EUROPEAN COMMUNITY FOR COAL AND STEEL COMMISSION NEW METHODS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIELD OF COKE PRODUCTION Seminar Luxembourg, April 23-24, 1970 Published by PA:L tu . -■■■! '\ | the General Directorate Dissemination of Information GID - Centre for Information and Documentation Luxembourg, January 1971 u.c. , I CL EUR 4520 d,f,e Note The Commission of the European Communities and its departments are not responsible for any use which may be made of the following information. Price : B.Fr. 700.— DM 51.20 F.Fr. 77.60 It.Lire 8 740 Fl. 50.50 US $ 10.40 £ 6 INTRODUCTION Following the changes in the pattern of coal sales, these are becoming increasingly concentrated on three fields, namely, coking plants, power sta• tions and the domestic heating market, with coking plants assuming special importance. Not only are they now the biggest consumers of coal, but there will be no substitute for coke for a long time to come in major areas, par• ticularly in blast furnaces. Like the former High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community, the Commission of the European Communities is aware of the Community's need for a secure and cheap supply of coking coal and coke. This is reflected in, amongst other things, the Community Regulations aimed at facilitating the production and marketing of coking coal and coke, support for investment projects in these fields and the encouragement of research into coking plant technology. The Commission attaches special importance to the research sponsored by it aimed at improving the technical capabilites and economics of the co• king industry. It is doing its utmost to disseminate the results of this research as widely as possible to the interested parties, thereby making a further contribution to the solution of technical and economic problems in the coking business and the closely related problems of a Community coking coal and plant policy. With this in view the Commission held a seminar in Luxembourg on 23 and 2h April 197o on "Technology and Trends in Hard-Coal Coking", at which papers were read on the latest technical advances in this field. The Proceedings of the seminar are herewith published for the informa• tion of interested parties. Brussels, July 1970. Introduction As required by Article 55 of the ECSC Treaty, the High Authority and its successor the Commission have aided technical, economic and safety research in the coal and steel industries - research on coal valorization by coking being a major beneficiary. The seminar on new methods and developments in the field of coke production that the Commission organized in Luxembourg on 2~j> and 2k April 1970 examined the results of several coking research programmes which have received Community support. In the absence of Mr. Wilhelm Haferkamp, member of the Commission, the meeting was opened by Kr. F. Spaak, the Commission's Director-General for Energy. Mr. Eugene Schaus, Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg, welcomed participants on behalf of the host country and commented on the hopes aroused by the common energy policy of the Commission. Mr. 0. Schumra, Head of the Coal Directorate in the Directorate-General for Energy, outlined the basic problems facing a common policy as regards coking coal and coking plants. At three technical sessions - chaired respectively by Mr. K.H. Hawner, member of the Ruhrkohle AG Managing Committee, Mr. R. Cheradame, General Manager of Cerchar, and Mr. J. Ligny, General Manager of Charbonnages Monceau-Fontaine - German, French, Belgian and Italian experts submitted eleven papers on three subjects: (a) Increase of throughput of coke-oven plants; (b) Recent developments in the field of coke production; (c) Selection of coals of different rank for carbonization. The papers were followed by lively discussion, rounded off by contribu• tions based on practical and research experience. The meeting was attended by more than ^00 experts from 17 countries - cokin¿ technicians, coking-coal producers, coke consumers, equipment makers and representatives of universities, trade associations and governments. Scientific and technical preparations for the seminar were in the hands of a drafting committee, chaired by Mr. G. Wonnerth of the Directorate-General for energy and comprising six members of the Community's expert Coal Valorization Committee. The material details of the seminar, including the printing of confer• ence documents, were entrusted to a secretariat headed by Mr. L. Emringer and backed by the relevant departments of the Directorates-General for Personnel and Administration and for Information. The conference received valuable support from four national research associations, which assumed responsibility for translating the reports and discussions: Steinkohlenbergbauverein, Essen, Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches des Charbonnages de France (Cerchar), Paris, Institut National des Industries Extractives (Iniex), Liège, and the British Coke Research Association, Chesterfield. It was not only the specialists and the Commission who attached import• ance to this meeting and its highly topical theme: a great deal of interest was displayed by the Luxembourg Government too. Special mention should be made of the hospitable welcome the meeting and all taking part received from the City of Luxembourg and its Mayor, Miss Colette Flesch. 7 - CONTENTS Opening Session 11 Welcoming Speech 13 Mr F. SPAAK, Director-General for Energy, Commission of the European Communities 13 Speech by Mr. E. SCHAUS, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of Luxembourg 15 Mr. F. SFAAK : The Commission's energy policy and encouragement of coking technique research in the Community 19 Mr 0. SCHUMM, Director "Coal", Directorate-general for Energy, Commission of the European Communities Problems of a common 2CGC policy in the field of coke and coking coal 29 Discussion 45 A. Increase of throughput of coke oven plants 57 Chairman : Mr E.K.H. HAWNER, Member of the Board of Directors of Ruhrkohle AG, Essen 59 Mr P. FOCH, Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches des Charbonnages de France, Verneuil Preheating of coke blends 61 - 8 - Discussion 83 Messrs. K.G. BECK and W. VESKAMP, Steinkohlenbergbauverein, Essen Increasing the productivity of coke oven groups 101 Mr. H. GUHR, Eschweiler Bergv/erksverein, Alsdorf Operational experiences during a period of increased oven throughput by means of increased fuel temperatures 121 Discussion 145 Mr. '.V. SIMONIS, Steinkohlenbergbauverein, Essen High-temperature carbonisation in top-charged conventional ovens considered as a temperature- and time-dependent reaction 149 Discussion 156 B. Recent developments in the field of coke production 159 Chairman : Mr R. CHSRADAME, Director General, Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches des Charbonnages de France, Paris 161 Messrs. P. LEDENT, G. BURTON and M. MARCOURT, Institut National des Industries Extractives, Liège The development of the INIEX process for production of formed coke 163 Messrs W. PETERS, E. AHLAND and J. LANGHOFF, Bergbauforschung GmbH, Essen Development of a continuous process for the production of formed coke by the Bergbauforschung GmbH 183 Mr L. SOUBRIER, Houillères du Bassin du Nord et du Pas-de-Calais Formed coke: Research and tests made by the Houillères du Bassin du Nord et du Pas-de-Calais and the FUVO company- Economie aspects 199 - 9 Discussion 226 Kr K.G. BECK, Steinkohlenbergbauverein, Essen Programme for the improvement of carbonisation in normal coke 237 Discussion 250 C. Election of coals of different rank for carbonisation 257 Chairman : Mr J. LIGNY, President of the Association Charbonnière de Charleroi et de la Basse-Sambre 259 Mr A. TOGNANA, Vetrocoke-Cokapuania, Porte Marghera Problems of coking coals in Italy 261 Mr C. MELZTHEIM, CERCHAR, Marienau Experimental Station The extension of the ran^e of coking; coals 275 Discussion 2 91 Mr G. JURANEK, Ruhrkohle AG, Essen Optimisation of coking coal blends based on the mathematical model of carbonisation in slot-type recovery ovens 301 Discussion 3 1 6 Closing speech by Mr 0. SCHUMM 320 List of Participants 323 - 11 - OPENING SESSION Welcoming Speech of Mr F. SPAAK, Director-General for Energy, Commission of the European Communities Speech by Mr E. SCHAUS, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of Luxembourg Report of Mr F. SPAAK: The Commission's energy policy and encouragement of coking technique research in the Community Introductory report of Mr 0. SCHUÎ-'II, Director Coal Directorate-General for Energy, Commission of the european Communitie; Problems of a common ECSC policy in the field of coke and coking coal 13 Welcoming speech by Mr. Fernand Spaak, Director-General for Energy, Commission of the European Communities It gives me great pleasure to welcome you, on behalf of the Commission of the European Communities, to Luxembourg for our seminar on new methods and developments in the field of coke production. I am particularly pleased that Mr. Schaus, Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg, is with us. His presence bears witness to the interest shown by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in the future of the Community coal industry, whose representatives have had their headquarters in Luxembourg for as long as eighteen years, enjoying a hospitality for which we are indebted to the Government of the Grand Duchy and to the City of Luxembourg. To begin with, I have to express the regrets of Mr. Haferkamp, member of the Commission, who was prevented from attending this meeting at the last moment and has instructed me to transmit his message. I am happy to greet the representatives of the Community's Coal Research Committee, the members of the International Commission for Coal Valorization and all the specialists from European and other countries who are present here today. I am pleased to see so many representatives of the Community's mining and steel industries, and of the unions and trade associations. 14 Let me also welcome the scientists, teachers and technicians from the Grandes Ecoles, technical colleges and universities. The presence at our meeting of so many representatives from firms making coke ovens prompts me to look forward to a useful discussion between research workers, business leaders and manufacturers of coking equipment.