Oven uptakes

An exhaust gas system for a coke oven, comprising:

• an uptake duct fluidly coupled to an oven chamber, wherein the uptake duct comprises opposing first and second refractory surfaces defining a channel and is configured to receive a gas flowing in a flow direction;
• a damper plate positioned within the uptake duct and having a first end portion and a second end portion;
• a rod configured to contact the second end portion of the damper plate;
• and
• an actuator coupled to the rod,
• wherein
• the first end portion is pivotably coupled to the second refractory surface,
• the actuator is configured to move the rod along an axis from a first position within the channel to a second position within the channel, wherein the axis is perpendicular to the flow direction, and wherein the rod, when moving along the axis, is perpendicular to the flow direction,
• in operation, actuating the actuator and moving the rod from the first position toward the second position causes the second end portion of the damper plate to approach the first refractory surface,
• all of the damper plate is positioned within the uptake duct when the rod is in both the first position and the second position, and
• the damper plate, when in a fully-closed position, is non-perpendicular to the flow direction.

A coke oven, comprising:

• an oven chamber;
• an uptake duct in fluid communication with the oven chamber, wherein the uptake duct is configured to receive exhaust gases from the oven chamber in a flow direction;
• a rod moveable in a coaxial manner along an axis from a first position within the uptake duct to a second position within the uptake duct, wherein the axis is angled relative to the flow direction;
• an actuator coupled to the rod;
• and
• an uptake damper system configured to control an oven draft,
• wherein
• the uptake damper system comprises a damper positioned entirely within the uptake duct,
• the damper, when in a fully closed position, is non-perpendicular to the flow direction,
• the damper comprises (i) a first layer comprising a first material including steel or fused silica and (ii) a second layer disposed over the first layer and comprising a second material including fiber, wherein at least one of the first material or the second material is configured to withstand a temperature of at least 2000° F., and
• the actuator is configured to control the oven draft by moving the damper to a selected one of a plurality of orientations, the damper remaining entirely within the uptake duct in each of the plurality of the orientations.