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Review

Progress in Caking Mechanism and Regulation Technologies of Weakly Caking Coal

1
State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
2
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
3
Shanxi Key Laboratory of Coal Flexible Combustion and Thermal Conversion, Datong Institute of Coal Clean and Efficient Utilization, Datong 037000, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Energies 2025, 18(15), 4178; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18154178
Submission received: 26 June 2025 / Revised: 1 August 2025 / Accepted: 4 August 2025 / Published: 6 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Clean Coal Technology)

Abstract

Efficient and clean utilization remains a pivotal development focus within the coal industry. Nevertheless, the application of weakly caking coal results in energy loss due to the caking property, thereby leading to a waste of resources. This paper, therefore, concentrates on the caking property, offering insights into the relevant caking mechanism, evaluation indexes, and regulation technologies associated with it. The caking mechanism delineates the transformation process of coal into coke. During pyrolysis, the active component generates the plastic mass in which gas, liquid, and solid phases coexist. With an increase in temperature, the liquid phase is diminished gradually, causing the inert components to bond. Based on the caking mechanism, evaluation indexes such as that characteristic of char residue, the caking index, and the maximal thickness of the plastic layer are proposed. These indexes are used to distinguish the strength of the caking property. However, they frequently exhibit a poor differentiation ability and high subjectivity. Additionally, some technologies have been demonstrated to regulate the caking property. Technologies such as rapid heating treatment and hydrogenation modification increase the amount of plastic mass generated, thereby improving the caking property. Meanwhile, technologies such as mechanical breaking and pre-oxidation reduce the caking property by destroying agglomerates or consuming plastic mass.
Keywords: weakly caking coal; caking property; caking mechanism; evaluation indexes; regulation technologies weakly caking coal; caking property; caking mechanism; evaluation indexes; regulation technologies

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Li, Z.; Zhu, S.; Ouyang, Z.; Zhu, Z.; Lyu, Q. Progress in Caking Mechanism and Regulation Technologies of Weakly Caking Coal. Energies 2025, 18, 4178. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18154178

AMA Style

Li Z, Zhu S, Ouyang Z, Zhu Z, Lyu Q. Progress in Caking Mechanism and Regulation Technologies of Weakly Caking Coal. Energies. 2025; 18(15):4178. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18154178

Chicago/Turabian Style

Li, Zhaoyang, Shujun Zhu, Ziqu Ouyang, Zhiping Zhu, and Qinggang Lyu. 2025. "Progress in Caking Mechanism and Regulation Technologies of Weakly Caking Coal" Energies 18, no. 15: 4178. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18154178

APA Style

Li, Z., Zhu, S., Ouyang, Z., Zhu, Z., & Lyu, Q. (2025). Progress in Caking Mechanism and Regulation Technologies of Weakly Caking Coal. Energies, 18(15), 4178. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18154178

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