CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS - Coke Oven Managers Association

A REVIEW OF C.O.M.A. ACTIVITIES, 1939-1945 - CLARKE 225.In his various contributions to the discussions, Dr. Foxwell vigorouslypursued the principle that for complete reliability of prediction of thepossibility of development of dangerous swelling properties of a coal oncarbonisation, it is necessary to simulate full-scale conditions. Some yearswere to pass before it became possible to embark on a comprehensiveprogramme concerning the coking pressure characteristics of British coals,using an oven based on the Russell design, to which Dr. Foxwell hadreferred earlier. The research on this important subject was one of the firstmajor investigations to be undertaken by the British Coke ResearchAssociation, which came into existence in 1944. A Committee under theChairmanship of Dr. W. Idris Jones was formed to deal with this work, anda movable-wall oven was erected at the Maritime Coke Works atPontypridd in South Wales, where a wide range of coals were tested. TheCommittee issued its first report in 1948, and at the third conference of theBritish Coke Research Association in London on 15 December 1948, thework was presented to the coking industry for consideration anddiscussion. Some changes were subsequently made to the oven flue designto enable more even heating to be attained, and the oven width wasincreased from 12” to 16 3 / 4 ”. A further report on the work was issued in1952. With the establishment of the new Coke Research Centre atWingerworth, near Chesterfield in 1958, the test oven found a new home,and continued to provide the industry with useful practical information.In the last fifty years a considerable volume of literature on the subjectof coking pressure has appeared, and its importance in carbonisationpractice continues to be recognised. As recently as 1992, on the occasion ofthe Second International Cokemaking Congress in London (Chaired by ourImmediate Past-President, Mr. D.C. Leonard), several important papersdirectly concerned with this subject were presented.The present series of articles in the Bulletin have been making anostalgic survey of C.O.M.A. papers being discussed by the Sections somefifty years ago. However, a change in the pattern is proposed for the nextissue of these notes to permit consideration of the progress in knowledgeconcerning coking pressure which has been achieved in the period sinceDr. Foxwell and Dr. Mott presented their C.O.M.A. papers for discussion.