Research of Moisture Capacity and the Process of Water Saturation of a Special Coke

In the production of ferroalloys, high quality of charge materials and their careful preparation are required to ensure the normal operation of furnaces and compliance of products with customer standards. Carbon reducing agents used in this process must have high reactivity, electrical resistance, and meet strict requirements for ash, moisture, and volatile matter content. The quality of reducing agents significantly affects the technical performance of the main equipment and the metal recovery process. One of the important indicators of reducing agents is their humidity, which affects the operating mode of furnaces and their transportation. In the ferroalloy industry, fluctuations in the moisture content of the charge components can lead to changes in the thermal and electrical modes of the furnace. For example, the production of high-carbon ferrochrome requires pre-drying of reducing agents to a strictly defined humidity index. The moisture capacity and water saturation of reducing agents are important indicators for determining the temperature and drying mode. The study examines the use of brand G coals from the Zhalyn deposit for the production of special coke and mixed with brand D coals from the Shubarkol deposit in a ratio of 1:1. The purpose of the experiments was to study the moisture capacity and water saturation process of the resulting special coke in comparison with the Shubarkol special coke. According to the results of the conducted studies, it was found that the maximum moisture capacity and water saturation of a special coke obtained from a mixture of Zhalyn and Shubarkol coals in a ratio of 1:1 are achieved in 9 minutes and directly depend on the porosity of the material.