According to the preliminary data issued by the Chinese coke industry, in 2009 China eliminated nearly 23 million mt of annual capacity represented by small out-of-date coke ovens. During the period from 2005 to 2009 inclusive, China eliminated out-of-date coke ovens with an aggregate capacity of 146.44 million mt.
Meanwhile, in 2009 China built new coke ovens with a total capacity of 37 million mt. In the 2005-2009 period, China built large- and medium-size coke ovens with capacity totaling 144.56 million mt and with carbonization chamber height not less than 4.3 m: this new capacity included 5.5 m stamp-charged coke ovens and ≥6 m top-charged coke ovens with a total capacity of 86.63 million mt.
The number of China's large-scale coking companies decreased from 1,406 at the end of 2008 to 842 at the end of 2009, while the average annual output per company increased from 146,600 mt to 410,000 mt over the same period. Meanwhile, the number of coking companies with an annual capacity of over 1 million mt of coke increased from 48 in 2005 to 68 in 2009.