Coke dry quenching and implications on coke quality and blast furnace performance

The advent of coke dry quenching (CDQ) in coke-making benefited coke plants not only in reducing coke moisture but also in extracting a part of the sensible energy within the hot incandescent coke with a reduction in environmental pollution. In addition to these direct benefits, other advantages include (1) improved coke quality, (2) enablement of higher coke production without compromising quality, (3) online coal-cake bulk density measurement, and (4) improved blast furnace performance. The present study at Tata Steel, Jamshedpur, concentrates on the assessment of these additional benefits when CDQ units were operated at full capacity. Besides, the article also focuses on reviewing the major obstacles faced during CDQ operation, such as clinker formation and coke flotation issues.