Application of needle coke
The premium type of petroleum coke and coal tar based coke is needle coke. Coke is a byproduct of oil refining and coal gasification process and is used as a fuel to manufacture iron, steel and anodes for aluminum smelters.Higher quality ultra-high power (UHP) graphite electrodes and cathode electrodes to melt the scrap metal for recycling steel in the electric arc furnace (EAF) are manufactured from needle coke.For the production, of needle coke the separation of heavy fraction of aromatic feedstock is required to be done in fractionation unit. The thick fraction is then fed to coker unit to attain coking temperatures (3000?C).The furnace operation is critical since it has to 'delay' the feed to attain desired temperature. This minimizes the coke formation in the furnace. Thus, the effective extraction of needle coke is done in this step which is similar to delayed coking.
Based on the type of needle coke, the market is segmented into oil & gas and coal tar pitch derived. Needle coke is the major heating elements used in an electric arc furnace (EAF) for steel making. Scrap from old cars or appliances are melted to form steel. The EAF steel furnace requires high quality coke for graphite electrode manufacturing. The demand from steel industry for specialty cokes is increasing for UHP (Ultra High Power) EAF to produce steel. The developed economies have huge demand of steel and aluminum due to its high consumption in automobiles, heavy equipment and machineries, aircraft amongst others. Graphitized cathodes are used in aluminum production and graphite electrodes are used in steel production. Thus, for graphitization of electrodes in metal production has led to high demand for needle coke globally.
Based on the type of needle coke, the market is segmented into oil & gas and coal tar pitch derived. Needle coke is the major heating elements used in an electric arc furnace (EAF) for steel making. Scrap from old cars or appliances are melted to form steel. The EAF steel furnace requires high quality coke for graphite electrode manufacturing. The demand from steel industry for specialty cokes is increasing for UHP (Ultra High Power) EAF to produce steel. The developed economies have huge demand of steel and aluminum due to its high consumption in automobiles, heavy equipment and machineries, aircraft amongst others. Graphitized cathodes are used in aluminum production and graphite electrodes are used in steel production. Thus, for graphitization of electrodes in metal production has led to high demand for needle coke globally.