Agglomeration properties of coal in a fluidized bed was investigated to obtain a fundamental information for the design of a rapid heating unit of a newly proposed continuous coke oven.
The agglomeration causes troubles in the bed. Agglomeration temperature was defined as the temperature at which a steep temperature change was found in the bed. Effects of properties of raw coals, e.g., softening and solidification properties and fluidity, and operational conditions, e.g., heating rate, and fluidizing gas velocity, on the agglomeration temperature were investigated.
The following results were obtained:
(1) Agglomeration temperature rose with decreasing maximum fluidity of coal, increasing coal size, and increasing gas velocity.
(2) Agglomeration temperature was higher for the coal treated at high heating rate than that for coal treated at low heating rate.
(3) Agglomeration temperature was well correlated with the temperature at which gas (CH4, or H2) production began.