The FDS Coke Plant will utilize proven world class non-recovery coking technology that meets or exceeds current and future environmental regulatory requirements. The non-recovery coking process uses both direct and indirect high-temperature heating in an oxygen deficient atmosphere to transform coal to coke by driving off the volatile matter to concentrate the carbon. The volatile matter is then fully combusted to produce large quantities of excess heat, which is used to produce steam for the generation of electricity.

Battery Design

The FDS Coke Plant is designed to charge of total of 2.058 million tons of coal and produce approximately 1.4 million tons of coke.  The plant’s coke oven batteries will be located on a southwest to northeast line within approximately 100 feet of the eastern property line of the Project Site.   Coke oven waste gases generated by the coking process are routed to refractory lined tunnels for complete combustion and generation of excess waste heat.  Heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) are then used to cool the gases by producing steam.  After the HRSGs, the cooled gases are ducted to air pollution controls prior to discharge into the ambient air.

The FDS Coke Plant will also have coal storage, preparation, and stamping operations.  In addition, coke oven coal charging and coke pushing operations will occur on the eastern and western sides of the batteries, respectively.   Coke produced by the batteries will be quenched, screened, sized (as necessary), and then directly loaded to rail cars for shipment to customers. 

For further information related to the Coke Plant, including detailed figures, FDS Coke Plant's application for an Air Permit to Install is available online at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dapc/transfer/USCokingCorp.pdf

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS

The non-recovery process is a well-established, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly metallurgical coking process. The FDS Coke Plant’s design incorporates an improved iteration of existing non-recovery coke plant technology that includes a number of technological advances.

Self-Regulating Coke Oven Process Modules

As an engineering innovation, the FDS Coke Plant will not contain valves between the coke ovens and the heat recovery steam generator (“HRSG”) associated with each coke oven process module. This innovation will result in superior environmental performance and reduced operation and maintenance costs.

Stamped Coal Charge

Stamped coal charging and non-recovery technology combine to provide the FDS Coke Plant with the highest expected production yield of coal to coke in the world and lowest air pollutant emissions per ton of coal charged ever achieved.

A stamped coal charge promotes even heating of the coal charge during coking. This ensures that air pollutant emission problems from green coke pushes that can be a problem at byproduct coke batteries do not occur. Stamped coal also significantly reduces air pollutant emissions during the oven charging process.

Flat Coke Cake Push

Once coking is completed the stamped charge will be pushed from the oven in a single solid horizontal (i.e., flat) cake.

Pushing a stamped cake of coke out of the oven in this manner reduces air pollutant emissions and increases coke quality and yield because the coke is not broken up by a vertical drop out of the oven during the push.

Flat Push Hot Car

A new Flat Push Hot Car (“FPHC”) will be used to receive coke pushed from the oven in a single solid horizontal (i.e., flat) cake for enclosed travel to the Quench Tower.

The use of a flat push received by the FPHC eliminates an estimated 90% of the air pollutants generated by pushing operations at existing coking operations.