Production of High-Strength Coke from Low-Quality Coals Chemically Modified with Thermoplastic Components

In order to produce high-strength coke from low-quality coals, noncovalent bonds between O-functional groups in coal were cleaved by pyridine containing HPC pyridine soluble and HPC-derived thermoplastic components were introduced into the pores formed by swelling; thus, the synergistic effect during carbonization of the suppression of cross-linking reactions and the fluidity amplification due to close placement of coal and thermoplastic components was investigated. When HPC was extracted with pyridine, a decrease in O-functional groups was observed in the pyridine-soluble and pyridine-insoluble components. When HPC was extracted with MeOH, on the other hand, O-functional groups in HPC selectively moved into the soluble components. When non- or slightly-caking coal was chemically-modified with the prepared HPC pyridine-soluble components by utilizing the solvent-swelling effect of pyridine, the fluidity improved compared with the coals physically mixed with the soluble components or HPC. On the other hand, the fluidity of the chemically-modified sample with the MeOH-soluble components hardly changed from that of the original sample, and no effect of the modification with the thermoplastic component was observed. Furthermore, it was clarified that higher-strength coke can be produced from the chemically-modified sample with the HPC pyridine-soluble components than from the original coal or the physically mixed coal with the soluble components. The contraction behavior during carbonization of the chemically-modified sample with the soluble components and that of the original coal was investigated; as a result, a large difference was not observed between these two. Thus, it was found that high-strength coke can be produced from low-quality coals by the present method.