Mild Coal Extraction for Production of Anode Coke -- CPCPC

Impurity levels in available petroleum cokes have significantly increased in recent years. In addition, the use of increasingly sour crude oil and processing changes within the oil refineries have resulted in higher amounts of sulfur in the petroleum coke and a decreasing quantity of coke suitable for use in aluminum production. An alternate supply of anode coke is required to supplement or eventually replace available calcined petroleum coke supplies. The significant domestic reserves of coal could represent a viable carbon source for anode production. The proposed project "Mild coal extraction for production of anode coke" will demonstrate that mild non-hydrogenative coal extraction can produce extract pitches that are suitable as feed-stocks for producing anisotropic coke. Furthermore the project will show that careful selection of the parent coal and its properties can be used to tailor the desired properties of the resulting coke. Coals with properties and metals content that are comparable to properties desired for resulting cokes will be selected as feedstocks for mild coal extraction. The pitch extracts from mild coal extraction will be subject to thermal treatments that induce the development of anisotropic domains with the pitch. These materials will then be used to produce green and calcined cokes and subsequently assessed as potential anode cokes. This project will be managed by University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (UKCAER) as lead contractor. Alcoa Inc will provide cash and in-kind support to the project as well as an industrial perspective to assist UKCAER in the development and evaluation of potential anode cokes produced during the course of the project.