A Coke Ovens Charge Level Measurement System

Abstract

Coal fill level in coke ovens is very important in the production of coke. A well charged oven is key to the efficiency of the process and undercharged coke ovens result in a massive lost in the volume of produced coke in time. There is no common method to measure the fill level of ovens in coke plants more than visual inspection or just assuming that the volume of coal in the charging cars will be the precise for the process, this often result in undercharged ovens. This paper presents a system based in a wireless capacitive sensor capable of withstand the high temperatures of an oven, usually above $\boldsymbol{600}^{\circ}\mathbf{C}$, and measure the coal fill level of the full length of the oven. The paper also shows results collected in various coke plants worldwide.