GB761153A - Process for the production of aggregates of calcined petroleum coke fines in the form of lumps or moulded bodies - Google Patents

Abstract

Aggregates of calcined petroleum coke fines in the form of lumps or moulded bodies are produced by introducing the petroleum coke fines into a heating chamber in which they are either aggregated into lumps or, when the heating chamber used is a shaping chamber, into moulded bodies, all the walls of the heating chamber being heated to a substantially uniform temperature sufficiently above 800 DEG C. to produce calcined coke having not more than 0.8 per cent of volatile constituents. The heating chamber may suitably be a horizontal chamber coking oven with a wall temperature of at least 900 DEG C. The petroleum coke fines employed have a water content less than 1 per cent and preferably about 0.4 to 0.2 per cent; they are preferably of irregular size and a substantial proportion of the grains have a grain size greater than 5 mm. The petroleum coke fines may be mixed with a binder such as a hard pitch, in this case the petroleum coke fines are crushed to a uniform fineness between about 2 and 4 mm and contain or the mixture thereof with the binder contains about 8-10 per cent water. The proportions of petroleum coke and pitch are preferably 4 parts of petroleum coke to 1 part of hard pitch. A higher proportion of hard pitch is necessary if the petroleum coke is ground to a size less than 2 mm. In another modification the petroleum coke fines with a lower water content are mixed with coal having an ash content not exceeding 2.4 per cent and a binder such as a hard pitch without addition of water. Suitable proportions are 75 per cent petroleum coke, 15 per cent coal and 10 per cent hard pitch. The aggregates or moulded bodies may be used in electrometallurgy, for resistance carbons, arc lamp carbons, or for the manufacture of electrodes.