THE ACTION OF ORGANIC SULPHUR IN COAL DURING THE 

 COKING PROCESS. By A. L. MCCALLUM, B. Sc., Halifax. 



Read 12th February, 1908. 



I was led to undertake this investigation by the conflicting 

 statements of the authorities as to the action of organic sulphur 

 during the coking process. Some say that the whole of the 

 organic sulphur remains in the coke, others that part is volatil- 

 ized, and still others that all the organic sulphur is driven off 

 in the coking process. It is barely possible that all these state- 

 ments are true of different coals, but I wanted, if possible, to 

 find out what was the case with a typical Nova Scotia coking 

 coal. 



It occurred to me that if I could get a series of samples with 

 a decreasing amount of inorganic sulphur and an increasing 

 amount of organic, I would be able to get some data on the 

 above subject, by 'determining the amount of inorganic and 

 organic sulphur, and at the same time the amounts of volatile 

 and fixed sulphur in the various samples. 



It might be well at this point to say a few words as to the 

 manner in which sulphur occurs in coal. To the best of our 

 knowledge sulphur occurs in three forms in coal: (1) as 

 sulphates; (2) as iron pyrites; (3) as organic sulphur. 



The coal used in this investigation was practically free from 

 sulphates so that we have the two latter forms only *o deal with. 



The action of iron pyrites when subjected to heat without 

 access of air is well known. There is a loss of one atom of 

 sulphur according to the equation Fe S,= Fe S + S. The coke 

 oven presents ample time and the necessary conditions for this 

 reaction to be complete. 



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