Mechanical and Burning Properties

There are few, if any, recognized specifications or standard tests available for measuring the mechanical properties of bituminous coal briquettes. The properties currently measured are the breaking strengths and the abrasion or attrition of the briquettes. 

Competition from petroleum derivatives (Speight, 1991) and the desire to produce environmentally acceptable household fuels from bituminous coal require that more and more attention be given to the burning properties of briquettes. Briquettes must have a high heating value anthracite pitch briquettes average 13,300-13,900 Btu/lb. 

The processes available for the production of briquettes are many and, often, not too varied. It is not the purpose to give a comprehensive review of the various processes but to present those processes that are of interest because of historical uses or because of continued use on a commercial scale. In addition, processes normally classified as hot briquetting processes are also included. 

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As broad as the coverage of this symposium appears, there is much propellant chemistry which has not been included. The experimental determination of thermodynamic properties such as heats of formation and equilibrium constants as well as the calculations of theoretical performance have been presented at other symposia. The applied chemistry related to modifying polymers, and hence mechanical and burning properties of solids, have other forums. The actual firing of solid motors and determination of thrust and efficiency have been omitted while the research into combustion instability and the transition from deflagration to detonation are only alluded to. 

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