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Advantages of Low
Volatile Coals for
PCI
Report No: 970005
Date: 2 August, 1997
Revision: May, 2000

Prepared for: Jellinbah Resources

Attention: Mr R . Stainlay

By: Philip A. Bennett

Principal Cons ultant
Table of Contents

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

Pulverised Coal Injection (PCI) Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Issues at High Injection Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Impact of Injected Coal Quality on Blast Furnace Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Replacement Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Coal Ash Chemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Combustibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Soot Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Char Reactivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Coke Degradation in the Raceway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Summary of the Impact of Coal Quality on Blast Fur nace Operation . . . . . . . . 13

Impact of Coal Quality on Mill Performance and Handability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Mill Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Mill Drying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Mill Power Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Product Fineness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Blockages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Economic Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

This report was prepared by Energy Tactics -trading name of CoalTech Pty Ltd. . Energy Tactics or any of its sub-
contrac tors do no t: a) ma ke an y warr anty, exp ressed or im plied, with respect to th e accu racy, co mpleten ess, or usefu lness
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 Executive Summary
Pulverised coal injection has become a standard practice in most major steelworks with
injection rates varying from 100 to over 200 kg/tHM. The injection rates and number of
installations are expected to continue to increase resulting in a coal demand for injection
reaching around 55 million tonnes per year by the year 2005.
A major factor limiting PCI r ates, while maintaining stable blast furnace operation, is the
permeability of the coke bed surrounding the raceway. As injection rates increase the level
of unburnt char entering the raceway and the blast momentum both incr ease, leading to:
C changes in the size of the raceway,
C mechanical degradation of coke in the raceway,
C reduction of permeability of the coke surrounding the raceway, and
C changes in temperature distribution in the raceway.
All of these influence raceway stability and the distribution of gas flow through the lower
sections of the blast furnace, both of which impact on furnace stability and therefore blast
furnace productivity.
A general overview was developed showing how the volatile content of the injected coals
can impact on char formation, blast momentum and generation of coke fines in the raceway.
Although, this overview was based on the idealised properties of coal and individual coals
will vary from these properties. This overview does however highlight two important
aspects of how coal properties can influence blast furnace performance. These are:
C Coke replacement ratio increases with the dry ash free carbon content of the coal
up to approximately dry ash free carbon content of 91% where the replacement
ratio seems to level out.
C The blast momentum decreases with increasing carbon content of the coal when the
dry ash free carbon content is greater than 85%; the blast momentum directly
influences the raceway depth and coke degradation within the raceway.
At high injection rates and injecting a coal with a carbon content less tha n 85% daf, any
fluctuations in the coal rate delivered to a tuyere will result in fluctuations in the raceway
depth and the generation of coke fines. Fluctuations in raceway depth and the generation
rate of fines will reduce blast furnace stability and therefore pr oductivity. By choosing a
coal with a dry ash free carbon content greater than sa y 88%, the impact of variations in
coal feed rate on blast furnace stability will be reduced and furnace productivity will be
maintained.
The main economic benefit of coal injection is the replacement of high cost coking coals.
The coke replacement ratio of a coal can be shown to be dependent on the energy or carbon
content of that coal, with low volatile coals having the highest coke replacement ratio. This
is shown by steelworks tending to buy PCI coals based on cents per percent carbon which is
similar the purchase of iron at cents per % iron. At high injection rates and using low
volatile coals for injection the saving in total coal costs will be about US$8 per tonne of hot
metal produced.
Low volatile coals also generally are softer coa ls with Hardgrove Grindability Index around
80. As these coals are ver y easy to mill there will be sa vings fr om reduced mill power
consumption for a given coal throughput.
Low volatile coal also allows the mill capacity to be increased up to 40% above that of a 50
Hardgrove Grindability Index coal, thus allowing the steelworks to increase injection rates
without further capital expenditure in further milling capacity.
 Pulverised Coal Injection (PCI) Technology
The past improvements in productivity, coke consumption and fuel use within the
steelworks have been hastened due to the steel industry being a very competitive global
industry. It can be expected that further improvements in these areas of operations to reduce
costs will continue, but the technological change within the integrated steelworks that is
having the largest impact on the costs is that of pulverised coal injection (PCI). It is for this
reason that PCI has become a standard practice in most major steelworks with injection
rates varying from 100 to over 200 kg/tHM. The injection rates and number of installations
are expected to continue to increase.
The use of PCI assists blast furnace operators through benefits such as:
C lower costs through the substitution for higher cost coking coals and energy
savings;
C marked increase in productivity;
C extended coke oven life due to decreased coke demand, and;
C consistent quality of hot metal with a relatively low silicon content.
Most injection systems use coal ground to appr oximately 75% minus 75µm, as coal milling
systems for this size are commonly used in power plants for electricity generation. A
granulated coal injection system has been developed by British Steel, though this system has
not been widely accepted by the international steel community. The main elements of a PCI
system are:
C a mill to pulverise the coal to around 70% minus 75µm. The mill is normally
swept with hot gases (low in oxygen) to dry and transport the coal to the storage
bins;
C a distribution system which meters and transports the coal from the storage hoppers
to the blast furnace and evenly distributes the coal to the 15 to 38 tuyeres,
depending on the size of the furnace.
Coal is injected directly into the raceway region through the tuyeres with the hot blast. The
hot blast can be enriched with oxygen to improve combustion efficiency or furnace stability.
Uniform distribution of the coal to each tuyere is important for effective operation of the
furnace and has been addressed by all suppliers of PCI systems.
The coal absor bs hea t, devolatilizes, the volatile matter combusts in approximate 10 ms
before exiting the blow pipe and the tuyere. The coal char starts to combust as soon as it
leaves the tuyere. At low injection rates the distance from the point of injection to the exit
of the tuyere is great enough to ensure almost complete combustion of the coal. At high
injection rates the combustion of the coal is not completed and some unburnt char enters the
coke bed. Some operators have decreased the distance from the injection point to the end of
the tuyere to reduce the pressure drop through the tuyere or to reduce ash build-up on the
inside surface of the tuyere (Yoshida and others, 1991). Figure 1 shows the important zones
around the tuyere.
The influence of the design of the lance on combustion of the coal has been investigated by
Thyssen Stahl (Joksch and others, 1993) and Japanese researchers (Mati and others, 1996).
They found that coaxial lances improve the mixing of coal and oxygen leading to better
combustion. Other means of enhancing combustion efficiency such as fuel blending,

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COALTECH PTY LTD 24 May, 2000 Page 1
 Figure 1 Schematic representation of tuyere level coke
structure
applying external electric fields, finer grinding of the coal and chemical additives have been
investigated by Babich and others (1996). Flierman and others (1996) argued that a simple
single lance is sufficient as there is little benefit to be gained by more advanced designs.
Current practice in European and Japanese steelworks has shown that lance designs
improve combustion performance of the coal can contribute significantly to the ability to
achieve stable operations at high injection rates (NKK 1999)

Issues at High Injection Rates

Pulverised coal injected at the tuyeres can fulfil two functions of the coke charge. These are
to provide a source of heat and, at high injection rates, assist in the reduction of iron ore.
PCI cannot provide a permeable bed in the furnace through which molten iron can descend
and gases ca n ascend.
As coal injection rates increase coke/ore ratios decrease leading to thinner coke layers which
impact on furnace permeability. The raceway adiabatic flame temperature (RAFT)
decreases due to the cooling effect of the injected coal and oxygen needs to be added to
ensure that the RAFT does not go below about 2200 °C. Also, the residence time of the
coke increases which impacts on the coke strength and size. All of these changes in blast
furnace operation can impact on furnace stability leading to a reduction in furnace
productivity. Furnace stability is determined by the:
C variation in hot metal temperature and silicon content,
C uniform burden descent,
C tapping behaviour,
C cooling losses and
C dust content of top gas.
Therefore operators of steelworks need to pay greater attention to improvement in coke
quality, increase in coke size and greater oxygen enrichment, which will help to reduce
furnace stability problems and therefore ensure furnace productivity is not reduced with
high injection rates.
A major factor limiting PCI r ates, that can be achieved with stable operation, is the

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permeability of the coke bed surrounding the raceway. As injection rates increase the level
of unburnt char entering the raceway and the blast momentum both incr ease, leading to:
C changes in the size of the raceway,
C mechanical degradation of coke in the raceway,
C reduction of permeability of the coke surrounding the raceway, and
C changes in temperature distribution in the raceway.
All of these influence raceway stability and the distribution of gas flow through the lower
sections of the blast furnace, both of which impact on furnace stability. The first two, size
of the raceway and degradation of coke, are depended on the blast momentum which is
determined by the amount of combustion of the injected coal, level of oxygen enrichment,
blast temperature and tuyere diameter.
At ultra-high injection rates it has been estimated (Lüngen and Poos, 1996) that for an
injection rate of 250 kg/tHM (coke rate of around 250 kg/tHM) the amount of coke gasified
at the tuyeres can be as low as 20% of the total coke. The remaining coke is gasified or
dissolved by reactions occurring in the shaft and the bosh areas i.e., before the coke reaches
the tuyeres. The residence time of the coke, at high PCI rates, is 3 to 5 times that of an all
coke operation leading to a size reduction of 40% of the original charged coke. The
increased residence time of the coke impacts on the coke’s ability to cope with the harsh
environment in the raceway, this together with the decrease in coke size will effect the
amount of coke fines and therefore coke bed permeability.
Yamaoka & Kamei (1992) estimated that the maximum injection rate of about 375 kg/tHM,
and a coke rate of 180 kg/tHM, could be possible with 60% oxygen in the blast but this
would require an ore/coke ratio of 9.0, exceeding the currently achievable ore/coke ratio fed
to operating blast furnaces. They predicted that the maximum PCI rate, without exceeding
the achievable ore/coke ratio, would be 250kg/tHM. As seen in Figure 2, no blast furnaces
has operated for extended periods above about 215 kg/tHM which has been attained at
British Steels's Scunthorpe works (Maldonado and others, 1993) and Hoogovens' IJmuiden

Figure 2 Comparison of PCI rate and corrected coke rate for Japanese and European
blast furnaces (Holcombe & Coin, 1993)

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works (Koen and others, 1993). Peters (1994) summarised the maximum average PCI rates
achieved for a period of one month and these are given in Table 1. The coke rate for these
operations is about 300kg/tHM giving total fuel rates of between 481 and 496 kg/tHM.
The Chinese achieved in 1966 injection rates of up to 360 kg/tHM but with coke rates of
around 300 kg/tHM giving a total fuel rate of over 620 kg/tHM (Liu, 1994). The most
recent highest avera ge monthly PCI rates given in the literature are:
C 201 kg/tHM at Kobe’s Kakogawa No 1 blast furnace during 1994 (Kadoguchi and
others, 1996).
C 218 kg/tHM at NKK’s Fukuyama No. 4 blast furnace in October 1994 (Maki and
others, 1996).
• 266 kg/tHM at NKK’s Fukuyama No. 3 blast furnace in July 1998 (NKK, 1999).
The fuel rate (large coke, small coke and coal), for any given blast furnace or steelworks,
seems to decrease for increasing PCI rates up to 120 kg/tHM, remain mostly constant for
PCI rates from 120 to 160 kg/tHM and then rises slightly for rates from 160 to 200
kg/tHM.
At PCI rates above 180 kg/tHM Koen and others (1993) feels that there is need for further
investigations as intera ctions within the blast furnace are more complicated than just the
replacement of coke with coal. Some European works are currently investigating ultr a high
injection rates of above 200 kg/tHM to determine the feasibility of such operations and
whether or not it is necessary to revamp aging coke ovens(Flierman and others, 1996). The
author of this report knows of one European steelworks that has recently reduced PCI rate
down to about 140 kg/tHM to improve furnace permeability and therefore increase
productivity.

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 Table 1: High Pulverised Coal Injection Rates (Peters,1994)

Works Thyssen Sollac Hoogovens British Steel Kobe Steel

Stahl AG Group BV

Blast Furnace Schwe lgern Dunkerque IJmuiden 6 Scunthrope Kobe 3

1 4 Queen
Vict oria

Hearth Diameter m 13.6 14.0 11.0 9.0 9.5

Production tHM /d 9102 8726 5850 3522 3729

Coke
kg/tHM 297 287 272 294 308
Consumption

Coal
kg/tHM 197 194 212 202 188
Consumption

Total Fuel
kg/tHM 494 481 484 496 496
Consumption

Sinter % 61 81 49 75 86.5

Pellets % 27.6 - 49 - 0.5

Lump O res % 11.4 19 2 25 13

Slag Volume kg/tHM 248 313 236 266 270

Volatile Matter % 20 10 35 22 35

Blast
°C 1230 1189 1183 1125 1185
Temp erature

Oxygen
Enrichment of % 3.3 2.2 5.6 8 3.1
Blast

Top Gas
°C 160 187 154 122 184
Temp erature

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 Impact of Injected Coal Quality on Blast Furnace
Operation
Replacement Ratio
The choice of coal for use as the injected fuel does impact significantly on the cost benefit
that can be obtained by pulverised coal injection. The primary factor that influences the
cost benefit of PCI is the amount of coke that can be replaced by the injected coal.
The replacement ratio normally quoted in the literature is the metallurgical corrected coke
rate where the coke ra te is corrected for furnace parameters, such as hot metal silicon
content, blast temperature, etc., to give coke rates under standard conditions. The
theoretical coke replacement ratio is between 0.8 and 1.0 kg coke/kg coal depending on the
energy and carbon content of the coal. Actual replacement ratios achieved in blast furnace
operations with low to moderate injection rates tend to be slightly higher due to reduced
heat losses and some increase in reduction efficiency, at higher rates over 150 kg/tHm heat
losses can increase which may lead to replacement ratios that are lower than theoretical.
Hutny and others (1990) have reported a general increase in replacement ratio with the C/H
ratio of coal. Their results have be summarised as given in Table 2. They also derived a

Table 2 : Changes in RAFT an d Replaceme nt Ratio with co al types (Hunty and others, 199 0).

Coal Type C/H C/O kg injected per Rep lacem ent Rat io
10 0 K cha nge in
RAFT

Anthracite 43.7 44.2 122 0.99

LV Bituminous 18.9 29.5 100 0.90

MV Bituminous 13.7 12.7 86 0.86

HV Bituminous 15.6 5.5 67 0.72

Sub-bituminous 16.0 3.6 65 0.54

Lignite 15.0 2.8 58 0.50

relationship between the calorific value of the injected coal and replacement ratio which is
given in Figure 3. More recently Brouwer and Toxopeus (1991) in summarising the PCI
operating results at Hoogovens IJmuiden blast furnace derived a relationship between
replacement ra tio and the properties of the coal injected. This relationship, based on the
dry carbon, hydrogen and ash content , is given below:

(1)

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The above relationship reinforces the conclusion reached by Hutny and others that
replacement ra tio increases with the rank of the coal. Though the positive affect of ash on
replacement ratio is not what is expected. The expected increase in replacement ratio with
rank of the coal is shown in Figure 3, in this figure the data from several sources has been
plotted against the dry mineral free (dmmf) carbon content which is a measur e of the rank
of a coal.
As shown by Hur and others (1998) the replacement ratio is not only related to the

Figure 3 Variation in replacement ratio with the rank of the injected coals showing
correlations based on actual (*) and theoretical (**).

properties of the injected coal but also can be influence by other factors such as oxygen
enrichment. They showed that with oxygen enrichment the replacement ratio chnaged to
0.99 from 0.88.
Coal Ash Chemistry
Ash chemistry is important for PCI coals in terms of furnace operation and iron product
quality. Generally the same considerations apply as for coke ash chemistry.
Snyder and Fletcher (1991), based on experience at Armco Steel, suggested that 5.5
kilograms of extr a carbon must be injected to compensate for every kilogram of extra ash,
and it can be deduced that this would correspond to a reduction in replacement ratio by
approximately 0.05 per 1% absolute increase in ash. These authors acknowledged that this
carbon penalty was considerably higher than most would expect. Experience at British
Steel (Maldonado & others, 1985) on the other hand suggested that there was no carbon
penalty for extra ash, and allowing that this extra ash is inert there would therefore be a
reduction in replacement ratio of approximately 0.01.
High levels of sodium or potassium can cause coke degradation, while sulphur or
phosphorus impact on hot metal quality. Sulphur can be removed from the iron in the blast
furnace by the introduction of extra limestone flux, while phosphorus is removed in
processing of the product subsequent to the blast furnace, but in either case there are costs
involved. Absolute limits are not normally specified on the concentrations of these elements
in the ash, and a blast furnace operator would normally take into consideration the
combined quantities in coal and coke.
A low ash fusion temperature is favoura ble for slag fusibility, however the majority of
operators have favoured high ash fusion temperatures to avoid deposition of the ash in the
blowpipe or tuyere. There appears to be a trend for coal injection lances to be positioned

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closer to the tuyere than previously, thus reducing the extent of impingement of ash in the
blowpipe; it may be expected that in future this trend will allow a relaxation of the
requirement for high ash fusion temperature.
Some Asian PCI coal users favour coals with low SiO 2 content in the ash. The reasons for
this are not clear, however it may be part of the blast furnace operating strategy of limiting
the silicon content of the iron product. An additional reason may be related to slag
viscosity, and the increased flux requirements of high silica ash.
Provided that a coal does not possess any outstanding faults, many steel producers will
evaluate it on the basis of dollars per unit energy or alternatively Cents per carbon unit..

Combustibility
The role of PCI has traditionally been viewed as providing heat to drive the blast furnace
reactions. At moderate PCI rates, up to around 160 kg/tHM, there is sufficient oxygen in
the blast to consume all of the coal in the initial combustion reaction pr oducing carbon
dioxide and water. However, the coke in and around the raceway competes for the oxygen
and hence there may be coal remaining after the oxygen is consumed. The dust formed by
this unburnt char may lower the permeability of the coke bed to the movement of gases and
liquids, or the entrained dust containing unused carbon may exit the BF with the top gas.
This perceived need for rapid combustion of the injected coal has prompted blast furnace
operators in the past to pulverise the coal very fine and to choose highly reactive coals. It
is now recognised that complete combustion of the coal is not possible at high PCI rates,
and some operators are introducing practices which are counter-productive to good
burnout, such as the use of coarser pulverised coal (Kuwano, 1993) or of GCI (Jukes,
1993) to reduce milling costs and improve handling behaviour.
Based on the widely accepted assumption that the coal devolatilises in the tuyere then the
amount of char that enters the raceway depends on the amount of volatiles that are released
at the high temperature within the blow pipe. Several researchers have examined the
volatile release at high temperatures with most finding that the amount of volatiles released
depends on the temperature and the rank of the coal and var ies between 1.2 to 2.0 times the
volatile content as measured by the standard ASTM method. The ratio between the actual
volatiles and the ASTM volatiles is usually termed the “Q factor”.
Figure 4 summarizes the findings of some researchers relating the “Q factor ” to the rank of
the coal. Researchers evaluating the characteristics of low volatile coals (T romp and
others, 1992 & Wall and others, 1987) found the “Q factor” increased significantly with
the rank of the coal. This sharp increase in the “Q factor” with higher rank coals may be
due to some combustion of the char occurring in the favourable conditions of entrained
flow test furnances.
Standard correlations (Van Krevelen, 1961 & Callcott and others, 1990) relating specific
energy and volatile matter to carbon content of the coal were used in the construction of
Figure 4 and the best curves fitted to the data of the respective authors are given.
Soot Formation
The possibility of soot formation from injected coal was studied by de Lassat and others
(1990) through the recovery of pyrolysis products and separation of the char, mixed tars

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 Figure 4 Variation of the “Q factor” with the rank of the injected coal

and soot. T hey showed that the quantity of soot forming media produced at 1000 and
1200°C increases with the amount of volatile components up to a level of about 40%.
Although, it is expected that the soot yield will decrease for coals with a volatile content
greater than 30% daf, as a greater fraction of the volatile components released from the
coal are gases for these coals.
Based on the estimated volatile yield as determined by Tromp and others (1992) and
assuming 30% of the volatiles form soot then an estimate can be made of the char and soot
that enters the raceway. Figure 5 indicates how this cha r and soot will vary with the rank
of the coal.
Char Reactivity
Char reactivity does incr ease with the volatile content of the coal, however at the elevated
temperatures pertaining to char combustion in the raceway, chemical reactivity has very
little significance since combustion rates are limited by the rate of diffusion of oxygen to
the particle, and bur nout times depend more on particle size and oxygen concentration
(Field and others,1967). The particle size depends on the swelling and/or fracturing
behaviour of the char particles. This is supported by the work of Bachhofen and others
(1998) who found that the volatile matter of the injected coal had no influence on the extent
of coal conversion within the furnace.
Stanmore(1992) evaluated the impact of coal properties on the swelling characteristics and,
for the coals tested, he found that the particle diameter (dp ) could be related to the burnout
(u), the initial particle diameter (do ) and a swelling factor (") by the following equation:

(2)

Stanmore found that " increased linearly with increasing volatile content of the coal.

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 Figure 5 Variation of char, volatiles and soot produced in the tuyere with the rank
of the injected coal.

Using this relationship it can be shown that there is no significant swelling of the coal
particle in the early stages of combustion.

Therefore, since char combustion is diffusion controlled with a shor t residence time and
reduced oxygen level in the raceway, there will be no great differences in the rate of char
combustion for different coals. Steeghs and others (1994) using a coke filled test furnace
found for a low volatile coal approximately 10% less coal is combusted near the tuyere
than for a high volatile coal at the same injection rates. This agrees with the predicted char
and soot yields given in Figure 5.

Coke Degradation in the Raceway

At increasing injection rates there has been observed an increase in carry over of fines
from the top of the bla st furnace as well as increasing physical raceway depth and
instability, Willmers & Poultney (1992). This was considered to be partly due to the
addition of unburnt coal to the existing coke fines leading to lower permeability in the
deadman zone resulting in reduced coke bed stability. However, these effects increased
with increasing volatile content and finer size range of the injected coal. The explanation
given was that as the combustibility of the coal was increased (increased volatile content
and/or finer grind) there was greater combustion within the tuyere giving a greater volume
of gases being injected into the raceway, ie greater blast momentum.
This greater blast momentum caused the increase in raceway depth and increased the
degradation of raceway coke which led to increased coke fines carry-over. Peters and
others (1991) reviewed the findings of several researchers examining the influence of the
blast energy on the formation of the raceway, all researchers found a linear relationship
between blast energy and the depth of the raceway. The increase in deadman instability
and coke degradation due to increased blast momentum has also been modelled by Aoki
and others (1993) and Tamura and others (1991). These models show that the depth of the

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raceway increases linearly with blast velocity for a constant coke strength, which is
supported by the results of Negro and others (1996) when they examined the raceway
depth of three blast furnaces.
Using the data of Negro and others the raceway depth (m) can be estimated from the blast
velocity (m/s) by the following equation:

(3)

Tamura and others cited their earlier work where, in a two-dimensional cold test rig, the
amount of coke fines increased sharply with raceway depth, see Figure 6. They postulated
that the sharp incr ease in -1mm fine coke was due to the increase in the amount and the
velocity of the coke circulating in the raceway, which in turn increases the frequency at
which coke particles collide and the energy involved in those collisions.

Figure 6 Effect of raceway depth on fine coke deposit near core surface,
(Tamura and others, 1991)

Blast velocity, and therefore ra ceway depth, depends on the tuyere diameter, blast volume,
blast temperature, blast pressure and the amount of the coal combusted within the tuyere.
The fraction of coal combusted within the raceway will be the volatile content of the coal,
after allowing for any soot formation, as the residence time within the raceway is
insufficient for any significant char or soot combustion to occur. The heat liberated from
the combustion of the volatiles can be approximated using the correlations developed by

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 Figure 7: Variation of blast velocity with the rank of the injected coal
Unsworth and others (1991). Using the previous relationships between char, volatile and
soot yields and the rank of the coal it is possible to estimate how the blast velocity may
change with the rank of the coal as shown in Figure 7 for several coal injection rates. The
curves in this figure were determined for constant blast air rate, oxygen enrichment and
blast temperature.
The maximums in blast velocity at carbon content of around 83 % dmmf is due to higher
temperatures being obtained with in the tuyere due to the combustion of the volatiles. For
coals of higher rank than 83 % dmmf carbon, the volatile matter release is lower and for
lower rank coals there is a gr eater amount of moisture associated with the coal and the
energy content of the volatiles is lower.
An estimate can also be made on how the amount of coke fines may change due to the rank
of the injected coal. This estimate was determined based on the data in Figure 7 to
determine blast velocity, by using equa tion (3) to determine raceway depth, and the fitted
curve to the data of Tamura and others (1991) to estimate the amount of coke fines.
Figure 8 indicates how the rank of the injected coal may impact on the generation of coke
fines.

Figure 8: Variation of coke fines with the rank of the coal injected

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COALTECH PTY LTD 24 May, 2000 Page 12
Summary of the Impact of Coal Quality on Blast Furnace Operation
A general overview of how coals of various rank can impact on the operation of a blast
furnace has been given above. The performance of any individual coal depend on the
properties of that coa l. These properties can differ from the idealised properties used in the
generation of Figures 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8.
This general overview does however highlight two important aspects of how coal
properties can influence blast furnace per formance, these are:
C Coke replacement ratio increases with the dry ash free carbon content of the coal
up to approximately 91% carbon where the replacement ratio seems to level out.
C The blast momentum decreases with the carbon content of the coal when the
carbon content is greater than 83% dmmf; the blast momentum influences the
raceway depth and coke degradation within the raceway.
As seen by Figures 7 and 8 at high injection rates and injecting a coal with a carbon
content less than 83% dmmf, any fluctuations in the coal rate delivered to a tuyere will
result in fluctuations in the raceway depth and the generation of coke fines. Fluctuations in
raceway depth and the generation rate of fines will reduce blast furnace stability and
therefore productivity. Due to the design of a ll coal injection systems, it is to be expected
that there will be significant variations in coal feed rate at each tuyere.
By choosing a coal with a dry ash free carbon content greater than say 88%, the impact of
variations in coal feed rate on blast furnace stability will be reduced and furnace
productivity will be maintained.

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 Impact of Coal Quality on Mill Performance and
Handability
Mill Capacity
The performance characteristics of a particular mill are determined by a series of capacity
correction curves which are normally supplied by the mill manufacturer. The maximum
throughput of a mill can be determined by multiplying the mill capacity by the mill
correction factors. Typical vertical spindle mill capacity correction curves for Hardgrove
Grindability Index (HGI) and product fineness are given in Figures 9 and 10.

Figure 9: Mill capacity correction factor for Hardgrove Grindability Index

Figure 10: Mill capacity correction factor for fineness

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Mill Drying
The processes which occur in pulverising mills are drying and size reduction of the coal.
Drying is necessary in order to obtain a pr oduct which will be tra nsporta ble through the
pneumatic handling systems and in the storage bins. Typically, the coal is dried to produce
a moisture level which is somewhat less than the air dried moistur e measured as part of the
proximate analysis. According to Brouwer & others (1991) the moisture content of coal
leaving the mill is two thirds the air dried moisture level, so that the quantity of moisture
which must be removed in the mill is given by :
Moisture removed in mill = (as received moisture) - b(air dried moisture)
High moisture coals require a higher inlet air temperature and/or a higher air flow. These
requirements can reduce the mill capacity or cause mill fires.
The throughput of the mill may be limited because, as the temperature of the inlet air is
increased, the capacity of the inlet air fan is reduced. In some other cases there may not be
sufficient heating capacity to produce the required temperature. Mill fires can occur with
high moisture coals as a result of the higher mill inlet temperatures and also because these
coals tend to be more pr one to spontaneous combustion.
Mill Power Consumption
For a given coal mill power consumption varies with the fineness of the coal, so there is
scope for reducing the power consumption if the mill motor is being overloaded by
reducing fineness. T his may be necessary when PCI rates are increased above the level for
which the mills were designed, or when using difficult coals.
Mill power consumption depends on the mill design, mill settings, the required fineness and
the properties of the coal. However, mill power can be estimated from the Har dgrove
Grindability Index of the coal , as shown in Figure 11. This figure is based on pilot scale
vertical spindle mill test results when the mill was set at the optimum settings to achieve
70% minus 75µm product.

Figure 11: Variation in mill specific power with Hardgrove Grindability Index
(Bennett & Holcombe, 1994)

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COALTECH PTY LTD 24 May, 2000 Page 15
Product Fineness
Size reduction is normally required in order to maximise the bur nout of the coal in the
raceway area. A typical requirement on fineness is 70% passing 75 µm, but there are large
variations in the perceived requirements, the extreme case being the use of granular coal
injection (<2mm) at British Steel. Cases where coarser grinds are being adopted are
evidence of the trend to ascribe less importance to the need for high burnout in the
raceway. The acceptance of coarser product has the advantage of requiring less milling
energy, and in some cases enables greater output from smaller capacity mills to be
achieved. Another bonus can be the improved handling characteristics of the product.
The fineness of mill product can be varied by the operator applying a number of measures,
including varying the coal feed rate, the classifier settings, the air flow rate or the roller
pressure (vertical spindle mills). Provided the mill has the spare capacity, it is therefore
normally possible to achieve the required fineness. However, some operators are loathe to
tune a mill to suit the coal, and where a number of coals are being used some of these may
not achieve the specified fineness.

Blockages
The usual places where blockages occur in a PC I system are:
C in the injection lance where the coal enters the blow pipe, and
C the transport lines and storage bins.
Blockages that occur in the injection lance are due to the coal being heated to a temperature
where it can become sticky. A coal propensity to form these blockages can be related to the
Crucible Swelling Number of the coal. These problems ca n be overcome by ensuring the
temperature of the coal in the injection lance does not exceed 300°C by cooling the lance or
shortening the length of the lance that protrudes into the blow pipe.
Handling problems of pulverised coal both in bulk storage bins and pneumatic transport
systems can be related to some extent to the amount of very fine material and moisture in
the product.
The moisture content of pulverised coal mill product is normally assumed to be a fraction
of the inher ent moisture level of the coal. This implies that mill product moisture level
would be relatively independent of the total moisture in the mill feed coal, which is a
reasonable assumption provided the mill outlet temperature is able to be mainta ined at the
required value of around 70-90°C. Fur ther drying of the coal has been reported to occur in
the storage tanks when these are swept with inert gas to prevent fires. Based on these
considerations, moisture should not be a cause for poor handling of pulverised coal.
In colder climates where there may be condensation on the inside of bin walls, external
heaters and/or insulation may be required to reduce the likelihood of bin blockages. This is
especially important when the hot gas fr om the mill enters the bin.
In bulk storage bins the Ha usner Ratio, the ratio between the compacted and uncompacted
bulk density, is used to indicate possible onset of bridging in bins. The Hausner Ratio does
increase when the amount of minus 5.8 µm material increases above around 12%.
Studies were carried out into the dense and dilute phase handling characteristics of PCI
coals in a pilot scale loop at Wollongong University (Holcombe & others, 1994). The
pressure drop along the pipe versus the air flow rate for a given solids flow rate typically

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COALTECH PTY LTD 24 May, 2000 Page 16
reaches a minimum at a flow rate which is defined as the boundary between dense and
dilute phase flow. If the air flow is increased above this point in the dilute phase region the
pressure drop along the pipe increases as a result of the increased air flow. As the air flow
is decreased below the boundary in the dense phase region the pressure drop increases up
to a point where blockage occurs. Studies of different coals, and the same coals at
different fineness, indicated that the boundary line at which blockage occur red for different
solids flow rates was similar for all coals. However, the steepness of the pr essure/air flow
lines approaching this boundary was generally greater for those coals which were either
finer overall or which contained a higher percentage of very fine material. It seems likely
that most coals should be able to operate at the same air and solids flow rates, although the
finer coals may require a slightly higher driving pressure. The finer coals which possess
the steeper characteristic curves may be more sensitive to inevitable fluctuations in coal
feed rate or in ba ck pressure, and therefore are more likely to depar t from the design
operating point and to reach the blockage point.
Bench scale tests, also performed on the same coals at Wollongong University, tend to
confirm that the handling properties of hard coals have values at one extreme while those
of soft coals which have been pulverised using the same mill settings as for the hard coals,
and which are therefore finer overall, will have properties at the other extreme. If, on the
other hand, the soft coals are pulverised using modified mill settings to make a product
which is less fine overall, there will still be a relatively high proportion of very fine
material in the products, and the handling properties will have intermediate values.
In summary, softer coals may be more susceptible to blockages in storage bins and in
dense phase transport systems than harder coals if milled under the same conditions, but
the risks of blockages will be reduced by matching the mill settings to the characteristics of
the softer coal to reduce the amount of fine coal. By ensuring the grinding pressure is
reduced and the classifier is adjusted for softer coa ls not only are handling problems
reduced but the capacity of the milling system is significantly increased.

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COALTECH PTY LTD 24 May, 2000 Page 17
 Economic Impact
The main economic benefit of PCI use within steelworks is principally due to the
substitution of coking coal with lower cost non-coking coals. Flierman and others (1996)
noted that the operational costs of coking and injection were similar, therefore an early
closing of coke batteries which are in good condition and construction of injection plant
will increase hot metal costs. The level of PCI rate within a given steelworks depends on
the current hot metal demand, capacity of coking pla nt, oxygen plant capacity and the
availability of other fuels, eg coke oven gas, to preheat the blast.
Where a steelworks has an existing PCI plant of a capacity tha t will not meet the expected
future requirements of the steelworks then the use of a high Hardgrove Grindability Index
(HGI) coal, i.e. a softer coal, will allow the milling capacity of the PCI plant to be
increased without investing in new plant. The extent of the increase in mill capacity will
depend on the HGI of the coal and the required size distribution of the pulverised coal,
Figure 9 shows the impact of HGI on the capacity of a vertical spindle mill producing the
same size of grind. For example, by using a coal with a HGI of 80 about a 40% increase
in capacity can be obtained while producing the same fineness. Considering the
construction costs of a new 45 t/h PCI plant in Japan has been given as 5 billion Yen (Tex
Report, 1997) this increase in capacity by the use of a softer coal can be significant.
The economic benefit of the coke replacement ratio can be illustrated in the following
simplified example using Brouwer & Toxopeus (1991) data to calculate replacement ratio
(Figure 3) and assuming:
C a CIF coking coal price of US$63/t,
C a CIF PCI coal price of US$50/t,
C 1.43 tonnes of coking coal is required for each tonne of coke, and
C the total fuel rate is 490 kg/tHM.
Then the coal cost savings can be calculated as shown in Figure 12. This figure shows up
to $8/tHM can be saved at high injection rates using a low volatile coal.

Figure 12: Savings in total coal costs from the replacement of coking coals

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COALTECH PTY LTD 24 May, 2000 Page 18
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