Abstract
THE Institute of Fuel and the Manchester Association of Gas Engineers held a symposium on domestic cokes in Manchester on November 18. Arnold Marsh examined the question from the point of view of smoke reduction and, discussing the scope of the different smokeless fuels, concluded that all forms of coke would be required. E. C. Evans, on the other hand, fears that an increase in the use of oven coke for domestic purposes would be disadvantageous to the economic production of pig iron. Even now there is a shortage of suitable blast furnace coke. H. J. Hodsman, discussing the relation between the properties of a coke and its behaviour in the grate, emphasized that shallow modern grates cannot be justified on the ground of efficiency on consuming any fuel—whether raw coal or coke. The deeper fuel bed is more rational and this is being recognized by the consumer, for E. W. L. Nicol pointed out that 70,000 such grates convenient for burning coke are sold annually. A. Blackie described two suitable designs of grate which have proved satisfactory. Emphasis was laid on the possibility of activating high-temperature cokes with soda. Prof. J. W. Cobb described how in 1925 it was observed that the reactivity of coke to carbon dioxide is enormously increased by treatment with soda. The chance of industrial use of this has been increased by P. J. Askey's observations that in presence of lime, the addition of even so little as 0-5 per cent sodium carbonate to a coke may produce an adequate increase in the reactivity. R. A. Mott described experiments made with H. H. Thomas in Liverpool Gas Works on alkali activation made under coke oven conditions. These leave little doubt that high-temperature cokes can be made to burn more actively as a result of alkali treatment; but the economic future of the process will depend on other factors. Many existing gas works would find it difficult to introduce a process of pretreating coal into their routine.
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Domestic Cokes. Nature 138, 964 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/138964a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/138964a0