The influence of pressure and hydrothermal treatment on the microtextural characteristics of coke Original Research Article

The microtextural characteristics of coke produced from raw as well as from their beneficiated/demineralised counterparts both under normal and elevated pressures (22 mPa) at two temperature levels (500 to 1000 °C) were studied on two caking/coking and one non-caking coals. An account with emphasis on the development of well-ordered carbonforms under the influence of hydrothermal treatment as well as on post carbonization of the treated coal has been put forward. The non-caking coal, which generally produces vesicular chars passed through a plastic phase to give fully isotropic reacted carbonforms when the coal was subjected to both pressure pyrolysis and hydrothermal treatment. For the other caking/coking coals used in the study the influence of hydrothermal treatment on development of well-ordered coke microtexture was found to be more pronounced than that of the thermal effect alone under pressure.