Nippon Steel has successfully developed dry coal charging processes such as CMC and DAPS for cokemaking. In this report, the fundamental aspects of the coal blending theory for dry coal charging processes are investigated. The investigation has made it clear that even in cases of high coal bulk density due to dry coal charging processes, it is possible to control coking pressure by adjusting the blending ratio of a slightly caking and low rank coal; and it is also possible to produce high quality coke by adjusting the total dilatation of the blended coal at a suitable level. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.