[Stoves] Stoves Digest, Vol 12, Issue 45

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Thanks Philip
(Dr Phil??)

I have three different coals here in Waterloo all from Virginia. One of them
I described before: it sort of 'melts' into a mucilaginous, porous lump for
quite a bit of the burn time, after which it separates again into small,
high carbon lumps. 

Is that an example of caking?

Thanks
Crispin

++++

Re Crispin and his caking/coking coals 

There is a difference - many coals cake but don't coke; virtually all coking
coals cake.  See Britannica "When many bituminous coals are heated, they
soften and form a plastic mass that swells and resolidifies into a porous
solid. Coals that exhibit such behaviour are called caking coals. Strongly
caking coals, which yield a solid product (coke) with properties suitable
for use in a blast furnace, are called coking coals. All coking coals are
caking, but not all caking coals are suitable for coke"

Prof Philip Lloyd