CA1157802A - Coke oven fumes control system - Google Patents

Abstract

COKE OVEN FUMES CONTROL SYSTEM

ABSTRACT
A contaminant capture system for a coke oven pushing operation is provided. The system includes suction means, a duct and means for coupling the suction means to the duct for evacuation thereby. The duct is of a type including a wall portion closed by a flexible web. A car is disposed for movement along the duct to raise the web to couple the interior of the car to the interior of the duct. A mobile hood is supported by the car over the conveyor of incandescent coke for withdrawal into the hood of contaminants evolved as the coke is conveyed. The duct is provided with first and second longitudinal structural means or tracks for supporting the car and the hood in a cantilever manner extending from the car over the conveyor. The duct includes a plurality of sections having at least one movable end spaced from and engaging an adjacent duct section so as to permit thermally induced variations in the length of each duct section. The longitudinal structural members of the respective duct sections are spaced from one another to afford expansion and contraction while affording travel of the car from one section to the next.

Description

~15~81~)Z

COKE OVEN FUMES CONTROL SYSTEM

BACKGROUNV INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to pollution control, and primarily to a close-capture system for containing airborne contaminants such as those generated during a coke pushing operation in an oven of a coke oven battery.

2. State of the Art Many industrial operations, such as coke pushing operations, generate large quantities of pollutant fumes and dusts. In a coke pushing operation, coke is pushed from a selected oven of a coke oven battery by a large ram through an oven door opening on one side (the so called coke side) of the oven9 through a coke guide and into a receptacle or conveyor, illustratively a so-called quench car or hot car. The hot, usually incan-descent coke is transported in this receptacle or conveyor to a quench station, which may take the form of a quench tower or quench bath, in which the coke is drenched or submerged.
Several systems for capturing pollutants generated during transfer of the coke from the oven t~ the quench station are knowll. In some systems, such as those Case 935-939 ,, ~ 57 ~()Z

described in United States Patents 3,630,852 and 4,050,992, the entire coke slde of the battery, or a substantial portion of it, ls enclosed in a shed all the way down to the wharf upon which quenched coke is flumped. The entire shed is continuously or intermittently evacuated, illustratively through an overhead duct system which draws an enormous volume of pollutant-laden air from the interior of the shed. Of course, an equally enormous blower and large capacity filter system must be provided to accommodate the large volume of pollutant-laden air withdrawn from the shed interior.
The expense of such a system is evident. First, coke oven batteries typically are quite large. Thu8 7 the shed itself must be quite large. Since there is no way of controlling the dispersal of pollutant dust and fumes within the interior of the shed, the ventilation system must be able to withdraw completely the entire volume of air within the shed over a predetermined, relatively brief span of time. Thus, in addition to the high cost of constructing the large shed on the coke side of the battery, a high-capacity ventilation system, typically including large inlet ducts, large blowers and high-capacity filter mechanisms (such as precipitators, scrubbers or bag houses) must be provided.
In other alternative systems, such as that illus-trated in United States Patent 4,029,551, a large hood carried by the coke guide-supporting car is connected through a flexible duct sys~em of the general duct~and-car type illustrated in U.S. Patent 4,069,108, for continuous or intermittent evacuation. Of course, in a system of tha~ type, the coke guide-supporting car must travel to the quench station with the quench car to insure that airborne pollutants released between the push and entry of the quench car into the quench station are captured.

Case 935-939 ~s~)z In a third type o system, ill~lstrated in U.S.
Patent 3,675,~00 a separate car, -riding upon the same rails as the quench car, supports, in cantilever fashion, a hood designed to overlie the entire length of the quench car when the separate car ;s close to the quench car, and progressively less of the q~ench car as the separate car moves away Erom the quench car. Of course, the separate car must also be flexibly connected to a continllous or intermittent evacuation system. Placement of the ventilation system-supporting car on the same tracks as the quench car ls extremely inconvenient, since it does not permit the ventilation system-supporting car to pass the quench car.
In another prior art syste~, the coke guide is sur-mounted by a hood. A quench car hood is separatelymounted for movement along a pair o vertically spaced tracks supported above, and adjacent, the quench car tracks. The coke guide hood is supported for movement along the coke side of the battery from an overhead track lying ver~ically above the coke guide locomotive tracks. A continuously ventilated duct-and-car arrange-ment, of the general type described in U.S. Patent 4,069,108, is disposed laterally along the coke side, with the coke guide locomotive tracks, the overhead coke guide hood supporting trac~, the quench car tracks, and the quench car hood-supporting tracks and framework located ~etween the coke side of the battery and the duct-and-car arrangement. Separate ducts connect the coke guide hood and quench car hood to the car of the duct-and-car a~rangement. The conduit connecting the quench car hood to the car of the duct-and-car arrange-ment includes a regenerative heat exchanger.
Typically, the quench car hoods of coke oven installations are fairly massive. Thus, it will be appreciated that, in order to support the quench car hood in such cantilever fashion, the wheels on the Case 935-939 ~S7t3();~:

quench car hood, the vertically spaced tracks engaged by such wheels, and the framework supporting such tracks must be of fairly heavy and strong construction. Addi-tionally, a separate Eramework, equally as sturdy a~ the one supporting the quench car hood, is provided to support the duc~ of the duct-and-car arrangcment well above the level of the quench car tracks and out of inter~erence with the unloading operation from the quench car OtltO the wharf A system of this last-described type is offered jointly by Hartung, Kuhn & Co.Maschinenfabrik ~mbH, Dusseldorf, and Firma Carl Still, Recklinghausen, both of West Germany.
Yet another type of system is illustrated by British Patent specification 1,310,980. In systems of this type, a collapsible hood expanded and contracted by a fluid motor is provided around the colce guide to collect dusts and fumes generated during the push. A duct-and-car arrangement is used to evacuate the collapsible hood In this embodiment, the car is inside the duct, and the duct is supported above the coke guide locomotive on a suitable support frame. An apparent weakness of the systems of this type is that no separate hood mechanism is provided for close capture of contaminants released from hot coke in the quench car after the push.
Therefore~ to insure capture of such contaminants, the coke guide locomotive must always accompany the quench car. Further, the coke guide hood must be sufficiently long to cover the entire length of the quench car. In very many situations, such requirements for adequate ventilation make installations of this type prohibitively expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, a contaminant capture system fo~ a coke oven pushing operation includes suction Case 935-939 ~L~5780%
s means, a duct and ~eans for coupling the ~uction me~ns to the duct for evacuation thereby. The duct i8 of a type including a wall portion closed by a ~lexible we~, means, such as a grate, ~or supporting the web against collapse into the duct under such evacuation, and a car disposed for movement along the duct to raise ~he web to couple the interior of the car to the interior of the duct. Means are provided for guiding the car along the duct, The car includes means cooperating with the ~uide means to support and guide the car along the duct, and a door for providing access ~o the interior of the car for entry into the duct ~or inspection.
Alternatively, a second car may be provided for movement along the duct, the second car including means lS for raislng the web to couple the interior of the second car to the interior of the duct, and a door for providing access to the interior of the second car for entry into the duct for inspection.
Further according to the invention, means are provided for moving the car along the duct to a selected position. The moving means includes a motor, a drive wheel, means for engaging the drive wheel, means for attaching the drive wheel engaging means to the car, means for mounting the drive wheel, and means for coupling the motor to the drive wheel. The motor is actuable selectively to drive the drive wheel to move the drive wheel engaging means, and thus the car, along the duct.
Further according to the invention, a mobile first hood, and means for coupling the first hood to the car and for moving the car to dispose the first hood in overlying relation to a selected portion of a conveyor for incandescent coke are provided. This apparatus permits withdrawal into the first hood means of con-taminants evolved as the incandescent coke is conveyed, for example, to a quenching station. The system further includes a mobile second hood mounted on the coke guide Case 935-939 J ~ S7 ~(3Z

through which the incandescent coke is pushed from the oven. The mobile second hood is provided to withdraw contaminants evolved as the coke is pushed from the oven to the conveyor. The second hood includes blower means, means for forming an air curtain and for directing the air curtain to contain and prevent the escape of con-taminants evolved during the push, and means for con-necting the air curtain-Eor~ing means to the blower means. ~le blower means includes means defining a suction inlet within the second hood and filter means disposed between the inlet and the air curtain-forming means. This arrangement permits filtering of the evolved contaminants ~rom the air stream provided by the blower means, such that the filtered air stream can be used to Eorm the air curtain.
Additionally, according to the invention, a second duct can be provided Eor coupling the second hood to the car. In this manner, contaminants in the interior of the second hood are evacuated cooperatively through the blower inlet and the first duct.
According to the invention, for a coke guide means having two opposed side walls, a bar or plate is provided which extends between, and is attached to, the two side walls at the height at which the coke is exhausted from the guide means. The coke strikes the bar or plate and is broken into suitably sized lumps.
Further according to the invention, the coke guide means includes a surrounding coke guide hood, and means for projecting and retracting the coke guide hood respec-tively toward and away from the walls of a selected coke oven. Alternatively, or additionally, the projecting and retracting means can be provided to project and retract the second hood means respectively toward and away from the mobile first hood.
Further according to the invention, the duct includes a plurality of duct sections each having at least one Case 935-939 7~302 free end, an-l~neans for supporting each duct section.
The free end of each duct section etlgages an adjacent duct section to couple all of the duct sections to the suction means, thereby permitting thermally induced variations in the length of each duct section. The duct is pro-vided with first track means. First wheel means on the car engage the first track means. Second ~rack means extend along the duct parallel to the first track means. The car is provided with second track-engaging wheel means for engaging the second track and assisting to support the hood means in cantilever manner from the car over the conveyor.
Additionally, means are provided for maintaining a predetermined tension on the web or belt notwithstanding the thermally induced variations in the length o the duct. The illustrative belt tension maintaining means includes means for coupling ~he flexible web adjacent one of its ends to the duct, and means adjacent the other end of the flexible web on the duct permit~ing relative movement between sa~id other end of the web and the duct. Such relative movernent compensates for differ-ences be~ween the thermally induced variations in length of the duct and web. The illustrative means for permitting relative movement between said other end of the web and the duct includes roller means over which lhe web is trained adjacent the other end, and means for yieldably urging said other end of the web away from said one end of the web. The yieldable urging means includes, for example, a weight, and means for attaching the weight to the web ad~acent said other end of the web.
Further according to the invention, valve means, such as dampers, are provided for selectively controlling evacuation of the second hood means. In the illustrated embodiment, the valve means is mounted in a third duct provided in the first hood means.

Case 935-939 S7~()Z
~, In the ~llustrated embodiment, proportioning guldes are provided in the car, and are provided with selectively actuable dampers~ These independent dampers permi~
valving of suction selectively either only through the second hood means, or through both the second hood means and first hood means.
Further, the first hood means, the quench car hood, is divided into a plurality of sectors, in accordance with the illustrated embodiment. Division of the quench car hood into sectors and independent valving or damping of each sector, or group of sectors, permits establish-ment of suction selectively in various areas of the quench car hood. In many instances -this is highly desirable, since at times the quench car hood may overlie only a portion of the quench car, or only a portion of the quench car may contain out-gassing coke over which suction musk be established.
Further according to the invention, a system of multiple cars is provided on the first duct, illus-tratively one car for each twenty feet of length of thefi-rst hood means. A primary advantage o a rnultiple car system is that the weight of the first hood means can be supported cooperatively, and the load of the first hood means distributed over several cars.

~RIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

-The invention may be best understood by referring to the following description and accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention. In the drawings:
Fig. 1 is a partly fragmentary perspective view of a typical coke oven battery installation, with the close-capture contaminant control system of the instant invention installed;
Fig. 2 is a partly fragmentary end elevational view of the installation of Fig. l;

Case 93S-939 ~S78()Z
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Fig. 3 is a Eragmentary sectional view of a detail of Figs. 1-2, taken generally along section lines 3-3 of Fig, 2;
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a detail of the system taken generally along section lines 4-4 of Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a de-tail of the system, taken generally along section lines 5-5 of Fig. 4, but illustrating an alternative to structures illustrated in Fig. 4;
Figs. 6-10 illustrate a number of drive arrange-ments for systems of the type illustrated in E'igs. 1-2;
Fig. 11 i5 a fragmentary perspective view of a detail of the installation of Figs. 1-2;
Fig. ~2 is a ragmentary sectional view taken generally along section lines 12 12 of Fig. 11;
Fig. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view of a detail of the installation, taken generally along section lines 13-13 of Fig. 12;
Fig. 14 is a fragmentary sectional view of a detail of the installation, taken generally along section lines 14-14 of Fig. 11;
Fig. 15 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally along section lines 15-15 of Fig. 14;
Fig. 16 is a partly fragmentary end elevational view of a detail of the installation, taken generally along section lines 16-16 of Fig. 11;
Fig. 17 is a sectional view of a detail taken along section lines 17-17 of Fig. ll;
Fig. 18 is a sectional view of a detail taken generally along sectional lines 18-18 of Fig. 11;
Fig. 19 is a fragmentary side eleva~ional view of a detail of the illustration of Figs. 1-2;
Fig. 20 is a fragmentary sectional view of the detail of Fig. 19, taken generally along section lines 20-20 of Fig. 19;

Case 935-939 ~ S~ 3 Fig. 21 is a fragmentary sectional vlew of the de~ail illustra~ed in Figs. '19-20, taken general.ly along section lines 21-21 of Fig. 20;
Fig. 22 is a fragmentary sectional view of the detail of Figs. 19-20, taken generally along section lines 22-22 of Fig. 20;
Fig. 23 is a fragmentary sectional view of the detail of Fig. 19, taken generally along section lines 23-23 of Fig. 19;
Fig. 24 is a fragmentary side elevational view of an illustrative web- or belt-tensioning mechanism according to the present invention;
Fig. 25 is a fragmentary top plan view of the belt-tensioning mechanism of Fig. 24, taken generally along section lines 25-25 of Fig. 24;
Fig. 26 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a detail of the installation of Figs. 1-2, in operation;
Fig. 27 is a fragmentary perspective view of an alternative detail of the installation of Figs. 1-2;
Fig. 28 is a fragmentary top plan view of an alternative detail of the installation of Figs. 1-2;
Fig. 29 is a fragmentary perspective view of an alternative detail of the installation of ~igs~ 1-2;
Fig. 30 is a fragmentary perspective view of an alternative detail of the installation of Figs. 1-2.

_TAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1-2, a coke oven battery 10 consists of several coke ovens 12 in parallel. Each oven 12 is provided at its coke side end 14 with a door 16, and at its pllsh side end (not shown) with a ram for pushing coke through the oven from the ram side to the coke side 14 -to empty the oven. The oven 12 is emptied through its door opening 18 and a coke guide 20 into a waiting quench car 22. The coke Case 935-939 ~$7~0;~:

guide 20 is movable along a master gallery 24 on railroad-type rails 26 to align it with a selected oven 12 to be emptied. Similarly, the quench car 22 is movable along the coke side 14 of ~he oven battery 10 to receive the coke pushed through the guide 20 The ~uench car 22 is movable on rai]road-type rails 28 which extend along the coke side and to a quenching station 30, illus~ratively, a quenching tower. The means for moving the coke guide 20 to a selected oven 12 is a door machine locomotive 32 movable on rails 26. This machine 32 incorporates the function of supporting and moving the coke guide with the function of removing the door 16 from the selected oven 12 and replacing the door after a push is completed.
The quench car 22 is moved by a locomotive 34 mounted on the rails 28.
An unloading wharf 36 is provided adjacent the rails 28 to permit quenched coke from station 30 to be unloaded through a door 40 on quench car 22 and gravity-fed to a continuous coke conveyor belt 42. Coke conveyor belt 42 transfers the finished coke to a storage area.
The door 40 i5 perforated to permit the water used to quench the coke in car 22 to drain from the car 22.
Quench car 22 also includes ex~ended side walls 44 which increase the vertical height of the quench car 22 up to the vertical height of the top of the locomotive 34.
The ventilation, or pollution evacuation, system for the pushing operation includes a longitudinally spaced series of support posts or pillars 46 anchored in the wharf 36 adjacent ra~ls 28. Each pillar 46 supports a longitudinally extending section 48 of a first duct 50. Each section 48 includes its own supporting frame-work 52 which cooperates with a respective pillar 46 to make each section 48 generally self-supporting. As discussed in detail below, each section 48 is coupled in sliding, substantially air-tight sealing engagement with Case 935-939 ~ 5 its adjacerlt duct sections 48. This sect:Lonal arrange-ment permits relatively unimpaired thermal variations ln the length of each section 48 without adversely affecting the total length of the duct 50. Transit:Lon and connector duct sections 54 at one end oE the first duct 50 couple the interior of duct 50 through suction means 56 to an assernbly, such as a bag house~ fume scrubber or separator 58. Dust and fumes from the hot coke are separated at station 58 and clean air is exhausted to atmosphere.
The duct 50 i9 generally rectangular in transverse section, and includes three rigid walls 51 supported in the framework 52, and an upper wall section which is closed by a flexible web or belt 60. The vertically upper edges of the vertically extending wall of duct 50 are provided with rails or tracks 62 supporting substan-tially identical, belt-lifting first and second cars 64, 66 for movement along duct 50. The operation of the cars 64, 66 on duct 50 is generally as described in U.S.
Patents 2,923,227, 3,478,668, 3,481,265, 3,698,137,

3,705,545, 3,788,208, and 4,086,847, as well as the above-identiied British patent specification 1,310,980, and U.S. Patents 4,029,551, 4,069,10R.
As discussed in detail below, vertically extending supports 70 are attached to the framework 52 so as to avoid interference with movement of the cars 64, 66 along tracks 62. Each car 64, 66 includes a pair of upper wheels 72. Supports 70 support a track 74 which is engaged by wheels 72 of each car. Supports 70 also support a pent roof 76 which protects wheels 72, tracks 74 and the web or belt 60 from weather.
The contaminant capture system includes a mobile hood 80, described in detail below, supported from cars 64, 66 for movement along duct 50 in overlying relation with a selected portion of quench car 22.
As best illustrated in Figs. 3~5, a support means 140 is provided in the duct 50 directly beneath the web Case 935-939 ~57~(~2 60. The ill~s~rative web support means 140 can be a grate 142 (Fig. 3), or transversely extending slats 144 (Figs. 4-5), or other suitable means. Occasionally, it is necessary or desirable to enter the in~erior of duct 50 for inspection purposes, for maintenanc~, or the like. To accomplish this, the support means 140 can include a section 146 attached by a hinge 148 to the surrounding support means 140 portion (see Figs. 4 and 5). Alternatively, the web support means 140 can include adjacent support means sections separated to define an access space 150, as illustrated in Fi.g. 4.
Car 66 (Fig. 4) include.s access doors 152. Movement of cars 64, 66 into position such that car 66 lifts the web 60 Erom the section 146 or access space 150, followed by opening of the doors 152, permits inspection and/or repair personnel to enter the duct 50 directly.
Alternatively, as illustrated in Fig. 4, a separate and independently movable inspection car 154 has access doors 152 and interior rollers to lift the web 60 from the support means 140. The inspection car 154 can be stored at the end of the duct 50 when not in use.
Turning now to Figs. 6-10, several arrangements for driving cars 64, 66, as well as inspection car 154, along the duct 50 are illustrated.
In Fig. 6, electrical connections are made to the car 64 from overhead buses 170. An electric motor 172 is mounted on a bracket 174 at the end o the car 64. A
small sprocket 176 is mounted on the motor 172 output shaft. A sprocket 178 is mounted on the axle 180 upon which the track 62 engaging wheels 182 are mounted. The sprocket 178 is mounted between the bearings :l84 by which the axle 180 is rotatably attachPd to the car 64 body. One of wheels 182 is cut to provide pinion gear-like teeth 186. One of the tracks 62 is provided with longitudinally extending rack-like teeth 188. Actuation of motor 172 may be by any suitable means, such as, for Case 935-939 ~ 7~(3Z

example, swi~ching o power to buses 170. Contact is maintained between buses 170 and the motor 172 through spring~urged contact brushes 190 mounted on top of the car 64.
Sprockets 176, 178 are coupled by a roller chain 192. The direction o~ motion of the car 64, and therefore, the hood 80, along duct 50 can be reversed, for example, by reversing the polarity of the potential across buses 170.
In Fig. 7, the sprocket 178 is replaced by a roller chain 194 which extends the entire length of travel o the car 64 along duct 50. The electric motor 172 is positioned so that sprocket 176 projects beyond the side wall of car 64 to engage the roller chain 194. Rotation o motor 172 ln a first direction pulls the car 64 along duct 50 in one direction. Reversal of motor 172, such as by reversal of the polarity of the voltage on buses 170 plllls car 64 along duct 50 in the opposite direction.
In this manner, cars 64 and 66, and hood 80 (see Figs.
1-2) can be positioned along the coke side 14 of battery 10 as desired.
Referring to Fig. 8, the track 62 and the associated wheels 182 are avoided. Ra~her, one o the belt directing rollers 200 is provided with an annular groove 202. A
sprocket 204 is positioned in the groove so that the teeth of the sprocket 204 lie well below the belt-contacting surface 206 of the roller 200. A roller chain 208 is trained about the sprocket 176 of an electric motor 172 and about the sprocket 204 in groove 202. Chain 208 passes through a slot 210 in the side wall of car 64. Actuation of the motor 172 in a first direction drives the belt roller 200 to pull the car 64, and the hood 80 along web 60. Of course, in this embodi-ment, sufficient friction must exist between the belt contacting surface 206 and the web 60 to overcome the inertia of hood 80 and associated components. The car Case 935-939 ~5~7 64 is guided a]ollg the web 60 by ~he guide s~.r:ip~ 212 positioned on both sides of the duct 50 at the verti-cally upper extents of the duct 50 side walls 51. It will be appreci.ated that the regic~n of the car 64 interior between the vertical r~m 106 o~ web 60 and the car 64 sidewall 214 in which slot 210 is provided is isolated from the evacuated volume of car 64 by the vertical run 106 itsel.
In the embodiment illustrated in Fig 9, the electric motor 172 is mounted adjacent one end of the duct 50 on a moun~ing bracket 220. A drive wheel sprocket 222 is mounted on the motor 172 shaft. An idler wheel sprocket 224 is mounted adjacent the other end o~ the duct 50.
Sprockets 222, 224 are thus mounted beyond the limits of travel of car 64 along duct 50 to avoid interference with the travel of car 64 along duct 50. A length 226 o~ roller chain is attached at one of its ends to sidewall 214 of car 64, and at its other end, at 228, to the sidewall 230 of car 66. Small roller guides 232 are mounted on the sidewalls 234 of cars 64, 66 to assist in supporting the weight of roller chain 226 between sprockets 222, 224.
In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 10, motor 250 driven winches 252 are coupled to attachment points 254, 256 of cars 64, 66, respectively, through flexible elements, such as ropes or cables 258.
Motors 250 are synchronously driven, one to pay out cable 258 from its respective winch 252, and one to take up cable 248 on its respective winch 252. This moves cars 64, 66 along rails 62 on the duct 50 to position hood 80 as desired. Of course, the winches 252 could be motor 250 driven in opposite directions, with clutches which disengage them from their respective winches 252 when cable 258 is being paid out. In such an embodiment, it would not be necessary to drive the motors 250 synchronously. Rather only one motor 250 would need to Case 935-939 st7~)Z
l6 be driven at any particular time.
Returning briefly ~o Fig. 3, it will seem that there are two difEerent types of rollers provided within each car 64, 66. The first rollers, 200, are provided primarily for directing the web or belt 60 through the car. That is, rollers 200 lift and lower the web 60 from and to the web support means 140.
As was illustrated in Fig. 8~ rollers 200 may permit the elimination of the separate carriage wheels 182. Alternatively, as illustrated in Flg. 7, the vertically lower rollers 200 and c:arriage wheels 182 can be ~ounted on the same axle. It is possible to construct the axle, the carriage wheels 182 and the rollers 200 in one piece if the effective diameters of the rollers 200 and carriage wheels 182 are the same.
The second type of roller, 450, in each of cars 64, 66 is provided above and below the horizontal run 108 of the web 60 within each car 64, 66. Rollers 450 are rotatably mounted upon spring 452 urged, pivotally mounted arms 454 from the sidewalls of cars 64, 66.
Rollers 450 serve to guide and stabilize the web 60, and to maintain tension on the web.
As illustrated in Fig. 11, the contaminant capture system includes a first, mobile hood 80. Hood 80 is divided by a central, vertical partition 82. Hood 80 is further divided by two partitions 84, 86, which extend along the length of the hood, into six sectors 88.
As described in detail below, the coke guide 20 is surmounted, and substantially enclosed, by a second mobile hood 90 (Fig. 29). Hood 90 is coupled to a second duct 92 which terminates at a flange 94 adjacent hood 80. Hood 80 is provided with a mating flange 96 (Figs. 11-12). A third duct 98 is provided internally of hood 80.
Hood 80 is supported from the cars 64, 66. Hood 80 is evacuated into the duct 50 through openings lO0 in Case 935-939 ~ 57 ~

cars 64, 66. As best illustrated in Fig, 16, each car 64, 66 includes an internal rectangular e:lbow duct section 102 with internal proportioning guides or vanes 104. The duct section 102 lies between the vertically extending runs 106 and beneath the horizontally extending run 108 of belt 60 within each car 64, 66 (see Fig. 18).
The partitions 84, 86 angle upwardly, as illustrated in Figs. 12 and 14. Near the cars 64, 66 partitions 84, 86 extend generally horiæontally to rnate with the exposed edges of the proportioning guides 10~ in the internal elbow duct sections 102 of cars 64, 66. Flexible flaps 110 insure tight sealing engagement between the partition 8~, 86 edges and the propor~ioning guides 104 in cars 64, 66. The hood 80 is illustratively attached to the cars 64, 66 by bolts through the car 64, 66 side wall~
and mating flanges 112 on the hood 80 (Figs. 12, 14).
It is highly desirable under certain circumstances to be able to valve air flow from various sectors 88 as required during the various coke oven operations, To this end, butterfly valve dampers are provided for controlling flow from the various sectors 88 into cars 64, 66. Referring particularly to Figs. 11-13, a damper 116 controlled by a handle 118 permits selective control of the flow into the lowermost sector 88 which is evacuated through the car 64. As best illustrated in Fig. 13, the upper and middle sectors 88 which empty into car 64 are not damper-controlled in this embodiment.
However, i~ should be appreciated that dampers can be added as desired to control flow in these sectors.
With reference to Figs. 11, 14 and 15, the lowermost sector 88 which is evacuated through car 66, is controlled by a damper 120 which is selectively actuable by a handle 122. The middle sector 88 which is evacuated through car 66 is controlled by a damper 124 which is selectively actuable by a handle 126. The upper sector 88 of the hood which is evacuated through car 66 is not Case 935-939 ~57~30;2 damper controlled in the illu6tra-ted embocliment. However, it should be appreciated that a damper can be provided for such control.
Typically, the weight of the hood 80 is substantial.
Prior art means for supportlng such weight have included a separate framework adjacent the hoodJ with the frame-work supporting rails, and wheels on the hood movably engaging the rails. Such a system is the previously described Hartung, Kuhn-Carl Still system. A cantilever-support system illustrated herein, includes the wheels72 rotatably mounted on cars 64, 66 and engaging the rail 74 mounted (70) from the duct 50 support pillars 46. This system supports the hood 80 by a simpler construction than systems o the above-described types.
The upward extensions 44 on the side walls of the quench car 22 permit the quench car locomotive 34 to pass freely beneath the hood 80 on its way to and from the quench tower 30.
Referring back to Figæ. 11-13, second valve means for selectively controlling evacuation of the second hood 90 through duct 98 includes a damper 128 control-lable by a handle 130. As will be appreciated, the single damper 128 permits ~alving of the air flow through duct 98 from the hood 90. With the illustrated damper arrangement, flow from hood 90 canno~ be com-pletely stopped. However, it must be appreciated that - an additional damper can be added to the duct 98 above internal partition 132 to halt the flow through the third duct 98 entirely, to suit the needs of a parti-cular application.
The selectively actuable damper system illustratedpermits a high degree of flexibility in the control of the extent of evacua~ion from beneath hoods 80, 90.
The illustrated multiple-car system helps to distri-bute the load represented by the weight of hood 80.Illustrativelys a car, such as car 64, 66 may be provided Case 935-939 l9 ~ 57~()Z

for each 20 feet (approximately 6.1 meters~ of leng~h of hood 80.
Turning now to Figs. 19 23, the manner by which each section 48 is supported and coupled in sliding engagement to an adjacent section 48 of the duct 50 wlll be explained. Fig. 19 is a detail of one such junction.
As illustrated, each pillar 46 provides a horizontally extending support 270 upon which the adjacent ends of adjacent duct sections 48 rest. With particular refer-ence to Fig. 20, the three rigid side walls 51 o~ duct 50 are provided at their junctions with rectangulartransverse-section members 272. Members 272 extend longitudinally of each section 48. Together with the members 274 which extend diagonally across the walls 51, and members 276 which extend vertically across the walls 51, members 272 form the self-supporting framework 52 for duct 50. Rails or tracks 62 are provided by track ~ sections 278 mo~mted on the tops of the vertically upper horizontally members 272. A support means 140, such as a grate, extends across each duct section 48 between the vertially upper members 272 to support the flexible web 60. An additional horizontally extending, rectangular transverse section member 280 is attached, as by welding, to the pillar 46 side of the upper horizontal member 272 adjacent each pillar 46.
The illustrative pillars 46 and horizontal supports 270 are I-beams which provide attachment flanges 282, 284, respectively, adjacent the duct sections 48. It should be appreciated that T-beams, or other suitably shaped beams providing attachment flanges such as flanges 282, 284 could also be used.
A sliding attachment shoe 290 is mounted by bolts 292 and nuts 294 from flange 282. The passageways 29~
in shoe 290 through which bolts 292 pass are elongated and slot-like in the longitudinal direction of the duct 50 for one of the adjacent duc~ sections 48. This is Case 935-939 ~5713~)~
~o illustratcd in Fig. 21, In t~e adjacent duct section-support:i.ng shoe 297, the passageways 298 receiving the bolts 292 are circular. This arrangement permits sliding movement of the shoe 290 provided with the slot-like passageways 296 relative to the flange 282. Such sliding movement accommodates therrnal varlations in the length of each duct section 48. Resistance to such sliding movement by shoe 290 is minimized by placement o~ a pad of antifriction material between the shoe and ~lange 282. One such material is FLUOROGOL~ TE~LON~ material witl~ a glass aggregate filler. This material is available from FLUOROCARBON COMPANY, 337 Change Bridge Road, Pine Brook, New Jersey, 07058. This material typically is bonded to a ten gauge carbon steel backing plate.
As best illustrated in Figs. 20 and 22, a similar arrangement is provided for two attachment shoes 300 within which the vertically lower horizontally extending frame members 272 are cradled. Attachment shoes 300 are attached by bolts 292 and nuts 294 to the attachment flange 284 of horizontal support 270. As best seen in Fig. 22, the passageways 302 receiving bolts 292 to attach one of the adjacent duct sections 48 to flange 284 are elongated and slot-like in the longitudinal direction of the duct 50. The attachment shoes 301 for the other adjacent duct section 48 are provided with circular transverse section passageways 304. It should be appreciated that, while in the illustrated embodiment, only one of the adjacent duct sections 48 is permitted to move longitudinally through the connection technique of the shoes 29G, 300, under certain circumstances, it may be desirable to permit both adjacent duct sections 48 so to move.
In order to maintain a substantially air-tight sealing engagement between adjacent duct sections 48, the configuration of Fig. 23 is employed. In Fig. 23, a joint sleeve 306 having outside dimensions equal to Case 935-939 ~L l S7 ~3 ~ ) Z

the inside transverse dimensions of the cluct 50, is at~ached, as by welding at 308, to one of ~he adjacent duct sections 48. The sleeve 306 ls freely slidable in the other adj~cent duct section 43. The sleeve 306 is swfficiently long in the longitudinal direction of the duct 50 to prevent the adjacent duct secti.ons 48 from becoming disengaged in the "worst case" of duct section 48 thermal contraction.
Generally, the varie-ty of materials available for the construction of the duct sections 48 and :Eor the flexible web or belt 60 permits choosing of ma~erials which have fairly closely matched coefficients of thermal expansi.on. This perrnits the web 60 to expand fairly uniformly in length with the duct 50, This7 of course, prevents damage, either to the web 60 or to the duct 50 which might otherwise result rom too great a difference between the coefficients of thermal expansion of the duct 50 materials and the flexible web 60. ~owever, under certain circumstances, it is not possible or practical to match very closely the changes in length due to thermal expansion of the duct 50 materials and the web 60. Under these circumstances, some means must be provided to accommodate diferent rates of thermal expansion, especially over the length of a very long duct 50. One such means for accommodating these varying rates of thermal expansion is illustrated in Figs.
24-25. A supporting ~ramework 310 is mounted adjacent one end wall 312 of the duct 50. The web 60 extends out over the end wall 312, is looped about a roller 314 and is clamped about the roller 314 by a belt clamp 316.
Clamp 316 is adjustable along the length of the web 60 to accommodate stretching of the web 60 over long periods of time, such as may be due to tension on the web, etc.
Excess web 60 material can be stored in coils 318 in a box-like receptacle 320 provided by framework 310. The axle 322 of roller 314 rests upon blocks 324. Pulleys Case 935-939 Il. 22 ~ S'7~Z

326 are mo~nted on the ends of an axle 328 supported ln bearings 330 from the end of framework 310. Cables 332 are attached by yokes 334 to the ends of axle 322. The cables 332 extend over the pulleys 326. The other ends of cable 322 are attached to eyes 336 provided on a weight 338. Weight 338 dangles from the framework 310 to maintain tension on the web 60. Chains 340 are also provided between the eyes 336 and eyes 342 mounted on framework 310. Chain~ 340 prevent the weight 338 rom dropplng from the duct 50 in the event of breakage of cables 332.
As discussed above, the contaminant capture system includes a first, mobile hood 80. As shown in Figs.
26-30, the coke guide 20 is sùrmounted by a second mobile hood 90. Hood 90 ls coupled to a second duct 92 which terminates at a flange 94 adjacent hood 80. Hood 80 is provided with a mating flange 96. A third con-necting duct 98 is provided internally of hood 80. Hood 80 is supported from the cars 64, 66. Hood 80 is evacuated into the duct 50 through openings in cars 64, 66. Hood 90 is evacuated through ducts 92, 98 and car 64 into duct 50.
Fig. 26, a fragmentary end elevation of the battery 10 from the coke side 14, shows in greater detail adjacent ovens 12, a selected one of which (12') is being emptied.
For this purpose, the door 16 of oven 12' has been removed by the door machine 32, exposing the door opening 18 of oven 12'. The door machine locomotive 32 has been moved on rails 26 to place the coke guide 20 directly in front of the opening 18.
Here it should be noted that the guide 20 can be of a type which can be projected, or otherwise moved perpen-dicular to the longitudinal extent of rails 26. Alterna-tively, guide 20 can be the type which, when positioned along rails 26 by the locomotive 32, does not project toward the door opening 18 of t~e selected oven 12' Case 935-939 23 ~S7~302 between the oven ba~tery 10 buclcs~ays, or vertical supports, 350 which bracket each door opening 18. This latter type of guide 20 is generally reerred to as a "stationary" guide, although it must be understood that all guides are moved longitudinally along the coke side 14 into alignment with the various ovens 12.
Fig. 26 illustrates a mass 352 of incandescent coke being pushed from the door opening 18 through the guide 20 toward the waiting quench car 22 (Figs. 1-2). The evolved dusts and fumes captured lmder the hood 90 are evacuated through the duct 92, past flanges 94, 96, through the duct 98 internally of hood 80, and through the interior of car 64 into the main duct 50.
In an alternative arrangement, illustrated in lS Fig. 27, the hood 90 overlies the guide 20, and a duct 92 (not shown) still couples the hood 90 through the duct 98 in hood 80 to the car 64. However, in the embodiment illustrated~in Fig. 27, an air curtain-generator hood 360 has been added. Hood 360 overlies the hood 90. Hood 360 is provided with a blower 362 having an intake port 364 through which fresh air is drawn into the hood 360. The illustrated coke guide 20 is of a "slatted" type having side walls 366 provided with openings 368. This is a common type of guide 20, To prevent the escape of contaminant dusts and fumes evolved during the push through the openings 368, hood 360 is provided with two downwardly directed elongated, slot-shaped air curtain generating nozzles 370. Nozzles 370 direct air provided by blower 362 at high velocity through the interior of hood 360 down-wardly across the side walls 366 of guide 20. Thiscontinuous air curtain prevents the escape of such contaminant dusts and fumes through openings 368.
The illustrated guide 20 is of a "stationary" type, meaning that it does not project between the buckstays 350 into contact with the oven 12 sidewall adjacent door Case 935-939 ~71~()2 opening 18 during the pu~h. Consequently, it is desirable to prevent, to the greatest extent possible, contaminant fumes and dusts from escaping frorn the space between the coke slde end 14 of oven 12 and the adjacent surfaces 372 of hood 360. Thus, surfaces '372 are also provided with air curtain-generating nozzles 370 which direct clean air at high velocity and under pressure frorn blower 362 toward the coke side end 14 of oven 12 around ~he upper extent of door opening 18. The air curtain thus formed, along with the suction provided by hood 90 through duct 92, duct 98, car 64 cmd duct 50, minimizes the escaping contaminant dusts and fumes from between the oven and the air curtain generator hood 360.
The alternative system illustrated in Fig. 28 can be used in at least two different modes of operation.
The guide 20 is surmounted by an auxiliary ventilation hood 374. Space i5 provided under hood 374 for the hood 90 and duct 92 of the prior embodiments. However, it must be understood that ventilation hood 374 can be used either with or without the accompanying structure 90, ~ 92, 94. Ventilation hood 3i4 includes intake ports 376 in surfaces 372 adjacent the coke side end 14 of oven 12. An internal shroud space 378 is established be~ween hood 90 and the outer walls of hood 374. When no hood 90 is used, the entire interior of hood 374 is exposed directly ~o the hot coke moving through the guide 20.
Hood 374 is provided with blower 362. A filtration apparatus 380, such as a stack of disposable filter elements, is positioned in the intake port 364 of blower 362. Blower 362 is provided with an exhaust port 382 controlled by a damper 384 and an exhaust port 386 controlled by a damper 388~ Dampers 384, 388 are simultaneously controllable such that when one of them is fully opened, the other is fully closed.
When the system of Fig. 28 is used in conjunction with the hood 90, exhaust port 382 is coupled through a Case 935-939 ~' 7 ~

conduit 390, and the wall of hood 90 to the lnterior oE
the hood. In this embodiment, the hood 90 include~ an internal baffle 392 above the level of the coke mass movlng through the g~lide 20. The bafle 392 directs air from port 382 toward duct 92 for entry into the duct 50 through duct 98 in car 64. See F:ig. 2. In the described mode, blower 362 thus acts as an auxiliary ventilation system to the suction means 5~ (Fig. 1).
In the alternative mode of operation of the apparatus of Fig. 28, hood 90 is deleted. '~us, all dusts and fumes evolved from the mass of coke moving through guide 20 are drawn through the filter stack 380 to remove the dusts and fumes from the flowing air stream. In thi mode, damper 388 is opened and damper 384 is closed.
The filtered air is exhausted directly from the blower 362 through port 386 to atmosphere.
In the embodiment of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 29, the coke guide 20 is surrounded and closed by the overlying hood 90, which is connected through duct 92 to flange 94 for evacuation through the main exhaust duct 50 (Figs. 1-2), stationary side wall 394, and movable side wall portions 396, 398. Side wall portions 396, 398 project generally transversely to the direction of motion of the door locomotive 32 on rails 26 along the coke side 14 of the battery 10. Side walls 396 are contoured at their outer edges 400 to fit closely the side wall contours of the hood 80 (see Fig. 2). This contour 400 helps minimize the escaping contaminants from a pushing operation.
The movable side wall portions 398, and a connecting top portion 402, form basically an extension of the hood 90. This extension is projectable between the buckstays 350 of a particular oven 12, and into closely spaced, surrounding relation with the door opening 18 of the oven 12 to prevent contaminant dusts and fumes from escapir-g from between the hood 90 and coke side end 14 Case 935-939 :~L A~ 2 of the oven ~2. The projection of side wall portions 396, 398 ls achieved through the use of pneurnatic or hydraulic piston-and-cylinder arrangements 404 rnounted on the stationary side wall 394. The mounting mechanism for each piston-and-cylinder arrangement 404 includes an arm 406 attached at 408 to movable side wall portions 396 near the contoured edges 400 thereof, and slidably reciprocably mounted at 410 from the stationary side walls 394 by means of an elongated slot aperture in the arm 406 and a pin mounted on the side wall 394 and projecting through the aperture. The piston rod 412 of each piston-and-cylinder arrangement ~04 extends through a bearing block 414 on the supporting framework and is attached by means o~ a connecting link 416 to the movable side wall portion 398.
The projection and retraction of the movable side wall portions 396, 398 by actuation of the double-acting piston-and-cylinder arrangement 404 is t~us l'self-centering." That is, side wall portions 396, 398 are provided with sufficient travel that they abut positively the hood 80 contours and the oven 12 coke side contours.
Of course, as previously rnentioned, the coke guide 20 itself may be "stationary" or may, in fact, project with side wall portions 396, 398 toward the coke side end 14 and the quench car 22 (see Figs. 1-2).
In the embodiment of Fig. 30, the air curtain generator hood 360 is mounted over the hood 90, duct 92 and flange 94. The air curtain generator hood 360 in the embodiment of Fig. 30 is provided with nozzles 370 which direct air downwardly across the openings 368 in coke guide 20 side walls 366 to prevent contaminant dusts and fumes from escaping through these openings 368. Additional nozzles 370 are provided for vertically the full height of door openings 18. These nozzles 370 direct a surrounding and enclosing curtain of air toward the perimeter of door 18 to prevent dusts and fumes from Case 935-939 ~L1S'7~()2 esc~ping be~ween ~he adjacerlt s~lrf~ce 372 o~ hood 360 and the coke side 14 of oven 12 between buckstays 350.
A further Eull length set of air curtain generator nozzles 370 is provi.ded along each of the contoured edges 400 of hood 360 ~o direct a surrounding and enclosing air curtain toward the hood 80 to prevent contaminant fumes and dusts from escapi.ng between the contoured surfaces of hood 80 and the contoured edges 400 during the push.
As best illustrated in Fig. 29, the breaker mechanism which conventionally is supported from the coke guide, and extends out between the coke guide and quench car, can be provided on the movable side wall portion 396 of the close-capture hood. Typlcally, the breaker mechanism consists of a plate or bar suspended i.n the path of the incandescent coke as the coke is pushed through the gulde. This breaker mechanism insures the break-up of the coke into smaller lu~ps. The illustrative~breaker - mechanism in Fig. 29 consists of both a plate 420 and a bar 422 attached to the side walls of movable side wall portion 396. Both the plate 420 and bar 422 are disposed in the path of the hot coke as it emerges from the oven 12, such that the hot coke strikes plate 420 and bar 422 and is broken up prior to falling into the quench car 22 tFigs. l-2).

Case 935-939

Claims (11)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A contaminant capture system for a coke oven pushing operation for a coke oven battery having a coke side provided with guide means movable along the battery for guiding coke from a selected oven of the battery during the push and a conveyor means movable along the battery to receive the coke pushed through the guide means and convey it to a quenching station, the system including suction means, a duct extending along the coke side of the battery remote from the oven beyond said conveyor means, means for coupling the duct to the suction means for evacuation thereby, the duct including a wall portion closed by a flexible web, a car disposed for longitudinal movement along the duct to raise the web to couple the interior of the car to the interior of the duct, said duct including longitudinal structural members extending along the opposite edges of said wall portion to underlie and support said car, and having means to guide the car along the duct in operative engagement with said flexible web, hood means carried by said car and extending toward the oven over said conveyor means to capture contaminants evolved from coke on said conveyor means and direct said contaminants into the interior of said car, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the duct includes a plurality of longitudinally-aligned open-ended duct sections, said longitudindal structural members being in sections corresponding to said duct sections and constituting a part thereof, means supporting each duct section, each duct section having at least one longitudinally-movable end normally spaced from the next adjacent duct section to permit thermally-induced variations in the length of each said duct section and its associated longitudinal structural members, said car being adapted to travel across said spacing from the longitudinal structural members of one section to the longitudinal structural members of the next adjacent section, and means interconnecting said movable open end of each duct section to the open end of said next adjacent duct section for flow of contaminants therebetween and to allow relative movement between the ends of the duct sections to thereby couple all of said duct sections to said suction means.

2. The contaminant capture system of claim 1 wherein said wall portion of said duct is the upper wall and said duct has three additional rigid walls, each duct section having mounting means affording sliding movement of the movable end of the duct and its structural members on the mounting means to accommodate said thermal variations in the length of each duct, said interconnecting means maintaining substantially fluid-tight communication between the interiors of the duct sections during the sliding movement.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the mounting means for the duct comprises a longitudinally-spaced series of generally vertical pillars, each pillar rigidly supporting one section of the duct such that each duct section is separately supported.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein each pillar also provides a horizontally-extending transverse support upon which the adjacent ends of adjacent duct sections are supported for sliding movement to maintain the longitudinally movable end of the adjacent duct section in alignment with the rigidly supported duct section.

5. The system of any one of claims 1-3 wherein the longitudinal structural members comprise tracks attached to the upper side of each duct section.

6. The system of any one of claims 1-3 including a rail remote from said longitudinal members and said duct, said rail providing cantilevered support for said car and hood.

7. The system of any of claims 1-3 wherein each of said duct sections comprises a tubular member having uniform internal transverse dimensions throughout its length, said interconnecting means comprising a sleeve having outside dimensions equal to said internal transverse dimensions, said sleeve bridging the spacing between the open ends of the adjacent duct sections when it is at its maximum and affording relative longitudinal displacement of the ends of said sections upon thermally-induced variation in the length of at least one of said sections.

8. The system of any of claims 1-3 wherein each of said duct sections comprises a tubular member having uniform internal transverse dimensions throughout its length, said interconnecting means comprising a sleeve having outside dimensions equal to said internal transverse dimensions, said sleeve bridging the spacing between the open ends of the adjacent duct sections when it is at its maximum and affording relative longitudinal displacement of the ends of said sections upon thermally-induced variation in the length of at least one of said sections, said sleeve being rigid and supported by and attached to one of said sections and tele-scopically slidable in the adjacent section.

9. The contaminant capture system of any of claims 1-3 including rail means facing in a direction different from the facing direction of said structural members and extending along the duct section at one lateral side and remote from said longitudinal members, said car including rail-engaging means engaging said rail means and a second means on said car cooperating with said longitudinal structural members to support and guide in cantilever fashion the mobile hood means carried by the car, said hood means being supported alongside said duct opposite to said one lateral side.

10. The contaminant capture system of any of claims 1-3 including rail means facing in a direction different from the facing direction of said structural members and extending along the duct section at one lateral side and remote from said longitudinal members, said car including rail-engaging means engaging said rail means and a second means on said car cooperating with said longitudinal structural members to support and guide in cantilever fashion the mobile hood means carried by the car, said hood means being supported alongside said duct opposite to said one lateral side, said longitudinal structural members including a pair of tracks supporting and guiding the car along the duct, said second means comprising track-engaging means on the car for engaging the pair of tracks and permitting movement of the car along the tracks.

11. The contaminant capture system of any of claims 1-3 including rail means facing in a direction different from the facing direction of said structural members and extending along the duct section at one lateral side and remote from said longitudinal members, said car including rail-engaging wheels engaging said rail means and a second means on said car cooperating with said longitudinal structural members to support and guide in cantilever fashion the mobile hood means carried by the car, said hood means being supported alongside said duct opposite to said one lateral side, said longitudinal structural members including a pair of tracks supporting and guiding the car along the duct, said second means comprising track-engaging wheels on the car for engaging the pair of tracks and permitting movement of the car along the tracks.