Method for evacuating emissions of a coke oven

A coke oven handling apparatus for use with a coke oven having a battery of horizontally arranged side by side coke ovens with a quenching car trackway for a coke quenching car disposed alongside the battery outwardly of a coke cake guide car which is also movable along the ovens of the battery on a guide car trackway comprises a stationary closed gas exhaust system which has an exhaust connection adjacent the quenching car. The support structure provides a support for a hood and a trackway for the hood adjacent the quenching car trackway and a structure is supported upon and movable along the hood support and trackway structure. The hood structure includes a first hood portion of vertically deep size which is adapted to be positioned adjacent a coke cake guide car in a position to overlie coke being pushed through the guide car into the quenching car. The hood structure also includes an at least one additional hood area advantageously one of shallow depth which is also connectable to the exhaust connection to cover a portion of the quenching car which moves beyond the first hood portion after the initial discharge of coke has been exhausted through the first hood portion. The apparatus includes additional controls and ducts connectable to the second hood portion at locations along the length of the car as it advances and with a control device arranged in the passage of the car for actuating these devices as the car is moved so as to sequentially increase the exhaust suction and exhaust area over the quenching car as it is advanced.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates in general to coke ovens and in particular to a new 
and useful apparatus and method for evacuating emissions at the coke side 
of a coke oven furnace while pushing out coke cake from oven chambers. 
From German Pat. No. 20 21 863, a hood is known which is suitable for 
carrying out a method, similar to the invention, and which, in its 
operating position, is connected to the opening of a coke oven chamber in 
a dustproof manner by means of sealing strips which are provided between a 
box-section coke guide and the oven and the hood. 
Further known from this reference is a partition dividing the hood into a 
high portion corresponding to the height of the coke guide and a low 
portion of substantially smaller height, extending toward the quenching 
tower. In addition, this reference teaches that exactly predetermined 
proportions of the available total suction power of the exhaust system are 
applied to the different portions of the hood. As from the start, the once 
adjusted suction power is applied to all of the exhaust connections, which 
means that the suction is applied even in areas where no emission occurs 
as yet, so that a large amount of infiltrated air is taken in at those 
locations. This calls for an unnecessarily high total suction power 
requiring a larger rating and cross sections, and increasing investment as 
well as operating costs. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention is directed to a better utilization of the available suction 
power and thus to a reduction of operating and capital investment costs. 
In accordance with the invention, glowing coke which is pushed out of each 
coke oven through a coke guide car is directed through a hood structure 
which travels along with the guide car and which is connected through a 
stationary exhaust connection through a flexible connection. After an 
initial discharge of coke is dumped into the car, the car advances and its 
forward end moves beneath a further hood portion which is connected to the 
exhaust only after the guide car advances sufficiently to effect an 
operation of this second exhaust system. 
According to experience, the maximum dust emission may occur at the start 
of the pushing operation. Consequently, for the duration of this starting 
period, the invention provides a method in which all of the exhaust 
connections at which no emission is expected as yet are locked and the 
dust is exhausted except in the upper portion of the hood. Only after the 
first hot coke discharged in the quenching car is no longer aligned with 
the discharge area, due to the fact that the quenching car is not in 
position to receive further incandenscant coke, an additional exhaust 
connection is automatically opened. 
Advantageously, the invention includes a hood structure which includes a 
first portion and at least one additional second portion which have 
separate connections to the exhaust, which may be serially put into 
effect. The arrangement is such that as a further additional exhaust 
connection is made over the car, the previous one will be again closed so 
that the next exhaust connection remains effective. 
This is to always obtain an evacuation at the end of the quenching car 
while at the same time preventing a substantial reduction of the 
exhaustion in the discharge area. Also, by providing an evacuation of both 
ends, an unnecessary additional transverse or back flow of the emission 
gases in the exhaust tubes is prevented or reduced. 
Since high emissions are also to be expected at the end of the pushing 
operation, as the coke from the pusher side is discharged into the 
quenching car, it is advantageous to provide, in accordance with the 
invention, that at the end of the pushing operation, the exhaust power is 
reduced and thereafter again increased to a maximum. 
In accordance with a feature of this invention, the apparatus includes a 
hood structure which is adapted to travel along the support along with the 
coke cake guide car and be positioned on the discharge side of the coke 
cake guide car so that the coke cake may be discharged into the quenching 
car through a first hood portion which is continuously connected to a 
fixed exhaust system. The apparatus also includes a second hood portion 
which is much shallower in depth than the first hood portion and which 
overlies the portion of the quenching car which moves beyond the first 
hood portion. As the quenching car is moved it actuates first one valve to 
connect a first duct to the exhaust system, for the second shallow depth 
hood portion thereafter at least one additional valve for connecting a 
further exhaust duct. The valves are advantageously actuated through a 
linkage secured to the hood which engages with the quenching car as it 
moves. The quenching car advantageously contains a cam track which 
regulates the exhaust valve so that one or more exhaust systems can be cut 
in before applying exhaust vacuum over the hood. 
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved cloke 
evacuation system which comprises a hood which is movable along with a 
quenching car and a coke cake guide car in front of a battery of coke 
ovens which is connected to a fixed closed exhaust system through a 
flexible connection which permits it to be moved alongside each oven in 
turn and which includes at least one additional hood portion which becomes 
effective over the car after the coke is discharged through a first hood 
portion and exhausted while it is being spilled into the quenching car. 
A further object of the invention is to provide a method of evacuating 
emissions of a coke oven which comprises directing coke through a coke 
cake guide car and through a hood structure which continuously exhausts 
the emissions of the coke and fills up a portion of the front area of the 
coke quenching car and further including moving the car relative to the 
first hood portion to move it under a second hood portion and as the coke 
car is advanced cutting in at least one additional exhaust connections 
over the coke car ahead of the portion of the car which receives the 
initial discharge of the coke. 
A further object of the invention is to provide an emission control device 
which is simple in design, rugged in construction and economical to 
manufacture. 
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are 
pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part 
of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its 
operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference 
is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a 
preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to the drawings in particular the invention embodied therein 
comprises a coke handling apparatus for use with a coke oven 12 having a 
battery of horizontally arranged side by side coke ovens with a quenching 
car trackway over which wheels 11a of a quenching car 11 are moved 
alongside the battery and outwardly of a coke cake guide car 3 which is 
also movable along the battery on a guide car trackway 3a. The handling 
apparatus includes a stationary closed gas exhaust system in the form of a 
gas duct 18 disposed on the combination of hood support and trackway 13 
which is disposed adjacent the trackway 11b for the quenching car. The 
stationary closed gas exhaust system has an exhaust connection 14a which 
is connected to the movable hood structure in a manner to permit it to be 
moved alongside the coke cake guide car 3 adjacent each of the furnaces in 
a battery. 
In accordance with the invention the hood structure includes a first hood 
portion 1 of a size to overlie a portion of the quenching car 11 across 
its entire width and in a position to withdraw gases and dust from the 
glowing cake coke which is pushed from the coke oven through the coke cake 
guide car 3 and the upper hood portion 1 and into the quenching car 11. In 
addition, the hood structure includes at least one second portion 2 which 
extends forwardly of the first hood portion 1 and is of a much shallower 
depth than the first hood portion. The combined length of the hood 
portions 1 and 2 is at least as long as the quenching car 11. The 
arrangement includes control means in the form of automatically shiftable 
control valves or dampers 7a and 7b which connect separate gas exhaust 
channels 5a and 5b to the fixed gas exhaust system and duct 18 as the coke 
quencing car 11 is moved beyond the first hood portion 1 past a partition 
22 dividing the two portions to the second hood portion 2. 
The figures show the inventive mechanism 7 to 10 for controlling the 
exhaustion of hood 1, 2 in association with a cam track provided on a 
quenching car 11. The total length of the exhaust hood comprising a first 
portion 1 having a vertically deep hood chamber and a second portion 2 of 
shallow depth approximately corresponds, i.e. equals, to that of quenching 
car 11. Prior to pushing the coke out of the coke oven chamber of a coke 
oven battery 12, both the coke guide car 3 and the high portion 1 of the 
hood must be moved into alignment with the opening 1a of the coke oven 
chamber. Then, considering FIG. 2 the left end of the quenching car is in 
a position below the hood first portion 1 and part of the second portion 
while the right end of the car is not covered completely at this time. 
During the pushing operation, the quenching car advances to the left and 
gradually occupies positions beneath the low hood portion 2, too. Upon 
advancing up to the first additional exhaust connection 5a, a roller 10a 
of linkage 9a comes into contact with a cam track 6 provided laterally on 
quenching car 11, so that as the car moves past, control valve 7a is 
gradually brought from its horizontal into its vertical position and the 
emission can be evacuated through tube 5a. Roller 10a may also be moved 
past a contact piece 6a or 6b to actuate an electrical limit switch, for 
example. Now, if the quenching car advances farther below the hood, the 
other roller 10b and linkage 9b come into contact with the cam track 6 and 
the other control valve 7b opens. After a certain period of time, roller 
10a comes to move along the sloping portion of cam track 6 at the right 
hand side and control valve 7a gradually closes, partly or completely. For 
this purpose, springs 8a, 8b are provided. 
The figures also show the exhaust tubes 5a and 5b leading to the hood 
connection and united on their other ends in a gas collecting channel 14. 
Channel 14 is connected through a flexible portion 14a to a gas transfer 
carriage 15 providing a gastight connection to a stationary exhaust duct 
18, even if the hood is in motion. Aside from the two exhaust connections 
5a, 5b at the low portion 2 of the hood, an exhaust space 4 is provided 
above the high hood portion 1, to which an exhaust tube 4a extending over 
the door opening is connected. A gas exhaust 16 provided above coke guide 
3 is connected to collecting channel 4 through a flange portion 17. 
FIG. 1 further shows the carriage or supporting structure 15 for the hoods 
1 and 2 and its relation to the stationery exhaust duct 18. The hood 
structure is supported for traveling on structure 13 through rollers 19, 
20, 21. In FIG. 2, a partition 22 is shown which is provided between the 
high and low portions of the hood and extends downwardly up to the coke 
load in the quenching car. 
While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described 
in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the 
invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied 
otherwise without departing from such principles.