Coke Dry Quenching (CDQ) is an alternative to the traditional wet quenching of the coke. Coke is cooled using an inert gas in dry cooling plant, instead of cooling by sprayed water which results in high CO₂ emissions and thermal energy loss.  This process allows the recovery of the thermal energy in the quenching gas which can then be used for the production of steam and electricity, for district heating, and/or for the preheating of coking coal.  

CDQ also improves the quality of coke and enables reduced coke consumption in the blast furnace.  As the product quality is improved, CDQ may also allow for the use of lower cost non-coking coal in the process, thereby reducing costs.  

CDQ is widely applied in Japan and Korea.  According to a report from 2007 (IEA, 2007, p112) less than 30% of plants in China have this technology, and the application remains very low in the EU, in the US and in Canada - primarily due to low electricity prices and high IRR expectations, but also due to environmental and safety concerns.  

   This technology is regarded to have very high application potential for China and India, and high application potential for the United States.