Calcination Transforms Petroleum Coke Into Industrial Raw Material
Calcination of petroleum coke at high temperatures purifies the material and restructures its framework, turning an industrial byproduct into a stable raw material.
Handan Qifeng Carbon Co., Ltd. is detailing the transformation process of petroleum coke through calcination. Calcination, conducted at high temperatures around 1300°C in an oxygen-free atmosphere, converts raw coke, an industrial byproduct, into a stable and reliable industrial raw material.
The core of this transformation involves the removal of impurities, primarily volatile matter (up to 11%) and moisture. During heating, hydrocarbons and other elements are released as gases between 200°C and 1100°C. The process reduces volatile content to below 0.5% and moisture to less than 0.3%, achieving chemical stability.
Simultaneously, calcination restructures the coke's microstructure. Carbon microcrystals become more ordered, increasing density and mechanical strength. Electrical conductivity also significantly improves due to the formation of a conductive pi-bond system, while resistance to oxidation is enhanced by a deposited layer of pyrolytic carbon.
The resulting calcined coke is suitable for high-end applications such as graphite electrodes and prebaked anodes for aluminum electrolysis. Raw coke, conversely, is typically used as fuel or in less demanding products like calcium carbide and silicon carbide.