Bonding mechanism of binder and low-rank coal during carbonization

Low-rank coal is rarely used in the industry of carbonized briquette due to its poor cohesiveness. In order to replace lump coal and utilize low-rank pulverized coal as much as possible in a carbonized briquette process, washing oil residue (WOR) was used as an enhanced binder to enhance the bonding strength of resulted carbonized briquette. The effects of blending ratio and carbonization temperatures on binding strength were investigated, and moreover, a reasonable bonding mechanism was deduced. The results showed that the best crushing strength was obtained when the weight ratio of WOR and low-rank coal is 3∶7 at 800 °C, and its crushing strength of M₂₅ (M₂₅) can reach to 97%, while the thermoplastic properties of WOR is thought to be responsible for the obtained good crushing strength, where WOR can be softened and coated on the surface of coal particles during carbonization, and then a coal-binder interface can be formed, resulting in the loose inert coal particles can be combined and the strength of coke is improved significantly.