Metallurgical Coke (for blast furnaces)

Description

1. Product Overview
Metallurgical Coke is a high-carbon, low-impurity solid fuel produced from premium hard coking coal through controlled carbonization in modern horizontal heat-recovery ovens. It serves as the essential reducing agent, energy source, and structural support matrix in blast furnace ironmaking, directly influencing hot metal output and operating costs. With superior hot strength and optimized ash chemistry, this product delivers a strategic value proposition: lower reducing agent rates, higher permeability, and extended furnace campaign life—making it a critical lever for steelmakers seeking operational excellence in a carbon-constrained market.

2. Key Specifications & Technical Characteristics

• Chemical Composition (typical, as-received basis):

  • Fixed Carbon: 86% – 89%

  • Ash: 11% – 13% (max 12.5% for premium grade)

  • Volatile Matter: ≤ 1.2%

  • Sulfur: ≤ 0.65%

  • Phosphorus: ≤ 0.035%

• Physical Characteristics:

  • Form: Hard, porous, silver-gray lumps

  • Size grading: 40–80 mm (75% min); 80–120 mm available by request

  • CSR (Coke Strength after Reaction): ≥ 62%

  • CRI (Coke Reactivity Index): ≤ 28%

  • Apparent density: 0.95 – 1.05 g/cm³

  • Shatter strength (DI 150/15): ≥ 88%

• Packaging Options:

  • Bulk in vessel holds

  • 1.5 MT jumbo woven polypropylene bags (weather-resistant liner)

• Shelf life: 12 months from date of analysis when stored in dry, non-contaminating conditions (avoid direct moisture and prolonged UV exposure)

3. Core Industrial Applications

• Primary industry: Integrated steelmaking (blast furnace – basic oxygen furnace route)

• Operational use cases:

  • Reduction of iron ore to liquid hot metal in blast furnace shaft

  • Providing bed permeability and gas flow distribution

  • Carburization of hot metal to target carbon content prior to steelmaking

• Performance advantage over alternatives:

  • Versus low-grade foundry coke: Delivers 9–12% lower ash and 15% higher CSR, reducing slag volume and improving furnace stability

  • Versus anthracite injection: Superior structural integrity prevents fines generation and channeling, enabling higher ore burden

• Efficiency & cost advantage:

  • Lower sulfur and phosphorus reduce downstream refining cost (lime and desulfurization agent savings)

  • High CSR allows reduction in coke rate by 3–5 kg per tonne of hot metal, directly improving profit per tonne

4. Competitive Advantages

• Quality consistency: ISO 18894-compliant sampling with every 500 MT lot; statistical process control (SPC) charts shared via client portal.

• Supply reliability: Long-term off-take agreements with tier-1 coking coal mines; 24/7 operations with 98.5% on-time-in-full (OTIF) track record.

• Logistics capability: Dedicated rail sidings and port-loading facilities (up to 15,000 MT/day); vessel chartering support for CFR or CIF terms.

• Price competitiveness: Direct mine-to-coke integration eliminates trader margins; volume-based quarterly pricing with downside protection clauses.

• Sustainability & environmental: Produced in ovens with waste heat recovery (generating up to 12 MW electricity per plant); low VOC emissions; supports lower CO₂ per tonne of hot metal via improved CRI/CSR balance.

• Technical support: In-house metallurgists provide quarterly furnace optimization audits; full material certificates + blending advisory for mixed burden designs.

5. Commercial & Supply Information

• Minimum order quantity (MOQ): BULK 20MT (twenty metric tons) per product grade, consolidated within a single vessel-sized shipment (≥ 15,000 MT preferred for contract allocation).

• Loading capacity (MT per container): Not applicable for bulk industrial coke. Standard 20-ft dry container loads a maximum of 20 MT (using 1.5 MT jumbo bags, 13–14 bags per container). Bulk vessel loading capacity: up to 50,000 MT per Panamax vessel; 20,000 MT per coastal barge.