Coke Quality

[LA9436]

I did a quick search but couldn't find anything simular.

I am still new to blacksmithing so I am not sure how the coke should be normally, but I often find rocks mixed in with the coke. Some of them turn white when being burned, which break apart into a white powder, and others open up like a flower blooming (hard to describe). There are also others which give off a thick green smoke (but I suspect this is coal?). Is this normal or is somebody cutting my supply?

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

I don't know if the supplier is intentionally cutting the supply, or how it is stored & loaded at the plant. We had a coal supplier that stores the coal outside and loads it with a front loader, inadvertently picking up some rocks & dirt when getting to the bottom of the pile.

[George N. M.]

I have had a similar problem but it has varied, sack to sack of coke.  I suspect that it is unintentional and the result of, as Irondragon says, the product being stored in an unpaved area with the loader picking up dirt and rocks when getting to the bottom of the pile.  I have minimized the problem by sorting it on the shovel by picking out anything that doesn't look right.  A hassle but better than having rocks in my fire.  

The ones that turn white are probably limestone and the smokey ones are probably coal.  The ones that open up may be carbonaceous shale.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[LA9436]

Thank you for the replies. This makes sense and gives me a lot more peace of mind. Thanks again.

[anvil]

Those hard things that give off green smoke and bloom is coking coal that is going thru the coking process. 

The other hard things that turn to a white powder are prolly hard coal. Hard coal doesn't give off green smoke or bloom. When it burns it turns to white ash. But, these may be something else. 

Are you buying and burning coke?

[LA9436]

Yes, should I not?

[anvil]

Heck no, it's a good fuel. I've just never found any coal in the bagged coke I've used.

[Purple Bullet]

Has anyone ever tried petroleum coke? I used to work a hydrocracker and catalytic reformer that had a coker unit right next door. When the wind was just wrong and they were drilling coke they got a lot of nasty things said about them by our operators.

Although they claim a high purity for their coke, it was made from the leftovers of all the rest of the refinery and was the stinkiest, dirtiest unit to work in. I've never tried it. I think the main market is for electrodes for aluminum processing.

When I was in corrosion control we used to get bags of coke breeze to pack around anodes on impressed current CP (cathodic protection) systems to increase the effective surface area of the anode. That stuff was so light that the slightest puff from a blower would blow it right out of the forge. 

[anvil]

I used it for a couple years. It came from Wyoming. Its more dense than coking coal and harder to light. But burns fine.

I meant to add above that I agree with George, that stuff that turns to a white powder could be limestone. Thats pretty common. 

[Frosty]

It's about the only coke available here IF you buy a couple few Supers. Pat buys it to run the cupola melter at the Art on Fire, iron pour and there's always some left if anybody wants to give it a try. This stuff came in chips of various sizes and to forge with we needed to break it up, thumbnail size was bordering on too large.

Like anvil says it's harder to light than hard coal but makes a good HOT fire.

Like any new fuel you need to learn how to use it. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Frf]

Lately coke quality has been suffering. We are starting to experience the same thing. Where did you get your coke?

 

The green smoke is from sulfur heavy coke that hasn’t been fully cooked. We load our firepots with fresh coke from the back and keep coke piled up at the back near the fire to gas off before we load it into the firepot.