Petrographic Analysis of Cokes Reacted under Simulated Blast Furnace Conditions

Abstract

Two cokes prepared from coals of different ranks were subjected to gasification and annealing under the simulated blast furnace (BF) conditions. The changes in coke petrography were studied using techniques and algorithms developed by Pearson Coal Petrography, Inc.; the coke microstrength was measured using ultramicro indentation. Gasification under the simulated BF conditions consumed both reactive maceral-derived components (RMDCs) and inert maceral-derived components (IMDCs) at the lump periphery; however, the degradation did not penetrate to the core of the coke lump during gasification. The annealing at 2000 °C after gasification further promoted the degradation of IMDCs and RMDCs located at the lump surface; the degradation penetrated toward the center of the coke lump during annealing. The consumption of the coke matrix in the lump core mainly concentrated on the IMDC microtexture, but the RMDC microtexture generally remained. Under the simulated BF gasification conditions, both bireflectance and m...