Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This inven,ion relates to coke oven emission control
systems for preventing air pollution by fumes, gas, and partic-
ulates discharged into the atmosphere above a quench car at the
time the hot coke is pushed out of a coke oven at the conclusion
of the heating cycle. Specifically, the invention relates to
traveling hood means superposed over the quench car and align-
able with different ovens of a coke oven battery, at the time a
coke oven is pushed, to collect therein the fumes, gas and
particulates arising from the pushing operation. In particular, -
the invention relates to a traveling hood having a sliding -
connection with an exhaust duct paralleling the coke oven
battery via which the fumes, gas and particulates are transmitted
to cleaning and scrubbing apparatus before release to the atmos-
phere. With the advent of anti-air-pollution legislation
generally throughout industrial communities, particularly in
areas having steelmaking facilities requiring coke, proposals
have been made for reducing or eliminating the air pollution
due to smoke, toxic fumes and gases as well as particulates
dispersed into the ambient atmosphere surrounding the coke oven
batteries incidental to pushing of the hot coke out of the ovens
into quench cars traveling on rails paralleling the ovens.
These proposals include various forms of hoods movable into
position to collect the smoke, fumes and particulates dispersed
from the operation of pushing the hot coke into a quench car.
In U. S. patents 3,801,472 and 3,801,473, both issued April 2,
1974, the hood means is adapted to be connected through tele-
scoping duct work or a water trough type of seal to an exhaust
duct paralleling the coke oven battery via which the smoke fumes,
and particulates are conveyed to scrubbers and cleaners before
3~ being released to the atmosphere. U. S. Patent No. 3,729,384,
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issued April 24, 1973, discloses a traveling hood means having a
connection to an exhaust duct via a longitudinal flexible belt, which
closes one side of an exhaust duct except at the point of the oven being
pushed.
According to the present invention, there is provided in a
system for pushing coke from coke ovens comprising a quench car adapted to
travel on track rails paralleling a battery of the ovens, and a coke guide
car adapted to travel on track rails paralleling and intervening between
the ovens and the quench car, which coke guide car comprises a coke guide
through which hot coke is pushed from an oven into the quench car, the
improvement comprising a traveling hood, adapted to be superposed over the ;.
quench car for collecting smoke, gas, fumes and particulates arising from ~ :
hot coke deposited in the quench car, an exhaust duct by which to convey --
smoke, gas, fumes and particulates collected in said hood away from said :
hood, and means providing a continuous sliding connection between said
hood and said exhaust duct, which means comprises a neck member on said
hood and wherein said duct has a longitudinal slot therein and a pair of
flexible sealing strips on opposite sides of the slot bîased toward each
other to close said slot, between which strips said neck member projects
20 into said duct and with which it has sliding engagement.
A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in
greater detail hereinafter in connection with the accompanying drawings,
wherein: -
~, ) 2-
Figure 1 is an elevational view showing a coke
emission control system embodying our novel traveling hood,
Figure 2 is a transverse view, taken on the line II-II
of Figure 1, showing the manner of support of the traveling hood
and its cooperative relation with a longitudinally extending
exhaust duct for smoke, fumes and particulates,
Figures 3 and 4 are elevational and plan views,
respectively, of the traveling hood, showing details of the neck
through which a sliding connection with the exhaust duct is pro- -
vided, and
Figure 5 is a fragmental view of one end of a quench -
car, showing a movable hood-engaging mechanism thereon.
Referring to the drawings, there is shown a battery of -
coke ovens 10 having a longitudinally extending platform 11 in
front of and paralleling the coke oven battery having rails 12
thereon on which a coke guide car 13 operates. Parallel to and
farther removed from the coke oven battery than the platform 11
is a railroad track having rails 14 on which the wheels 15 of a -
quench car 16 run.
A low-profile locomotive 17, removably coupled to the
quench car 16 through conventional car couplers (not shown),
serves to push and pull the quench car 16 along the rails 14,
as more particularly described hereafter.
A traveling hood 18 is supported for travel longitudi-
nally with respect to the coke oven battery 10, by means of upper
and lower sets of wheels 19 that engage upper and lower rails 20
and 21 respectively. Wheels 19 are shown as of the deeply
grooved pulley type so that the cooperation of the flanges on
the upper set of wheels with the rail 20 holds the hood in
vertical position. Rails 20 and 21 are supported in a
:
horizontal position on brackets 22 attached at corresponding
levels to a series of suitable longitudinally spaced steel towers
23, only one of which is shown in Figures 1 and 2. The steel
towers 23 are suitably anchored in concrete pedestals 24 in the
ground at substantially the same level as the tract rails 14.
The traveling hood 18 is provided with a suitable
structural steel framework, covered by sheet metal. The hood is
of elongated rectangular form, substantially equivalent in length
and width to the area of the quench car 16 which is open at the
top. The bottom of the hood is completely open and when sus-
pended over the quench car closely approaches the top edge of
the quench car. The gap between the hood and the sides of the
quench car is preferably closed by a flexible curtain (not
shown) such as of the chain type to permit the proper amount of
leakage of ambient air into the hood to control the temperature
of the gases in the hood which are removed as hereafter
described.
As viewed in Figure 2, each of the end walls of the
hood is made with a recessed opening 25 to provide passage for
the top turret-portion 26 of the locomotive 17 therethrough in ;
passing under the hood, as more fully described hereafter.
In order to confine the smoke, fumes and particulates
accumulated within the hood against escape out through the
openings 25 at each end of the hood, a suitable flexible screen
27 is attached to the end wall over each opening in a manner to
allow free passage of the locomotive turret-portion 26 under the
hood. The screens 27 may be made of composition material, such
as asbestos compounds or of metallic nature. If desired, the `
screens may be formed by a number of laterally overlapping
vertical segments.
Also secured along the bottom edge of each end wall
of the hood are reinforcing structural members 28 which are
adapted to be engaged by an extendible beam member 29 on each
end of the quench car and hereafter more fully described.
As seen in Figures 3 and 4, the side wall of the hood
nearer to the coke oven battery is provided with a doorway 31
adjacent one end. The doorway is of a width corresponding to the
space between the side walls of a coke guide 32 carried on the
platform or floor of the coke guide car 13. As more clearly
evident in Figures 1 and 2, coke guide 32 comprises a structural
frame covered on top, bottom and sides with sheet metal and pro-
viding a tunnel through which hot coke, pushed out of the coke
oven aligned therewith, passes to reach the open-top quench car.
It will be understood that the side walls and top of the coke
guide 32 are provided with extensible or hinged sections, which
are adapted to be extended to the flange of the doorway 31 in
the manner shown by broken lines in Figure 2. These extensible
sections are adapted to seal against the jamb of the doorway 31
so as to prevent escape of smoke, fumes and particulates as the
hot coke traverses the tunnel of the coke guide in passing to
the quench car.
The roof or top of the hood 18 is structurally formed
to support an elongated neck member 34 which extends upwardly
into a longitudinal slot 35 in an exhaust duct 36, normally
closed by two flexible sealing strips 37 and 38 secured along
opposite edges of slot 35 and biased into sealing contact with
each other. The slot 35 is shown as provided in the bottom
surface of the duct for convenience of support for the duct 36.
However, if the duct is appropriately supported, the slot 35
can be located in the sides or even the top of the duct.
5.
Suitable modification of the neck of the hood would however be
necessary. Duct 36 is illustratively shown as of square cross
section but any desired shape may be provided, such as a
circular one. Duct 36 is supported at intervals along the
length thereof, by cantilever arms at the top of the towers 23,
in a position above and paralleling the track rails 14. Suitable
means may be employed for attaching the duct 36 to the canti-
lever arms, such as rods 39 and plates 40.
The neck member 34 is of such length and the parallel
sides thereof are so spaced apart that the area of the opening
encom~assed within the neck member is somewhat less than the
cross-sectional area of the interior of the duct 36. An exhaust
blower or fan (not shown) for conveying the smoke, gas, fumes
and particulates through the duct away from the hood is
necessarily provided. Such fan will necessarily be of a size
to maintain a negative pressure within the duct at the juncture
of the neck member with the duct to insure proper flow of fumes,
gas, smoke and particulates away from the hood.
The neck member 34 of the hood is preferably of
laminated construction, with outer and inner layers 34a and 34b
respectively, of stainless steel, for example, and an interven-
ing layer 34c of heat insulating material such as asbestos
composition. The opposite ends of the neck member taper longi-
tudinally to a small-radius nose or rounded end. Thus as the
hood is shifted longitudinally parallel to the battery of coke
ovens, the nose end of the collar separates the engaging edges
of sealing strips 37 and 38 to move them apart to allow entry
of the body of the neck member 34 following. Thus the neck
member 34 remains constantly connected into the interior of the
duct 36 as the hood moves longitudinally along the duct.
1V"1.1 1~l
The tapered wearing surface of each of the end noses
of the neck member 34 are preferably protected by two converging
curved guide members 41 and 42 on the top of the hood s~mmetri-
cally located on opposite sides of the line of contact of the
sealing strips 37, 38. The curvature of the guide members 41
and 42 is such as to provide an open V facing the nose end of
the neck member. Conversely, the converging ends of the guide
members 41 and 42 at the trailing nose end of the neck member,
serve to move the sealing strips 37 and 38 back toward closed
sealing contact as the neck member 34 moves out from between
the sealing strips. The wear surface of guide members 41 and
42 may be provided with rollers (not shown) to ease friction
with the sealing strips and minimize wear thereon.
The flexible sealing strips 37 and 38 are preferably
made of high-temperature rubber or other elastomer. The strips
37 and 38 may have suitable metallic reinforcing strips with
spring action for insuring a biasing action of the two strips
into closed sealing contact with each other preceding and
following the neck member 34. Alternatively, the two strips
may be flexible metallic strips having curved contours biased
into closed contact with each other, and with elastomeric seal-
ing lips along the line of contact of the strips.
Referring to Figure 5, the mechanism for raising and
lowering the beam member 29 at each end of the quench car may be
of any suitable construction. As shown, it comprises a panto-
graph mechanism in the form of two relatively long curved lever
members 44 and 45 in crossed position and fulcrumed on a pin or
bolt 46. One of the members, shown as member 45, is formed with
an offset portion 46a at the fulcrum pin to enable the lever
members to move in the same plane. A strap member 47, with an
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offset portion midway of the ends, is secured as by rivets 48
to the end wall of the quench car and serves as an outer bearing
support for the pin 46.
The beam member 29 is illustratively shown in the
form of an angle bar having horizontally extending slots 49 adja-
cent opposite ends thereof, with the upper ends of the lever mem-
bers 44 and 45 being coupled to the beam member 29 by bolts or
rivets 50 extending through the slots 49.
The shorter arms of the lever members below the
fulcrum pin 46 are connected by respective links 51 and 52 to a
clevis 53 at the distal end of a piston rod 54. The rod 54 is
connected to a piston 55 in a cylinder 56 attached as by straps -
57 riveted to the end wall of the quench car. -~
The piston 55 of cylinder 56 is single acting, being -
activated by fluid pressure, such as air supplied to one side
thereof, via a supply pipe 58 under control of a valve 59, from
a suitable source such as the auxiliary reservoir (not shown)
of the conventional air brake system on the car. Piston 55
moves downwardly in cylinder 56 responsively to the fluid -
pressure, in opposition to a coil spring 60 and the lever members
44 and 45 are fulcrumed upwardly correspondingly, to raise beam
29 to the raised position indicated by broken lines. Upon
release of fluid pressure from cylinder 56 by operation of valve
59, fluid pressure escapes to atmosphere via an exhaust pipe 61, -
and spring 60 thereupon biases the piston 55 and piston rod 54
upwardly to restore lever members 44 and 45 and beam member 29
to their lowered positions.
Preferably the opposite ends of the beam 29 have guide
bars 63 attached thereto which move vertically in guide slots
formed by brackets 64 attached as by rivets to the end wall of
the quench car. As will be explained later on, the guide bars
63 serve to support the beam 29 against horizontal thrust forces
thereon when the beam 29 is in raised position for engaging the
strike plate 28 on the hood to move the hood with the quench car.
The valve 59 is remotely controlled from the turret-
like cab of the locomotive 17 by the operator of the locomotive,
as through conventional electrical signal wires or through con-
ventional fluid pressure control signal pipes.
The controls for the valves 59 at opposite ends of the
quench car are so interlocked that it is possible for the loco-
motive operator to raise only one beam 29 at a time so as to
engage the hood, for reasons which will become apparent later on.
Suitable automatic trip mechanism alongside the quench
car track will necessarily be provided to so control the valves
59 on the quench car to insure the raised pushing beam 29 on the
quench car being restored to its lower position at the proper
time so as to disengage the hood 18. As will become clear later
on, this is necessary in order to prevent damage to the hood,
occasioned by being pushed past the end of the rails 20, 21 on
which it travels.
In operation, let it be assumed that the hood 18 is
positioned on rails 20, 21 so that the doorway 31 in the hood is
in registry with a particular coke oven that is to be pushed.
Assume further that the conventional door opening and closing
machine that operates on the coke guide car rails 12, has been
moved out of the way after opening the door for an oven o~
battery 10 that is to be pushed. The coke guide car is now
shifted into position between the open oven door and the doorway
31 of the hood la and the side and top extensions of the coke
guide are shifted to provide a sealed tunnel between the oven
door and the hood 18. As the coke in the oven is pushed, by
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conventional ram equipment, out of the oven door through the
coke guide into the quench car, the operator of the locomotive
17 causes the locomotive to push the quench car 16 progressively
further under the hood from the initial position shown in Figure
1 to the position shown by the broken lines. Thus, as the hot
coke being pushed out of the oven continues to drop into the
quench car, it is distributed along the length of the quench car.
At the conclusion of the "push", the quench car 16 is completely
under the hood 18~ During this interval, the smoke, gas fumes
and particulates emitted by the hot coke being dumped into the -
quench car is collected and rises in the hood 18. Due to the
suction in the duct 36, the smoke, gas fumes and particulates
are drawn into the duct through the neck member 34 and thence
conveyed to the remotely located strainer and cleaner before
being released to the atmosphere.
At the conclusion of the "push" the operator of the
locomotive causes the beam 29 at the end of the quench car
nearest to the locomotive to be raised by the cylinder 56 to its
upper position, indicated by the broken lines in Figure 5. With
the beam 29 in its upper position, the operator of the locomo-
tive now causes the beam to move into engagement with the strike
plate 28 on the hood, after which further movement of the loco-
motive along the track rails 14 moves the quench car and hood
simultaneously toward the quenching station.
Just outside the quench station, the automatic trip
mechanism causes the raised beam 29 to be lowered to its normal
position in which the locomotive is free to continue to move
under the hood and to move the quench car freely into the totally
enclosed quench station (not shown) where the hot coke in the
quench car is quenched by water from sprays. At the conclusion
10 .
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of the quenchin~ operation, the operator of the locomotive
causes the quench car to return back to a position under the
hood, at which time the operator causes the beam 29 at the
right-hand end of the quench car (as viewed in Figure 1) to be
raised to is upper position. With the said beam 29 raised,
further travel of the locomotive away from the quenching station,
engages beam 29 with the plate 28 at the corresponding end of the
hood and, thereafter, both hood and quench car are moved together
back to a position opposite the next oven to be pushed. At this
point, the operator of the locomotive causes the beam 29 to be
returned to its lower position, thereby enabling the quench car
to continue to move under the hood and to the dumping zone for
the quenched coke, where the quench car is dumped. If desired,
the operator may retain the beam 29 in raised position, in which
case the hood remains over the quench car until the car is
dumped. After the quench car is thus emptied, the operator of
the locomotive causes the quench car, or the quench car and hood
together, to be moved to the initial position shown in Figure 1,
for receipt of hot coke from the next oven to be pushed. The
cycle of pushing, quenching and dumping of hot coke is then
repeated for each of the ovens of the battery 10.
It will be seen that the traveling hood system which
we have devised, is effective to contain emissions of smoke, gas,
fumes etc. during the pushing cycle, during travel of the quench
car to the quenching station, and during travel to the dumping
wharf. The traveling hood and duct system lends itself to ready
installation in existing plant facilities with little or no
modification of existing facilities. The traveling hood arrange-
ment is serviceable and requires little maintenance. Additional
operating personnel are not required.
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While the traveling hood system has been described
herein in connection with coke oven emission control, it will
be seen that the apparatus is suited for use in other situations, : .
such as with coal charging car and pusher machines, for reducing
pollution of the air surrounding a facility.
