Briquetting of coke by direct heating

Claim 1

THE METHOD OF MAKING METALLURGICAL COKE WHICH COMPRISES PASSING A STREA, OF HEATING GAS AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT 1,000*C. AND ABOUT 1,250*C. THROUGH A TRAVELLING STREAM OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNHEATED CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL BRIQUETTES CONTAINING LESS THAN TWENTY PERCENT OF VOLATILE SUBSTANCE TO THEREBY COKE SAID BRIQUETTES, SAID GAS FLOWING AROUND AND BETWEEN THE BRIQUETTES IN DIRECT CONTACT THEREWITH REGULATING THE RAATE OF TRAVEL OF SAID BRIQUETTE STREAM AND THE RATE OF FLOW OF SAID GAS STREAM TO DIRECTLY HEAT THE BRIQUETTES FROM ABOUT ORDINARY TEMPERATURE AT AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE RISE BETWEEN ABOUT 5*C. AND 15*C. PER MINUTE TO ABOUT 950*C. AND REDUCE THE MEAN TEMPERATURE OF SAID GAS STREAM AFTER ITS PASSAGE THROUGH SAID BRIQUETTE STREAM TO BETWEEN ABOUT 750* C. AND ABOUT 850*C., THEN HEATING WITH THE SAID REDUCED TEMPERATURE GASEOUS STREAM A MASS OF COAL OF A SIZE SUBSTANTIALLY SMALLER THAN SAID BRIQUETTES TO THEREBY REMOVE ONLY A PART OF ITS VOLATILE CONTENT AND TO CONVERT IT INTO SEMI-COKE, REGULATING THE RATE OF FLOW OF SAID REDUCED TEMPERATURE GASEOUS STREAM TO DEVOLATILIZE THE SAID COAL AT A RATE BY WEIGHT SUBSTANTIALLY EQUIVALENT TO THE RATE OF COKING OF SAID BRIQUETTES BY THE FIRST-NAMED HEATING GAS STREAM, SHAPING THE SEMI-COKE THUS OBTAINED INTO BRIQUETTES CONTAINING LESS THAN 50% OF VOLATILE MATERIALS AND SUPPLYING THE SAID BRIQUETTES THUS FORMED AND WITHOUT PRELIMINARY HEATING TO THE SAID STREAM OF BRIQUETTES FOR COKING BY SAID FIRST-NAMED HEATING GAS STREAM.

Claim 2

A METHOD OF PRODUCING METALLURGICAL COKE WHICH COMPRISES HEAT-TREATING A MASS OF FINELY DIVIDED CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL TO SEMI-COKE THE SAME, MIXING THE SEMI-COKED MATERIAL WITH A FINELY-DIVIDED SWELLING TYPE COAL AND A BINDER, SHAPING THE MIXTURE INTO RELATIVELY UNIFORM SIZE AGGLOMERATES CONTAINING LESS THAN ABOUT 20% OF VOLATILE SUBSTANCE, ADVANCING SAID AGGLOMERATES IN AN INITIALLY SUBSTANTIALLY UNHEATED STATE IN A CONTINUOUS STREAM FLOWING IN ONE DIRECTION, BRINGING THE AGGLOMERATES IN THE FLOWING STREAM INTO DIRECT CONTACT WITH A HIGHLY-HEATED PREDOMINANTLY GASEOUS HEATING MEDIUM, THE RATE OF FLOW OF SAID STREAM OF AGGLOMERATES AND THE TEMPERATURE OF THE HEATING MEDIUM IN DIRECT CONTACT THEREWITH BEING SUCH THAT THEY ARE HEATED AT AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE RISE OF ABOUT 5*C. TO 15*C. PER MINUTE TO INCREASE THE TEMPERATURE OF THE AGGLOMERATES TO ABOUT 950*C. TO CONVERT THEM INTO BRIQUETTES OF METALLURGICAL COKE, AND COOLING SAID BRIQUETTES.