Natural gums as a novel, potent, and natural additive towards coke making: a preliminary feasibility study

The present investigation entails delineating the implications of using a novel and naturally sourced additive for coke making. In particular, the focus of this study was to understand the extent to which such natural gums could induce plasticity and strength in non-coking coals without the inclusion of any prime coking coal, emphasizing the importance of thermal pre-treatment as an important parameter. Experimentally, the non-coking coal was pre-treated with xanthan gum (300 degrees C for 1 h), followed by carbonization at 600 degrees C for 1 h. The addition of water as an additive was deduced to be beneficial in enhancing the bulk density of the coal blend. The coal blend, including non-coking coal with natural gums (10-20%) and water (10 mL in 20 g scale), produced F-grade coke when treated under low-temperature Gray King (LTGK) assay conditions at 600 degrees C. A comparative XRD and Raman analysis of raw coal and coke demonstrated the presence of graphitic content in the resultant coke only. FTIR results showed the absence of small molecular fragments, thus substantiating semi-coke formation during the re-solidification stage. The present invention holds significant industrial viability toward the production of coke from non-coking coal without the inclusion of any prime coking coal.