Claims:We Claim:

1. An Integrated coke dry quenching/cooling system for bench scale carbonization test comprising :
a pilot coke oven/furnace for carbonization of crushed coal sample charged in steel box;
a cooling chamber adapted to be operatively connected to said oven after carbonization of coal sample for cooling of box packed with coke to be transferred to said chamber and directly cooled/dry quenched in the inert gas environment to enhance the box life and reduce the burning loss.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cooling chamber comprising

a rectangular cuboids box which is mounted on wheels and rail arrangement for easy latching with oven/furnace door and shifting said box packed coke from furnace exit to inside of cooling chamber;
Inert gas supplying system with operative connection with cooling chamber for supplying cooling inert gas inside cooling chamber for quenching/cooling of hot coke;
Cooling gas recirculation system;
Recirculation gas cooling system; and
Gas igniter for carbon mono oxide generated during coke quenching/cooling.

3. A system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 or 2 wherein said inert gas supply system comprising preferably separate provision for N2 supply to control and minimize the use of nitrogen for cooling.
4. A system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 3 wherein air tight cooling chamber door has been provided to avoid oxygen ingress from outside and to minimize burning losses.
5. A system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 4 wherein roller type base of the cooling chamber is provided for the easy movement of the metal box and proper distribution of the circulating cooling chamber.

6. A system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 5 wherein said cooling chamber has provision for two inlets at the bottom, one for supplying pressurised N2 gas and one for inlet of circulated gas and having provision for two outlet at top, one for hot N2 gas (re-circulating) and another for CO gas burning; said hot N2 gas (re-circulating) is cooled through copper tube cooling system comprising of an spray from top and then tubes pass through water tank to cool the gas further, so that the cooled gas is again re-circulated involving a pressure pump/ compressor. A provision for makeup N2 gas from cylinder has been provided Thermo couples at the inlet/ outlet.

7. A system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 6 wherein said cooling chamber has provision for makeup N2 gas from cylinder.

8. A system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 7 wherein thermo couples have been provided at the inlet/outlet of the gas to measure the cooling efficiency of the system.

9. A system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 8 wherein regulation knob has been provided at the inlet of the gas.
10. A system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 9 wherein an igniter is provided at the outlet of gas vent to burn CO (carbon monoxide) gas generated during quenching.
11. A method for coke dry quenching/cooling system for bench scale carbonization test using the system as claimed in claims 1-10 comprising
charging crushed coal sample kept into a steel box in a pilot oven/furnace and heating from two sides only upto carbonization temperature of about 1000°C;

opening both doors of the furnace once the coking is completed, and the bringing forward cooling chamber box arrangement forward sliding on wheel and rail up to furnace mouth and latched to the furnace; and pushing hot coal charged box using pusher mounted on another side of the furnace, once hot coal charged box containing hot coke is shifted into the cooling box, the cooling box will be shifted back and attached to the N2 gas line and inlet outlet of gas circulating line for required quenching/cooling of coke.

Dated this the 29th day of March, 2018
Anjan Sen
Of Anjan Sen & Associates
(Applicants Agent)
IN/PA-199

, Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a portable carbonization apparatus/pilot coke ovens integrated with an inert gas cooling chamber for dry quenching of coke. More particularly, the present invention is directed to provide an electro-mechanical integrated dry quenching system for bench scale carbonization testing apparatus with box charging mechanism and gas burning mechanism.

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. For the study of coking behaviour of coal charge, the bench scale /pilot coke oven tests are usually carried out.
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 strong coke from a particular coal or coal blend, there is an optimum ratio of reactive to inert entities in the coal. The porosity and strength of the coke are important parameters and are determined by the coal source and/or method of coking. 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.

To carry out these tests, generally pilot coke oven of 200~300 kg coal charging capacity are used. This requires larger amount of coal charge, and, also, to complete one set of test it takes about 24 hours and involvement of 5 to 6 technical people. Prior to start the test such ovens requires 48 hrs heating cycle. Therefore, for quicker and less expensive tests a smaller, bench scale pilot coke ovens are conventionally used. 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 rate until the centre coke mass temperature reaches about 1000 0C. Gas generated during this process is taken out through a chimney and incinerated. After attaining the desired temperature, the box filled with red hot coke is taken out and quenched with water, and used for further laboratory tests. One such bench scale system with 2 kg charging capacity is common in various laboratories. For smaller size carbonization apparatus, quantity of coke samples are very important and requires high degree of accuracy and minimum manual interference. To counter these limitations, the present inventors have designed an integrated dry quenching system which will replace the existing wet quenching used under lab scale box charged carbonisation apparatus for faster and less costly testing procedure for characterization of various coal samples.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

The basic object of the present invention is thus directed to provide an electro-mechanical lab scale integrated coke dry quenching/cooling system which will be integral part of the carbonisation test apparatus to simulate the coking process with commercial coke ovens.

A further object of the present invention is directed to provide an improved lab scale integrated coke dry quenching/cooling system directed to reduce man power and time requirement for coal carbonisation test.

A still further object of the present invention is directed to provide a lab scale integrated coke dry quenching/cooling system which requires less quantity of coal samples to complete the carbonisation test.

A still further object of the present invention is directed to provide a lab scale integrated coke dry quenching/cooling system which will provide higher degree of accuracy in carbonisation test.

A still further object of the present invention is directed to provide a lab scale integrated coke dry quenching/cooling system facilitating coke cooling in inert environment using minimum inert gases.

A still further object of the present invention is directed to provide a lab scale integrated coke dry quenching/cooling system supported on a suitable structure and foundation for said integrated coke dry cooling system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The basic aspect of the present invention is directed to an Integrated coke dry quenching/cooling system for bench scale carbonization test comprising :
a pilot coke oven/furnace for carbonization of crushed coal sample charged in metal box;
a cooling chamber adapted to be operatively connected to said oven after carbonization of coal sample, for cooling of box packed with coke to be transferred to said chamber and directly cooled/dry quenched in inert gas environment to enhance the box life and reduce the burning loss.

A further aspect of the present invention is directed to said system wherein said cooling chamber comprising

a rectangular cuboids box which is mounted on wheels and rail arrangement for easy latching with oven/furnace door and shifting said box packed coke from furnace exit to inside of cooling chamber;
Inert gas supplying system with operative connection with cooling chamber for supplying cooling inert gas inside cooling chamber for quenching/cooling of hot coke; Cooling gas recirculation system; Recirculation gas cooling system; and Gas igniter for carbon mono oxide generated during coke quenching/cooling.

A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said system wherein said inert gas supply system comprising preferably separate provision for N2 supply to control and minimize the use of nitrogen for cooling.
A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said system wherein air tight cooling chamber door has been provided to avoid oxygen ingress from outside and to minimize burning losses.
A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said system wherein roller type base of the cooling chamber is provided for the easy movement of the metal box and proper distribution of the circulating cooling chamber.
A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said system wherein said cooling chamber has provision for two inlets at the bottom, one for supplying pressurized N2 gas and one for inlet of circulated gas and having provision for two outlet at top, one for hot N2 gas (re-circulating) and another for CO gas burning; said hot N2 gas (re-circulating) is cooled through copper tube cooling system comprising of an spray from top and then tubes pass through water tank to cool the gas further, so that the cooled gas is again re-circulated involving a pressure pump/ compressor.

A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said system wherein said cooling chamber has provision for makeup N2 gas from cylinder.

A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said system wherein thermo couples have been provided at the inlet/outlet of the gas to measure the cooling efficiency of the system.

Another aspect of the present invention is directed to said system wherein regulation knob has been provided at the inlet of the gas.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is directed to said system wherein an igniter is provided at the outlet of gas vent to burn CO (carbon monoxide) gas generated during quenching.
A further aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for coke dry quenching/cooling system for bench scale carbonization test using the system as described above comprising
charging crushed coal sample kept into a metal box in a pilot oven/furnace and heating from two sides only upto carbonization temperature of about 1000°C;

opening both doors of the furnace once the coking is completed, and the bringing forward cooling chamber box arrangement forward sliding on wheel and rail up to furnace mouth and latched to the furnace; and pushing hot coal charged box using pusher mounted on another side of the furnace, once hot coal charged box containing hot coke is shifted into the cooling box, the cooling box will be shifted back and attached to the N2 gas line and inlet outlet of gas circulating line for required quenching/cooling of coke.
The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention are described hereunder in greater details with reference to following accompanying non limiting illustrative drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPNAYING DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 illustrates the schematic front elevation view of the integrated coke dry quenching/cooling system for lab scale carbonization test in accordance with the present invention.
Fig. 2 illustrates the schematic side elevation view of the apparatus of figure 1 in accordance with the present invention.
Fig. 3 illustrates the schematic top elevation view of the apparatus of figure 1 in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION WITH REFERENCE TO ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

In accordance with the stated objective, the present invention discloses an integrated coke dry quenching/cooling system used for lab scale carbonization test which includes a number of features favouring more ease in carbonization test. In this system cooling of box packed with coke is directly cooled in the inert cooling chamber that will enhance the box life and reduce the burning loss. Advantageously, roller type base in the cooling chamber is introduced for the easy movement of the metal box and proper distribution of the circulating cooling chamber. Separate provision is made for N2 supply to control and minimize the use of nitrogen. An igniter is provided at the outlet of gas vent to burn carbon monoxide gas generated during quenching. A separate gas circulating system has been provided for efficient cooling of the gas with minimum joints and resistance.

Accompanying Figures 1-3 illustrates the various structural features of the integrated coke dry quenching/cooling system used for lab scale carbonization test according to present invention in front, side and top views respectively wherein following items are indicated by respective reference number:
1-platform, 2-pusher, 3-motor, 4-pusher head, 5-carbonisation furnace door, 6-hole for thermocouple insertion, 7-furnace heating wall, 8-chimney for gas exit, 9-exit gas burning mechanism, 10-cooling chamber door, 11-roller mechanism hearth, 12-circulation gas line, 13-N2 gas supply line, 14-N2 gas cylinder, 15- rail and wheel arrangement.

In the lab scale dry quenching system according to present invention, one coke dry cooling facility has been introduced along with coke carbonization apparatus. The dry cooling system consists of a rectangular cuboids box which will be mounted on wheels and rail arrangement with sufficient space for coal charge box keeping and cooling. Under this arrangement, once the coking is completed, both doors of the furnace will be opened and the cooling tower box arrangement will be brought forward upto furnace mouth and latched to the furnace and hot coal charged box will be pushed using pusher mounted on another side of the furnace, once hot coal charged box containing hot coke is shifted into the cooling box, the cooling box will be shifted back and attached to the N2 gas line and inlet/outlet of gas circulating line. Air tight Cooling chamber door has been provided to avoid oxygen ingress from outside and to minimize burning losses. From the bottom of the cooling tower two inlets provision one for supplying pressurised N2 gas and one for inlet of circulated gas has been introduced. From the top of the cooling tower a provision for the two outlet, one for hot N2 gas (re-circulating) and anther for CO gas burning has been introduced. This hot N2 gas (re-circulating) will be cooled through copper tube cooling system which will consist of an spray from top and then tubes will be passed through water tank to cool the gas further. This cooled gas will again be re-circulated using a pressure pump/ compressor. A provision for makeup N2 gas from cylinder has been provided. Thermo couples are provided at the inlet/ outlet to measure the cooling efficiency of the system.

In an exemplary embodiment, the coal is kept into a steel box and be heated from two sides only in a pilot oven/furnace as shown in Fig.1. This system is helpful in simulating commercial oven heating.

The whole system will be mounted on platform and, it will consist of electrically operated lifting and moving systems. The furnace will be mounted on the top of the platform. The coal charged box will be lifted on the platform with the help of either crane or other suitable mechanical arrangement as illustrated in the figure 1. After coking, both the door will be opened and hot box will be pushed with the help of pusher and it will be fed in the quenching tower. The dry cooling system will consist of a rectangular cuboids box which will be mounted on wheels and rail arrangement with sufficient space for coal charge box keeping and cooling.

Once the coking is completed, both doors of the furnace will be opened and the cooling tower box arrangement will be brought forward up to furnace mouth and latched to the furnace and hot coal charged box will be pushed using pusher mounted on another side of the furnace, once hot coal charged box containing hot coke is shifted into the cooling box, the cooling box will be shifted back and attached to the N2 gas line and inlet outlet of gas circulating line.
According to another aspect, cooling chamber door will be kept air tight so that once it is closed it should not ingress oxygen from outside to minimize burning losses. From the bottom of the cooling tower, two inlets provision are made, one for supplying pressurised N2 gas and one for inlet of circulated gas to be provided.
Also from the top of the cooling tower, an outlet for hot re-circulating gas has been provided. Another outlet for the venting out generated carbon monoxide has been provided and this outlet is connected with a electrically heated gas igniter to burn gas generated by coke burning during cooling.
According to a further aspect, this hot re-circulating gas is cooled through copper tube cooling system which will consist of a spray from top and then tubes will be passed through water tank to cool the gas further. This cooled gas will again be re-circulated using a pressure pump/ compressor.
Also provision for makeup N2 gas from cylinder has been provided additionally. Thermo couples have been provided at the inlet/outlet of the gas, to measure the cooling efficiency of the system. A regulation knob has been provided at the inlet of the gas to regulate gas flow.

The salient inventive features of the integrated coke dry quenching/cooling system used for lab scale carbonization test are:
1. lab scale coke oven/ carbonisation test apparatus using the concept dry cooling of coke packed into the metal box made available for the first time.
2. Coke cooling box mounted on the rail and wheel arrangement for ease in latching up of the cooling box with the coking furnace in hot condition.
3. As the coke charged box will be pushed in to the hot condition , for easy movement of the box into cooling box we have provided a rod based roller system which will be without wearing to cope up to the hot condition .
4. Separate provision for N2 supply is provided to control and minimize the use of nitrogen.
5. An igniter is provided at the outlet of gas vent to burn CO gas generated during quenching.
6. Gas circulating system has been provided separately; from it the inert gas line and vent is provided for efficient cooling of the gas with minimum joints and resistance.
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.