1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of compressing and agglomerating coal dust to produce a compact of the coal dust particles without the use of a separate binder and involves passing the dust through a roll press operating at a compressive force of at least 20 kN per cm of roll width and at circumferential roll velocities ranging from about 0.1 to 1.0 m/sec.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A method for compressing fine grained coal has been described in German AS 2,046,977. In the disclosure in that reference, a coal which contains coking ingredients is heated before being passed through a roll press to a temperature just below the temperature at which softening of the coking type coal begins. The coal is heated beyond its point of softening in the roll press due to the pressure of the press. As a result, a plastic deformation occurs resulting in the discharge of bituminous materials which function as a bonding agent. By means of this technique, fine grained coil can be pressed into compacts which exhibit a high degree of stability without the use of special bonding agents.