Description:FORM 2
THE PATENT ACT 1970
(39 OF 1970)
&
The Patent Rules, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

1 TITLE OF THE INVENTION :
A PORTABLE WALL PRESSURE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR COAL CARBONIZATION.



2 APPLICANT (S)

Name : STEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA LIMITED.

Nationality : Indian.

Address : Research & Development Centre for Iron & Steel,
Doranda, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. PIN-834002.






3 PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION

COMPLETE

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the development of a portable wall pressure measurement system for coal carbonization. More particularly, the present invention proposes a wall pressure measurement system applied to coal carbonization in pilot coke oven which will be used for measurement of wall pressure that is exerted by coal/ coal blend on walls of carbonization apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well known that the coking coal is charged in coke ovens for carbonization to obtain the final product of coke and associated by-products like volatile hydrocarbons, coal chemicals, tar etc. During the carbonization process coal exerts pressure on the coke oven walls. The measurement of this pressure is difficult in commercial ovens and it is measured in moving wall pilot coke ovens.
To carry out this test, generally moving wall pilot coke oven of 200~300 kg coal charging capacity are used where one wall is static and other wall moves on rail and wheels like arrangement. Traditionally, moving wall type pilot coke ovens is the only established setup where coke ovens wall pressure can be measured. But this needs sufficient coal samples, testing time, man power etc. But in the developed system wall pressure can be measured in few hours.

In traditional moving wall pilot oven, one heating wall is made free to move, and pressure exerted during coking, is recorded. As moving wall is also used as heating wall it contains two layers of walls, heating elements etc that increases the weight of moving wall resulting elevated inertia in the wall. Because of this fact wall pressure measurement in smaller pilot coke ovens is difficult.

Taking these constraints in consideration, the system of present invention has been developed where heating wall is installed on free iron balls that make the wall movement practically frictionless, and because of this setup smaller samples like 1 kg can be tested. Under this test pre-crushed coal (~ 80 % are less than 3.2 mm size) are kept inside a steel box and heated in the hot muffle furnace with controlled heating.

OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION:

The basic object of the present invention is thus directed to provide a Portable wall pressure measurement system for coal carbonization which will be integral part of the carbonisation test to simulate the coking process with commercial coke ovens.

A further object of the present invention is directed to provide an improved mechanism for wall pressure measurement in carbonisation test with reduced man power and time requirement.

A still further object of the present invention is directed to provide a suitable apparatus which requires less coal samples to complete the wall pressure measurement in carbonisation test.

A still further object of the present invention is directed to provide a suitable apparatus which will provide higher degree of accuracy in wall pressure measurement for carbonisation test.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The basic aspect of the present invention is directed to a portable wall pressure measurement system for coal carbonization comprising :
a coal carbonization enclosure for containing coal for carbonization having an open face thereof;
said open face of the carbonization enclosure cooperatively disposed with respect to a separate adjacent cover thereof touching and facing the coal in said carbonization enclosure such that upon coal carbonization the swelling pressure move away the carbonization enclosure from its initially touching disposition with respect to the separate adjacent cover facing the coal in the carbonization enclosure;
a roller type support at the base providing for relative motion between the coal carbonization enclosure and the inner side face of the separate adjacent cover ;
a rod and load shell arrangement cooperatively disposed to resist the said relative motion between the bottom of the coal carbonization enclosure and the inner side of the separate adjacent cover ,
means to measure the force exerted on said load shell providing for generating equivalent measure of the pressure of wall expansion on carbonization on the exposed adjacent separate cover facing the coal in the carbonization enclosure.

A further aspect of the present invention is directed to said portable wall pressure measurement system for coal carbonization wherein the carbonization enclosure and the separate adjacent cover define a steel box containing the coal for carbonization which can be heated in the furnace for effecting the test carbonization and wall expansion.

A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said portable wall pressure measurement system for coal carbonization wherein said carbonization enclosure and said separate adjacent cover thereof touching and facing the coal in said carbonization enclosure are defined by two cubiod boxes of different dimension such that one box will be fitted inside the larger cubiod box.

A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said portable wall pressure measurement system for coal carbonization as claimed in claim 1 wherein said carbonization enclosure and said separate adjacent cover thereof touching and facing the coal in said carbonization enclosure are defined by a larger cubiod having only four closed faces and rest two faces will be opened and a smaller cuboids having closed from five sides (five faces) and rest one face maintained open.

A further aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for carrying out wall pressure measurement during coal carbonization involving the system comprising:

providing coal for subjecting to carbonization in said carbonization enclosure having an open face thereof;

placing said open face of the carbonization enclosure cooperatively disposed with respect to a separate adjacent cover thereof touching and facing the coal in said carbonization enclosure ;

subjecting to heating and carbonization whereby the swelling pressure move away the carbonization enclosure from its initially touching disposition with respect to the separate adjacent cover facing the coal in the carbonization enclosure via a roller type support at the base providing for relative motion between the coal carbonization enclosure and the inner side face of the separate adjacent cover ;

measuring the force exerted on a cooperative rod and load shell arrangement cooperatively disposed to resist the said relative motion between the bottom of the coal carbonization enclosure and the inner side of the separate adjacent cover ; and finally ,

generating equivalent measure of the pressure of wall expansion on carbonization on the exposed adjacent separate cover facing the coal in the carbonization enclosure based on said measure of the force exerted on the load cell.

A further aspect of the present invention is directed to said method wherein said amount of force exerted on the load Cell is measured and computed into the pressure based on the surface area of the coal that touches the wall of the separate cover facing the carbonization enclosure.

The above and other aspects of the present invention are described hereunder in greater details with reference to the accompanying non limiting illustrative drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

Fig. 1: illustrates Schematic diagram of the wall pressure measurement apparatus in accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 2: illustrates top view of the apparatus in accordance with the present invention.
Fig. 3: shows the graphical plot of carbonization temperature versus wall pressure measured according to present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION WITH REFERENCE TO ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The present invention is thus directed to provide a portable wall pressure measurement system for coal carbonization in pilot coke oven which will be integral part of the carbonisation test to simulate the coking process with commercial coke ovens.

It is well known in the related art that coke is a solid carbon fuel and carbon source used to melt and reduce iron ore in the production of steel. Coking ovens have been used for many years to convert coal into metallurgical coke. During the coking process, finely crushed coal is heated under controlled temperature conditions to devolatilize the coal and form a fused mass of coke having a predetermined porosity and strength. Because the production of coke is a batch process, multiple coke ovens are operated simultaneously.

The melting and fusion process undergone by the coal particles during the heating process is an important part of coking. The degree of melting and degree of assimilation of the coal particles into the molten mass determine the characteristics of the coke produced. In order to produce the strongest coke from a particular coal or coal blend, there is an optimum ratio of reactive to inert entities in the coal. During the entire carbonization process coal first swells when devolitization occurs and later squizes. In this process coals exerted pressure on the wall of coke ovens. This pressure is important limiting parameter, going beyond certain level may damage the coke ovens walls. It has been observed that generally coals with higher Mean Max Reflectance (MMR) exerts higher wall pressure but at the same time produces better coke strength. Therefore, for the good quality coke production, an optimum wall pressure is required to protect the oven wall and to produce higher coke strength. For the estimation of the expected coke quality from the specified coal blend, especially if coals being used are new for the commercial ovens, it is required to conduct laboratory scale carbonisation tests to avoid any possible damage to the commercial ovens due to excessive wall pressure.

In an exemplary embodiment, the coal is kept into a steel box and be heated in the furnace as shown in Fig.1. In another embodiment, the entire system will be charged in a muffle furnace and will be heated. In another embodiment, there will be two cubiod boxes of different dimension such that one box will be fitted inside the larger cubiod box.
In another embodiment, the larger cubiod will have only four closed faces and rest two faces will be opened as shown in Fig. 1. The smaller cuboids will be closed from five sides (five faces) and rest one face will be opened. In another embodiment, there will be an arrangement using either roller type iron rods or Iron balls to produce bearing like effect between the bottom of smaller cuboids and inner side bottom of larger cuboids. This arrangement will make the smaller box movement practically friction free. Schematic of Portable wall pressure measurement system for coal carbonization in Fig 1 shows following parts : 1, 2 – faces of Box 1 ; 3 – Inner box ; 4 -Iron rod connecting inner box and load cell; 5 -Load cell; 6- coal sample.

In another embodiment, there is an arrangement to measure the pressure once coal kept inside the smaller box swells. This will push the smaller box away from the touching face of the larger box. This will be stopped by rod and load shell arrangement as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The force exerted on the load shell will be measured and converted into the pressure by dividing the surface area of the coal that touches the wall of larger box. Some exemplary trial data are as given in following Table 1:

Table 1: EXEMPLARY TRIAL RUN
TEMP. (°C ) PRESSURE, (psi)
237 0.9
305 1.0
405 1.2
518 1.3
625 1.3
700 1.3
770 1.3
782 1.3
807 1.3
834 1.3
860 1.4
887 1.3
910 1.1
934 0.9
958 0.8
983 0.7
1007 0.7
1025 0.7
1050 0.5
Above table data and graphical plot shown in Figure 3 depicts the variation in wall pressure value measured . It shows that wall pressure increases to maximum when temperature increases and reduces when carbonisation process is completed
This innovation consists of following salient features;
1) Less sample requirement – only 1 kg sample is needed for 1 set of test.
2) No need of big setup: only a heating furnace and developed system will be enough to measure wall pressure.
3) Due to the absence of mechanical attachments like bearings etc, no need of frequent oiling etc.
4) Quicker results: this system can provide results in 2 to 3 hours.

The inventive technical features of the system of carbonisation test apparatus are:
1. There was no device that could measure only wall pressure precisely for the carbonisation process. This device can be used exclusively for measuring the same.
2. There was no lab scale coke oven/ carbonisation test apparatus available to measure the wall pressure during carbonization using metal box.
3. Due to the fact that the aforesaid system usage iron ball/ rod for producing bearing effect without use of any lubricants etc, this can be used in hot condition of muffle furnace.

Although the foregoing description of the present invention has been shown and described with reference to particular embodiments and applications thereof, it has been presented for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the particular embodiments and applications disclosed. It will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art that a number of changes, modifications, variations, or alterations to the invention as described herein may be made, none of which depart from the spirit or scope of the present invention. The particular embodiments and applications were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such changes, modifications, variations, and alterations should therefore be seen as being within the scope of the present invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.

, Claims:We Claim :

1. A portable wall pressure measurement system for coal carbonization comprising:

a coal carbonization enclosure for containing coal for carbonization having an open face thereof;

said open face of the carbonization enclosure cooperatively disposed with respect to a separate adjacent cover thereof touching and facing the coal in said carbonization enclosure such that upon coal carbonization the swelling pressure move away the carbonization enclosure from its initially touching disposition with respect to the separate adjacent cover facing the coal in the carbonization enclosure;

a roller type support at the base providing for relative motion between the coal carbonization enclosure and the inner side face of the separate adjacent cover ;

a rod and load shell arrangement cooperatively disposed to resist the said relative motion between the bottom of the coal carbonization enclosure and the inner side of the separate adjacent cover ,
means to measure the force exerted on said load shell providing for generating equivalent measure of the pressure of wall expansion on carbonization on the exposed adjacent separate cover facing the coal in the carbonization enclosure.

2.The portable wall pressure measurement system for coal carbonization as claimed in claim 1 wherein the carbonization enclosure and the separate adjacent cover define a steel box containing the coal for carbonization which can be heated in the furnace for effecting the test carbonization and wall expansion.

3. The portable wall pressure measurement system for coal carbonization as claimed in claim 1 wherein said carbonization enclosure and said separate adjacent cover thereof touching and facing the coal in said carbonization enclosure are defined by two cubiod boxes of different dimension such that one box will be fitted inside the larger cubiod box.

4. The portable wall pressure measurement system for coal carbonization as claimed in claim 1 wherein said carbonization enclosure and said separate adjacent cover thereof touching and facing the coal in said carbonization enclosure are defined by a larger cubiod having only four closed faces and rest two faces will be opened and a smaller cuboids having closed from five sides (five faces) and rest one face maintained open.

5. A method for carrying out wall pressure measurement during coal carbonization involving the system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 4 comprising :

providing coal for subjecting to carbonization in said carbonization enclosure having an open face thereof;

placing said open face of the carbonization enclosure cooperatively disposed with respect to a separate adjacent cover thereof touching and facing the coal in said carbonization enclosure ;

subjecting to heating and carbonization whereby the swelling pressure move away the carbonization enclosure from its initially touching disposition with respect to the separate adjacent cover facing the coal in the carbonization enclosure via a roller type support at the base providing for relative motion between the coal carbonization enclosure and the inner side face of the separate adjacent cover ;

measuring the force exerted on a cooperative rod and load shell arrangement cooperatively disposed to resist the said relative motion between the bottom of the coal carbonization enclosure and the inner side of the separate adjacent cover ; and finally ,

generating equivalent measure of the pressure of wall expansion on carbonization on the exposed adjacent separate cover facing the coal in the carbonization enclosure based on said measure of the force exerted on the load cell.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5 wherein said amount of force exerted on the load Cell is measured and computed into the pressure based on the surface area of the coal that touches the wall of the separate cover facing the carbonization enclosure.

Dated this the 28th day of March, 2023
Anjan Sen
Of Anjan Sen & Associates
(Applicants’ Agent)
IN/PA-199