By Eugene van Loggerenberg
Coking coal is used to make metallurgical coke. Easy, isn't it? But what are these things, why are they produced and how are they used?
Understanding how coking coal is made and why it exists requires some background about the steelmaking process.
A Little Bit Of Background
Steel is of apparent significance to the global economy because most business buildings, apartments, high-risers, bridges and plenty of other structures are framed with or made from steel. In a number of cases, steel is even used to frame houses. This metal is also used to make cars, trains and their tracks and many other essentials of modern industrialised society.
To be of top quality , however , steel needs to be made to a precise formula and as free from impurities as possible. That suggests that when you make steel, you have got to make it with a heat source that does not introduce impurities into the process and change the chemical makeup of the final product.
Coal is used in making steel as it gets hot easily and stays that way, but in its natural form it isn't pure enough to make high-quality steel. That is the reason why coal is refined into something that is more usable in the industry. But how is this done? And what precisely occurs?
About Coking Coal
Before coal can make coke, bituminous coal â€" the standard quality coal that's the most abundant type in the world â€" must be converted into coking coal.
To do that, bituminous coal is heated in an airtight oven. With no oxygen inside, the coal does not burn down, but a number of its volatile compounds are released. Substances released include hydrocarbons like propane and benzene as well as sulfur gas and many other so-called contaminations. (A lot of them, incidentally, are caught and used to make a selection of household and industrial cleaners, lubricants, rubbers and other items.) This new, purer product is called coking coal.
The coking coal is then heated to make a product that's almost pure carbon called metallurgical coke. This material is permeable, hard and grey. And it's this material â€" the metallurgical coke â€" that's used in the blast furnaces where iron ore and steel are made. Since the coke has been cleaned of as many impurities as possible , the metal turns out to be as it should.
An Uncertain Industry
The coking process means getting rid of volatile compounds, but the market for coking coal is rather volatile. Demand for the material â€" and therefore the cost of it â€" peaked in 2008, mostly because of the increase in steel production in China and, to a smaller extent, India.
Prices fell straight after, however, as demand dropped off and increasing prices for other materials utilized in steelmaking caused a decrease in production around the world. The worldwide industrial crisis around this time also lowered the price of the product as production using steel in several industries declined.
Today, prices appear to have stablised at a reasonable level. Since there are no major influences impacting the steel industry now, this relative stability is expected to continue.
That makes coking coal a good value once more.
Understanding how coking coal is made and why it exists requires some background about the steelmaking process.
A Little Bit Of Background
Steel is of apparent significance to the global economy because most business buildings, apartments, high-risers, bridges and plenty of other structures are framed with or made from steel. In a number of cases, steel is even used to frame houses. This metal is also used to make cars, trains and their tracks and many other essentials of modern industrialised society.
To be of top quality , however , steel needs to be made to a precise formula and as free from impurities as possible. That suggests that when you make steel, you have got to make it with a heat source that does not introduce impurities into the process and change the chemical makeup of the final product.
Coal is used in making steel as it gets hot easily and stays that way, but in its natural form it isn't pure enough to make high-quality steel. That is the reason why coal is refined into something that is more usable in the industry. But how is this done? And what precisely occurs?
About Coking Coal
Before coal can make coke, bituminous coal â€" the standard quality coal that's the most abundant type in the world â€" must be converted into coking coal.
To do that, bituminous coal is heated in an airtight oven. With no oxygen inside, the coal does not burn down, but a number of its volatile compounds are released. Substances released include hydrocarbons like propane and benzene as well as sulfur gas and many other so-called contaminations. (A lot of them, incidentally, are caught and used to make a selection of household and industrial cleaners, lubricants, rubbers and other items.) This new, purer product is called coking coal.
The coking coal is then heated to make a product that's almost pure carbon called metallurgical coke. This material is permeable, hard and grey. And it's this material â€" the metallurgical coke â€" that's used in the blast furnaces where iron ore and steel are made. Since the coke has been cleaned of as many impurities as possible , the metal turns out to be as it should.
An Uncertain Industry
The coking process means getting rid of volatile compounds, but the market for coking coal is rather volatile. Demand for the material â€" and therefore the cost of it â€" peaked in 2008, mostly because of the increase in steel production in China and, to a smaller extent, India.
Prices fell straight after, however, as demand dropped off and increasing prices for other materials utilized in steelmaking caused a decrease in production around the world. The worldwide industrial crisis around this time also lowered the price of the product as production using steel in several industries declined.
Today, prices appear to have stablised at a reasonable level. Since there are no major influences impacting the steel industry now, this relative stability is expected to continue.
That makes coking coal a good value once more.
About the Author:
Eugene Van Loggerenberg is the owner of Marunic Trading, a coking coal supply company in South Africa, and the man to talk to about all your coal needs. You cal also read more about coal at the company blog.