PURPOSE: To decrease apparatus troubles, stabilize the dehydration effect and reduce the equipment cost, by classifying metallurgical coal into coarse particles and fine particles, collectively dehydrating fine particles having high water- content and conditioning the water-content of the other fine particles according to the water-content.

CONSTITUTION: Metallurgical coal is sieved by the particle size. Fine particles of the metallurgical coal having high water-content is supplied to a centrifugal separator to separate pulverized coal and a part of water. The separated mixture of pulverized coal and water is again dehydrated with a centrifugal separator. On the other hand, the sieved metallurgical coal is subjected to moisture control with a centrifugal separator according to the water-content, the conditioned coal is mixed with the above dehydration-treated pulverized coal and a non-dehydrated coal and the obtained coal mixture is supplied to a crusher to obtain moisture-controlled coal for charging to a coke oven.