FUTURE-DEVELOPMENT IN COKEMAKING TECHNOLOGY - A EUROPEAN VIEW

Cokemaking technology stands at a crossroads. To avoid it being regarded as an outdated technology for the future, significant advances on the basis of bold innovative concepts must be made. Environmentally benign coke of the highest quality must be produced safely and, in particular, cost efficiently, if the steelmaking industry's top management are to consider it an indispensable raw material for iron ore reduction processes. Cokemaking capacity must be maintained at present levels (at least) to guarantee the availability of coke supplies for several decades to come. These factors will enhance its competitiveness in the face of viable alternative primary energy carriers in the blast furnace. In Europe, a new perspective has been given to the cokemaking industry. The 'jumbo coking reactor' (a Eureka project) will be undergoing trials presently and an innovative process development, the two product (coke and hot metal) cokeplant, may soon be realised.