO_mass fraction is the MgO mass fraction in the ash.

[0377] D5. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D4, wherein the AFT is approximately equal to at least one of 1204°C, 1260°C, 1288°C, 1316°C, 1343°C, 1371°C, 1399°C, or 1427°C.

[0378] D6. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D5, wherein the coke product has an initial deformation temperature between 1149°C and 1316°C.

[0379] D7. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D6, wherein the coke product has a softening temperature between 1177°C and 1371°C.

[0380] D8. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D7, wherein the coke product has a hemisphere temperature between 1204°C and 1371°C.

[0381] D9. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D8, wherein the coke product has a fluid temperature between 1232°C and 1427°C.

[0382] D10. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D9, wherein the mass fraction of the ash in the coke product is no greater than 10.0%.

[0383] D11. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D10, wherein the mass fraction of sulfur or sulfur oxides in the coke product is no greater than 1.0%.

[0384] D12. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D11, wherein:

[0385] The coke product is produced from a blend of coals comprising the ash, the ash comprising Al2O3 and SiO2; and

[0386] The combined mass fraction of the Al2O3 and the SiO2 in the ash does not exceed 65%.

[0387] D13. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D12, wherein the AFT is approximately 1204°C.

[0388] D14. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D13, wherein:

[0389] The coke product is produced from a blend of coals comprising the ash, the ash comprising Al2O3 and SiO2; and

[0390] The combined mass fraction of the Al2O3 and the SiO2 of the ash is between 65% and 80%.

[0391] D15. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D14, wherein the AFT is between 1204°C and 1260°C.

[0392] D16. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D15, wherein:

[0393] The coke product is made from a blended coal comprising the ash, the ash comprising CaO; and

[0394] The CaO mass fraction of the ash is at least 2.0%.

[0395] D17. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D16, wherein the coke product has a coke reactivity index (CRI) of at least 25.0%.

[0396] D18. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D17, wherein the coke product has a coke strength after reaction (CSR) of no greater than 40.0%.

[0397] D19. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D18, wherein the coke product has a 2-inch drop breakage rate of at least 90%.

[0398] D20. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D19, wherein the coke product has a 4-inch drop breakage rate of at least 80%.

[0399] D21. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D20, wherein the mass fraction of the ash of the coke product is at least 8.0%.

[0400] D22. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D21, wherein the coke product has a volatile matter mass fraction of no greater than 1.0%.

[0401] D23. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D22, wherein the coke product has a fixed carbon content of at least 94.5%.

[0402] D24. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D23, wherein the coke product has a fixed carbon content of at least 85.0%.

[0403] D25. The coke product of any one of embodiments D1 to D24, wherein the coke product comprises at least Na +1 、Fe 2+ or F 3+ .

Claims

1. A method for producing a coke product, the method comprising: adding water to the coal blend; loading the blended coal into a coke oven; as well as heating the charged blended coal so that the crown temperature of the coke oven is above the lower coking temperature during the pyrolysis duration of the coking cycle of the charged blended coal, in: The lower coking temperature is in the range of 1200°F to 2300°F; When the crown temperature of the furnace is higher than the lower limit coking temperature, the pyrolysis duration begins; When the crown temperature of the furnace is lower than the lower limit coking temperature, the pyrolysis duration ends; and the pyrolysis duration is greater than 24 hours.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the lower coking temperature is in the range of 1800°F to 2200°F.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the upper limit of the crown temperature is limited by an upper coking temperature greater than 2300°F.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the crown temperature of the coke oven is greater than the flue temperature of the coke oven bottom during the entire pyrolysis duration.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the crown temperature of the coke oven is between 2100°F and 2300°F during the pyrolysis duration.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the furnace crown temperature is within a temperature range of 100°F during at least twelve hours of the pyrolysis duration.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein: During the pyrolysis duration, the furnace bottom flue temperature is less than 2000°F.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein: During the pyrolysis duration, the furnace flue temperature was between 1400°F and 1800°F.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the soaking time of the charged blended coal is less than 10.0 hours.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein adding water to the coal blend comprises: Determining whether the test moisture of the blended coal meets the target moisture value; and In response to determining that the test moisture of the coal blend does not meet a set target moisture value, water is added to the coal blend.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the blended coal charged into the coke oven has a moisture content of at least 8.0% by weight.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein adding water to the blended coal comprises adding water to a belt carrying the blended coal.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the addition of water to the coal blend is based on volatiles of the coal blend.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein adding water to the coal blend comprises adding water so that the moisture content of the charged coal is approximately equal to or within 1 to 5% of the volatile matter mass fraction of the coal blend.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the pyrolysis duration is about 48 hours.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the volatile matter mass fraction of the blended coal is less than 27.0%.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coke oven includes an updraft damper movable to a plurality of positions between open and closed, and wherein heating the coal blend includes maintaining the updraft damper of the coke oven in a position less than half open during a majority of the first 24 hours of the coking cycle.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein heating the coal blend is based on a rate of temperature change no greater than a temperature rate threshold, the temperature rate threshold being less than or equal to 50°F / hour.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein heating the coal blend comprises closing a flue damper or maintaining the flue damper in a closed position for a majority of the duration of the pyrolysis.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein a ratio of the soaking time to the cycle duration of the charged blended coal is less than 33.0%.

21. A method comprising: During the pyrolysis duration of coking, the coal blend in the coke oven is heated to the coking temperature. in: When the crown of the furnace is above the lower limit coking temperature, the pyrolysis duration begins; When the crown of the furnace is below the lower limit coking temperature, the pyrolysis duration ends; The lower coking temperature is in the range of 1200°F to 2300°F.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein: The charring temperature does not vary by more than 75°F for a pyrolysis duration of at least 12 hours.

23. A coke oven, comprising: The furnace chamber includes the furnace crown and the furnace bottom flue; a riser conduit in fluid communication with the furnace chamber, the riser conduit being configured to receive exhaust gas from the furnace chamber; an updraft damper in fluid communication with the updraft duct, the updraft damper being positionable in any one of a plurality of positions including fully open and closed, wherein manipulation of the updraft damper between positions configures airflow through the updraft duct; a damper actuator configured to change a position of the updraft damper between the plurality of positions; a common passage in fluid communication with the riser conduit, the common passage being configured to receive exhaust gas from the riser conduit; as well as A controller configured to perform operations during a coking cycle, the operations comprising heating a coal blend within a coke oven to a coking temperature during a pyrolysis duration of the coking cycle, wherein: When the crown of the furnace is above the lower limit coking temperature, the pyrolysis duration begins; When the crown of the furnace is below the lower limit coking temperature, the pyrolysis duration ends; The lower coking temperature is in the range of 1200°F to 2300°F; and During the entire pyrolysis duration, the furnace bottom flue temperature is kept lower than the furnace crown temperature.

24. The coke oven of claim 23, wherein the controller is further configured to perform operations comprising: opening an updraft damper at the start of the coking cycle; Within two hours of loading the coal blend, a first closing operation of the updraft gate from a first configuration to a second configuration is performed, wherein the flow rate through the updraft duct of the coke oven when the updraft gate is in the second configuration is less than the flow rate through the updraft duct when the updraft gate is in the first configuration.

25. The coke oven of claim 23, wherein the moisture content of the blended coal is between 10% and 12% by weight before the blended coal is heated.

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