Carbonization

Carbonization
❑ Carbonization (pyrolysis) is the process by which coal is
heated in absence of air and volatile products (gaseous) and
liquids are driven off, leaving a solid reside called char or
coke.
❑ Carbonization is process of destructive distillation/cracking
of coal in the absence of air at high temperature.
❑ Purpose of carbonization is to produce coke which is pure
form of solid fuel and gases with very small amount of
liquid fuels.
❑Byproducts along with coke are coke oven gases and
ammonia , coal tar, gas oil, water, and sulfur compounds etc.
❑Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from
destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal.
❑ Coke from coal is grey, hard, and porous.
 Carbonization
❑Gas from oil is cheaper than gas from coal
carbonization.
❑Carbonization products depend on
1. Nature of coal treated
2. Temperature of treatment
3. Rate of heating
❑Decomposition temperature for non caking
type coal is 300 degree C and for caking type is
380 degree C.
❑Main purpose of carbonization is
(1) Gas making (2) Coke making
 Carbonization
Features in metallurgical coke are :
❑Size should not be less than 1 inch
❑Moisture should not exceed 3 %
❑Ash should be less than 10 %
❑Coke must be hard
❑S should be in range 0.9 -1.7%
❑P should be less than 0.009 %.
 Classification of Carbonization
• Coal carbonization processes are classified into
❑High-temperature operations
• if they are performed at temperatures greater than
1100◦C
❑Low-temperature operations
• if they are conducted below 700◦C.
❑Carbonization processes reaching into the 700 to
1100◦C range are termed medium temperature
processes.
 High Temperature Carbonization
(Gas Making)
• For gas making in carbonization process, coal
is heated in retorts. Retorts may be classified
as metal retorts, clay retorts, glass retorts.
• Metal retorts are not good for 800 oC where as
clay retorts are good for high temperature.
• Modern plants use 1400 oC temperature for
carbonization process.
• Normally retorts have 6.1 m length, 0.6 m
width, 0.4 m cross section.
 Carbonization (Gas Making)
• Retorts are incompletely filled to allow space
for expansion.
• Bed of coal is retort is 0.3 m thick.
• In a retort coal charging is 500-30,000 kg,
temperature is 1200-1600 K.
• Retort positioning may be horizontal,
inclined and vertical.
• In vertical retorts, feeding of coal is
continuous.
• In continuous retorts, steam passes upward
and coal comes downward
 Carbonization (Gas Making)
• Purpose of addition of steam is to get water
gas(steam will react with coke to produce CO
and H2).
• Water gas reaction is endothermic, it will cool
the coke.
Coal Gas Analysis:
CO2 2.0 % H2 51.8 %
O2 0.5 % CH4 27 %
CnHm 3.5 % C 2 H6 1.2 %
CO 7.5 % N2 6.5 %
 Carbonization (Gas Making)
Impurities in Coal Gas:
NH3 0.7-1.5 % HCN 0.8-1.7 %
CS2 0.03 % H2S

• Coke is by product in gas making. Higher

grade coke for metallurgical industries should
be reactive and withstand high pressure.
 Carbonization (Coke Making)
• In the earlier coke production processes, coal is
placed in a doomed (circular roof) shape and
covered with mud having pores for exhaust of
gases. Coal is heated by burning portion of coal.
Residence time for process is 10 days. It was
problem for near residential areas.
• 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
• The next development was Brick built beehive
process. It was built 7 ft Hight, with coal
charging of 10 tons and 72 hours reaction time
 Carbonization (Coke Making)
• After that closed beehive
oven Process, 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.
 Carbonization (Coke Making)
• The horizontal slot-type coke oven, in which
higher temperatures can be attained and better
control over coke quality has superseded 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.
 Carbonization (Coke Making)
• 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.
 Carbonization (Coke Making)
• Now a days Typical modern plants are in
operation. Each plant have 80-100 ovens, each
oven is 12.5 long, 3.5 m high and 0.5 m wide.
Coal charging capacity of each oven is 15,000
kg. Carbonization time is 15 hours. Coal is fed
by gravity from coal charging car.
• Other carbonization processes for coking are
(1) pacti coke process (2) coalite process (3)
Rexco process (4) Fuel research process.
 Low-Temperature Carbonization
• Low-temperature carbonization ( below 700 oC)
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
Low Temperature Carbonisation (LTC)
It is carried out at 700°C.
It produces semi-coke. which is used as a
smokeless domestic fuel.
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 tar is high in low temp,
carbonization. It is about 10% of dry coal.
Ammonia yield is low.
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.
High Temperature Carbonisation (HTC)
It is carried out at 1100°C
It produces metallurgical coke for use in
blast furnace.
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.
Tar yield is less here. It is about 3% of dry
coal charged.
Ammonia yield is more (10-15 gm/Nm3 of
coke oven gas).
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)
The tar produced is aliphatic in nature.
After carbonization,, discharging of coke
is difficult as it swells a lot.
Free carbon in tar is less.
Coke produced is weaker (due to less
shrinkage), bigger in size and more
reactive (due to higher porosity).
Volatile matter content in coke is more (5-
7%), ignition temperature of LTC coke is
about 425°C.
Hydrogen content in coke oven gas is less
(35-40%).
Coke yield is more. It is about 80% of dry
coal
High Temperature Carbonisation (HTC)
Tar produced has more of aromatic ring
compounds.
Discharging of coke is easier as it shrinks
finally to a more extent.
Free carbon in tar is more.
Coke produced is stronger smaller in, size
and less reactive (due to low porosity) due
to higher amount of shrinkage
VM, in coke is less (1-2%), hence its
ignition temperature is more. Ignition
temperature is about 605°C
H2 content in coke oven gas is more (55-
60).
Coke, yield is less (about 77% of dry coal)
Carbonization Temperatures and
Stages
 Coal Carbonization Stages
• Stage 1
100 oC moisture, absorbed gases evolved
200-300 oC decomposition of coal starts, loss of O2 in
form of CO, CO2, H2O, H2S & other organic
compounds. Below 200 oC decomposition is
very slow. Green coal is formed
Stage 2
300-400 oC fusion takes place. Outer layer of coal
melts creating fusion zone.
Stage 3
400-500 oC fusion zone advances toward center of
coal and a plastic layer is formed. Evolution
of gases cause to swell & structure
becomes porous. Here decomposition is rapid
 Coal Carbonization Stages
Stage 4
500-550 oC Plastic layer begins to resolidify & form
semi coke or smokeless fuel. Coal becomes
plastic, tar & volatile matters are driven
off. Smoke is reduced because of evolution
of volatile matters. It still contains H2,
which can be easily ignited than
conventional coke.
Stage 5
+ 550 oC semi coke begins to decompose evolving
H2, CO. Large physical changes occurs at
this stage. Coke become harder i.e. true
or normal coke
 Coal Carbonization Stages
• Primary breakdown of coal at 700°C yields
decomposition products like H2O, CO, CO2, H2S,
aromatics paraffins, olefins, phenolics, nitrogen
containing compounds etc.
• 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 H2 and formation of aromatics and
methane occur at 700°C. Decomposition of complex
nitrogen containing compounds produces NH3, HCN,
N2 and pyridine bases.
• Progressive removal of hydrogen from residue in the
oven produces hard coke.
 Uses of Coke:
• Coke is used as a fuel and as a reducing agent in
smelting iron ore in a blast furnace.
• Since smoke-producing constituents are driven
off during the coking of coal, coke forms a
desirable fuel for stoves and furnaces in which
conditions are not suitable for the complete
burning of bituminous coal itself.
• Coke may be burned with little or no smoke
under combustion conditions, while bituminous
coal would produce much smoke
 Uses of Coke:
➢Coke is used in preparation of producer gas
which is a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO)
and nitrogen (N2).
➢ Producer gas is produced by passing air over
red-hot coke.
➢Coke is also used to manufacture water gas.
Coke production in top 10 countries
for 2015-2016:
Combustion Calculations

Sana Ahmad Minhas

sanaahmad0070@gmail.com
 Minimum Air Requirement

Question: A sample of the coal has the

following percentage composition by weight
C = 77.7%
H2 = 6.8%
N2 = 1.2%
S = 2.2%
O2 = 8.8% and incombustibles 3.3%.
Determine the minimum quantity of air
1. CO2 is produced from C with the help of oxygen.
Simplest equation
𝐶 + 𝑂2 → 𝐶𝑂2
moles 1 1 1
M.M 12 32 44
Moles=mass/ MM
Mass= moles*MM
Basis= 1 kg of coal
So,
12 kg of C 32 kg of O2
1 kg 32/12 kg

0.777 kg 2.072 kg