Clean Production of Coke from Carbonaceous Fines
In order to produce steel (a necessary commodity in developed nations) using conventional technologies, you must have metallurgical coke. Current coke-making technology pyrolyzes high-quality coking coals in a slot oven, but prime coking coals are becoming more expensive and slot ovens are being shut-down because of age and environmental problems. The United States typically imports about 4 million tons of coke per year, but because of a world-wide coke scarcity, metallurgical coke costs have risen from about $77 per tonne to more than $225. This coke shortage is a long-term challenge driving up the price of steel and is forcing steel makers to search for alternatives. Combustion Resources (CR) has developed a technology to produce metallurgical coke from alternative feedstocks in an environmentally clean manner. The purpose of the current project was to refine material and process requirements in order to achieve improved economic benefits and to expand upon prior work on the proposed technology through successful prototype testing of coke products. The ultimate objective of this project is commercialization of the proposed technology. During this project period, CR developed coke from over thirty different formulations that meet the strength and reactivity requirements for use as metallurgical coke. The technology has been termed CR Clean Coke because it utilizes waste materials as feedstocks and is produced in a continuous process where pollutant emissions can be significantly reduced compared to current practice. The proposed feed material and operating costs for a CR Clean Coke plant are significantly less than conventional coke plants. Even the capital costs for the proposed coke plant are about half that of current plants. The remaining barrier for CR Clean Coke to overcome prior to commercialization is full-scale testing in a blast furnace. These tests will require a significant quantity of product (tens of thousands of tons) necessitating the construction of a demonstration facility. Talks are currently underway with potential partners and investors to build a demonstration facility that will generate enough coke for meaningful blast furnace evaluation tests. If the testing is successful, CR Clean Coke could potentially eliminate the need for the United States to import any coke, effectively decreasing US Steel industry dependence on foreign nations and reducing the price of domestic steel.
- Research Organization:
- Combustion Resources, LLC
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Inventions and Innovations Program, Golden Field Office
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG36-02GO12061
- OSTI ID:
- 1012550
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/FE/12061-1; TRN: US201110%%449
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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