Petroleum Pitch: A Versatile Precursor for Production of Industrial Carbon Materials

摘要

Carbon materials ahve a wide range of industrial applications in the area of electrical, metallurgical, nuclear, aerospace, automobile, and particularly in petroleum refining. Some indutrially important carbons are pitch, activated carbon, needle coke, carbon black, graphite electrode, carbon fibre, carbon molecular sieves (CMS) and fullerene (C_(60)). Conventionally, carbon materials are produced from coal based sources. In recent years, there is a move towards petroleum based sources because of their availability and relatively low cost. Highly aromatic streams - by products of petroleum refining and petrochemical industries - can be transformed into a variety of carbon materials through an intermediate stage called 'pitch'. The production of pitch from aromatic rich streams is a real value addition to refining/petroleum industries and has great impact on overall economy.