Process of making formcoke from non-caking or weakly caking coals

Claim 1

In the process of making formcoke from a normally non-caking or weakly caking coal wherein a mixture of carbonaceous solids and carbonaceous binder derived from said coal is tumbled under adiabatic conditions at an elevated temperature in a rotary kiln adapted to rotate about its longitudinal axis, to thereby form agglomerates having a predetermined size which are thereafter calcined to produce formcoke suitable for use in a blast furnace, the improvement comprising: a. subjecting said coal, in a finely divided state, to solvent extraction in a solvent extraction zone in the presence of hydrogen under extraction conditions to thereby produce a product consisting of an effluent gas and an effluent slurry; b. subjecting said effluent slurry to distillation in a solvent recovery zone, to thereby recover at least part of the solvent as distillate; c. blending the undistilled remainder of said effluent slurry and any feed coal and any pitch that may be added, with sufficient hot char to maintain the blended product at a forming temperature between about 385° and 475° C. in said rotary kiln; d. tumbling said blended product in said rotary kiln until agglomerates of predetermined size are formed; and thereafter e. heating said agglomerates in a calcining zone until formcoke is produced which is suitable for use in a blast furnace.