Look inside any metal smelter or steel mill in the world and you will likely see graphite electrodes at work. In the electric arc forging of steel, they are crucial. They also play a major role in industries that require industrial high-temperature production. Graphite, a highly conductive metal that is resistant to extreme heat, can be used in many industries. These rods transmit electricity via a heat-process known as the electrolysis. It turns petroleum-coke, an oil-refining byproduct, into a highly crystallized and conductible form of Carbon. Graphite rods come in a variety of sizes and grades, depending on the needs of steel furnaces.
Graphite electrodes are widely used in producing lithium-ion cells and other devices that store energy. The high electric conductivity of graphite electrodes and their versatility in battery chemistry make them a versatile material. In addition, they enable a longer cycle life by reducing time for charging and discharging batteries.
The graphite market in the world is more than 9 billion dollars and driven primarily by steelmaking and lithium-ion battery production. Asia-Pacific is the leader in this industry, with almost 60% of its market. North America followed closely by Europe. This demand is likely to increase in the future with increased investments into high-temperature industries such as lithium-ion cell manufacturing.
For the electrode production, raw materials such as petroleum coke needle coke coal tar pitches are subjected to a precision multi-step manufacturing process. This ensures that all desirable characteristics of these materials remain intact. Once the product has reached its final form, it can be used to make electrodes for an electric arc oven. Different graphite electrodes include:
The SDGE is used for melting scraps and raw materials. The electrode is produced from needle and petroleum coke, and the production cycle takes over 65 days. The current density is less than 25A/cm2.
These electrodes are used in electric arc furnaces to melt fine steel and specialty steel. This electrode is made using petroleum coke as well as needle coke and co-tar pitch. It requires an over 60 day cycle to produce.
Graphene is a 2D carbon that has received significant attention for its excellent analytical qualities, such as fast electron migration and the ability to resist a large current density. These attributes have allowed the development of a new generation of graphite electrodes for use in electrochemical analysis and other sensing applications. Graphene also makes a great material for negative electrodes used in lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. The electrodes are more efficient in terms of electron flow. This allows for longer battery life cycles when compared to graphite. They can also be coated to enhance their corrosion resistance and electrocatalytic properties. Latest coatings include molecular scale structures to improve the reactivity of electrodes.
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