ENERGY ENGINEERING

4th Term,
B.Sc. Chemical Engineering
Session 2013
Delivered by:
Mr. Rizwan Ali
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore

SYNOPSIS
Carbonization

Carbonization
Carbonization is the process by which coal is heated
and volatile productsgaseous and liquidare
driven off, leaving a solid reside called char or coke.
Carbonization of coal entails heating coal to
temperatures as high as 1100C in the absence of
oxygen in order to distill out tars and light oils.
A gaseous by-product referred to as coke oven gas
(COG) along with ammonia, water, and sulfur
compounds are also thermally removed from the coal.

Classification of
Carbonization
Coal carbonization processes are classified into
high-temperature operations
if they are performed at temperatures greater than
1100C
low-temperature operations
if they are conducted below 700C.
Carbonization processes reaching into the 700 to
1100C range are termed medium temperature
processes.

Low Temperature Carbonisation (LTC)

High Temperature Carbonisation (HTC)

It is carried out at 700C.

It is carried out at 1100C

It produces semi-coke. which is used as a

smokeless domestic fuel.

It produces metallurgical coke for use in

blast furnace.

Yield of coke oven gas is less in LTC. It is

about 150-160 Nm3 gas/ton dry coal. Less
gas yield is due to less devolatalization of
coal and less cracking of hydrocarbons.

Yield of coke oven gas is more in HTC

due to more cracking of hydrocarbons.
Yield is about 290-300 Nm3 gas/ton dry
coal.

Yield of tar is high in low temp,

carbonisation. It is about 10% of dry coal.

Tar yield is less here. It is about 3% of dry

coal charged.

Ammonia yield is low.

Ammonia yield is more (10-15 gm/Nm3 of

coke oven gas).

Calorific value of coke oven gas produced

in LTC is more due to higher percentage
of methane and unsaturated hydrocarbons
in it. C.V. is about 6000-6500 kcal/Nm3.

C.V. of coke oven gas produced in H.T.C.

is less. It is about 4200-4400 kcal/Nm3
only due to lesser percentage of
hydrocarbons.

Low Temperature Carbonisation (LTC)

High Temperature Carbonisation (HTC)

The tar produced is aliphatic in nature.

Tar produced has more of aromatic ring

compounds.

After carbonisation,, discharging of coke

is difficult as it swells a lot.

Discharging of coke is easier as it shrinks

finally to a more extent.

Free carbon in tar is less.

Free carbon in tar is more.

Coke produced is weaker (due to less

shrinkage), bigger in size and more
reactive (due to higher porosity).

Coke produced is stronger smaller in, size

and less reactive (due to low porosity) due
to higher amount of shrinkage

Volatile matter content in coke is more (57%), ignition temperature of LTC coke is
about 425C.

VM, in coke is less (1-2%), hence its

ignition temperature is more. Ignition
temperature is about 605C

Hydrogen content in coke oven gas is less

(35-40%).

H2 content in coke oven gas is more (5560).

Coke yield is more. It is about 80% of dry

coal

Coke, yield is less (about 77% of dry coal)

Characteristic carbonization temperatures

and stages

Coking Processes
Early processes for the production of coke
were similar to those employed for the
production of wood charcoal.
Bituminous coal was built up into piles and
ignited in such a way that only the outside
layers actually burned while the central
portion was carbonized.
Piles, also called kilns.

Contd
The next development was the closed beehive oven,
which in its original form discharged the flue gases
through a chimney at a greater height.
The beehive oven is a simple domed brick structure
into which coal can be charged through an opening at
the top and then leveled through a side door to form
on a bed 2 feet thick.
Heat is supplied by burning the volatile matter
released from the coal, and carbonization progresses
from the top down through the charge.

Contd
The horizontal slot-type coke (by-product
recovery) oven, in which higher temperatures
can be attained and better control over coke
quality has superceded other designs.
Coal, crushed with a top size of 1 in., is loaded
along the top of the ovens using a charging car
on rails and is leveled by a retractable bar.

Contd
Coking takes place in completely sealed ovens,
and when carbonization is completed (after 15
20 hours) the oven doors are opened and a ram
on one side pushes the red-hot coke into a
quenching car or onto a quenching platform.
Coke yield is about 75%. By-product gas and tar
vapors are removed from the oven to collector
mains for further processing or for use in the
battery.

Low-Temperature Carbonization
Low-temperature carbonization was originally
developed to provide town gas for residential and
street lighting and to manufacture a smokeless
fuel for domestic and industrial heating.
These early processes used fixed- and moving
bed technology, operated in batch or continuous
mode, and consisted of vertical or horizontal
retorts with direct or indirect heating

Physico-Chemical Changes
During Coal Carbonization
Raw coal at higher temperature
(400C) gets converted into plastic
layer. Then it is converted to semicoke (from 450-600C). At higher
temperature, coke is formed which
develops crack in the middle of coke
mass when further heated.

 Stage-I. Primary breakdown of coal at 700C yields

decomposition products like H2O, CO, CO2, H2S, aromatics
paraffins, olefins, phenolics, nitrogen containing
compounds etc.
Stage-II. Secondary thermal reaction among these liberated
primary products as they pass through hot coke, along hot
oven walls and through highly heated free space in the oven
involve both synthesis and degradation. Evolution of H 2
and formation of aromatics and methane occur at 700C.
Decomposition of complex nitrogen containing compounds
produces NH3, HCN, N2 and pyridine bases.
Stage-III. Progressive removal of hydrogen from residue in
the oven produces hard coke.