Mineral reactions during coke gasification with carbon dioxide

Coke degradation in the blast furnace is influenced by its inherent mineral matter. Coke gasification affects the composition of the inherent mineral matter and would therefore be expected to change its effect on coke degradation. Four cokes prepared in a laboratory oven were exposed to carbon dioxide (100%) at approximately 900 °C for different carbon conversion levels, namely 15% and 75%. The mineralogy of the raw and reacted cokes was qualitatively and quantitatively determined. Gas composition was found to have a more significant effect on mineralogy than temperature; the mineralogy (qualitative and quantitative) being dramatically affected by carbon dioxide, whereas treatment at 900 °C in the absence of carbon dioxide resulted in little change. During gasification the reduced phases underwent transformations due to oxidation by carbon dioxide. Oxidation of the reduced phases enabled their reaction with adjacent minerals. Also, as gasification proceeds, the carbon in contact with the mineral matter is consumed, diminishing the contact surface area between them.