Petroleum Coke Classifications And Applications

Petroleum coke is the abbreviation of coke or petcoke, is a final carbon-rich solid byproduct of oil refining process produced by Petroleum coke grinding mill, and can be used in carbon, cement, chemical, smelting and other industries. The usage of petroleum coke is determined by its classification. There are mainly four classifications of petroleum coke.

1. Classification according to the coking method: 

It can be classified into delayed coke, open hearth coke, kettle type coke, fluidized coke. Delayed coke is commonly seen.

2. Classification based on the heat treatment temperature:
It can be divided into raw coke and calcined coke. The raw coke contains a large amount of volatiles, with low mechanical strength. The calcined coke is produced by calcinating the raw coke, with high mechanical strength.

3. Classification in accord with the content of sulfur:

It can be divided into high sulfur coke, medium sulfur coke and low sulfur coke, which is determined by the sulfur content of raw materials. The higher the sulfur content, the lower the quality of petroleum coke. Chinese quality standards for petroleum coke are as follows:

No. 1 coke: A coke sulfur ≤ 0.5%; B coke sulfur ≤ 0.8%

No. 2 coke: A coke sulfur ≤ 1.0%; B coke sulfur ≤ 1.5%

No. 3 coke: A coke sulfur content ≤ 2.0%; B coke sulfur content ≤ 3.0%

Classification based on the appearance and performance

It can be divided into spongy coke, honeycomb coke and needle coke.

·Needle coke is also known as high-quality coke, produced from Petroleum coke Raymond mill with obvious needle-like structure and fiber texture, mainly made of residual oil with high aromatic content and low content of non-hydrocarbon impurities.

·Spongy coke: Also known as ordinary coke, with high sulfur content and water content, rough surface, price is relatively higher than others.

·Honeycomb coke: Shape in spherical, the diameter is generally 0.6mm to 30mm, low water content. It is generally produced from the residual oil with high sulfur content and high asphaltene residue.

Petroleum Coke Solution and Application

1)The most popular application of petroleum coke is the cement industry, with about 40% market share, the second one is prebaked anode and graphite electrode , with about 22% market share.

2)The low-sulfur and high-quality calcined coke, such as needle coke, can be used for making graphite electrodes and particular carbon products, and is the important material in the steel-making industry.

3)medium sulfur and ordinary calcined coke are generally used to smelt aluminum.

4)high sulfur and ordinary coke are mainly used in chemical production, such as the manufacture of calcium carbide, silicon carbide, etc., or as a fuel for metal casting, glass plants, and so on.

Nowadays the there is an increasing demand for low-sulfur coke. With the development of the economy and environmental protection policies, the use of high-sulfur coke would be decrease.