Metallurgical carbon

Anthracite. Anthracite is preferred to other forms of coal (qv) in the manufacture of carbon products because of its high carbon-to-hydrogen ratio, its low volatile content, and its more ordered stmcture. It is commonly added to carbon mixes used for fabricating metallurgical carbon products to improve specific properties and reduce cost. Anthracite is used in mix compositions for producing carbon electrodes, stmctural brick, blocks for cathodes in aluminum manufacture, and in carbon blocks and brick used for blast furnace linings. 

A low-cost replacement for carbon black petroleum-based products has been introduced by DJ Enterprises a custom-ground, high-purity metallurgical carbon, superheated to drive off organic tramp elements. 

Coal carbonization to produce metallurgical coke involves much the same chemistry as pyrolysis. 

Other Industrial Applications. High pressures are used industrially for many other specialized appHcations. Apart from mechanical uses in which hydrauhc pressure is used to supply power or to generate Hquid jets for mining minerals or cutting metal sheets and fabrics, most of these other operations are batch processes. Eor example, metallurgical appHcations include isostatic compaction, hot isostatic compaction (HIP), and the hydrostatic extmsion of metals. Other appHcations such as the hydrothermal synthesis of quartz (see Silica, synthetic quartz crystals), or the synthesis of industrial diamonds involve changing the phase of a substance under pressure. In the case of the synthesis of diamonds, conditions of 6 GPa (870,000 psi) and 1500°C are used (see Carbon, diamond, synthetic). 

In the carbonyl process, the Hquid is purified, vaporized, and rapidly heated to ca 300°C which results in the decomposition of the vapor to carbon monoxide and a fine high purity nickel powder of particle sizes <10 fim. This product is useflil for powder metallurgical appHcations (see Metallurgy, powder). Nickel carbonyl can also be decomposed in the presence of nickel powder, upon which the nickel is deposited. This process yields nickel pellets, typically about 0.8 cm dia and of >99.9 wt% purity. 

Until 1960—1970, in countries where natural gas was not available, large amounts of coal were carbonized for the production of town gas, as well as a grade of coke which, although unsuitable for metallurgical use, was satisfactory as a domestic fuel in closed stoves. The early cast-iron and siUca horizontal retorts used at gasworks were replaced by continuous vertical retorts. These operated at flue temperatures of 1000—1100°C. The volatile products were rapidly swept from the retort by the introduction of steam at 10—20% by weight of the coal carbonized. 

The demand for electrode binder pitch has grown as aluminium output has expanded and the requirement for aluminium smelting is now between 1.5 and 2 x 10 t /yr. In Japan pitch is used for mixing with coal for carbonization in coke ovens to make metallurgical coke. 

The principal binder material, coal-tar pitch, is produced by the distillation of coal tar. Coal tar is obtained primarily as a by-product of the destmctive distillation of bituminous coal in coke ovens during the production of metallurgical coke. Petroleum pitch is used to a much lesser extent as a binder in carbon and graphite manufacture. Because of its low sohds content, petroleum pitch is used as an impregnant to strengthen carbon artifacts prior to graphitization. 

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