Steelmakers depend on graphite coke to provide the ideal carbon content when smelting. This helps improve the strength, durability and quality of finished products. GPC is also able to reduce impurities while increasing thermal conductivity.
Graphite, a naturally occurring carbon compound, is a material that can be molded into complex shapes. It has the greatest melting point of any carbon-based material and a low coefficient for expansion. This allows it to easily be molded into complex shapes. Graphite is available in a variety of forms, including natural and synthetic. The majority is made from petroleum coke. This has been heated under pressure and then cooled, a process called "carbonization". The result of this process is a black, semicrystalline, hard substance that is similar to natural graphite but much more expensive.
Petroleum coke is a byproduct of oil refining, and it has long been used to make graphite and other high-value industrial products. Scientists from NETL have been developing a technology to convert low-grade oil coke into high quality graphite that can be used in the steel industry. The technology uses iron catalysers to transform petroleum coke grades. Currently, this process is being tested at Texas A&M and by Oxbow Carbon, with the goal of producing a commercially viable technology for graphite production using inexpensive, low-grade petroleum coke feedstocks.
The global graphite and coal demand continues to rise. Government investment programs support the utilization of steel production capacities, while electric vehicle adoption and energy-storage deployment accelerate demand for lithium-ion anode materials. Graphite and coke market leaders focus on vertical integration and specialized product development capabilities, with strategic partnerships with major steelmakers, lithium-ion battery manufacturers and aerospace companies helping them to develop application-specific specialty grades and secure long-term supply agreements.
The United States has the largest graphite-and-coke production in the world. Asia Pacific comes in second. China's massive industrialization projects have driven significant steel production and electric arc furnace adoption, increasing graphite electrode consumption per ton of steel produced. Similarly, Japan's economic policies promote advanced materials development and energy storage deployment, encouraging the use of high-purity synthetic graphite to manufacture lithium-ion battery anodes. Moreover the Department of Energy’s clean energy transformation programs encourage energy system deployment. This drives demand for crucial battery materials, which require a low sulfur, high quality graphite.
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