Synthesis of needle coke by co-carbonization of coal liquefaction pitch and refined soft pitch

Needle coke was a type of engineering material and function artificial carbon material that was extensively utilized as a raw material for the synthesis of ultra-high power electrodes and nuclear graphite. The characteristics of the pitch have a considerable influence on the generation of needle coke of high quality. To study the potential of coal liquefaction pitch (CLP) for the synthesis of high-quality needle coke, refined soft pitch was utilized as an additive to generate needle coke via the co-carbonization method. The optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction, Raman spectrum, and curve-fitted method were used to analyze the microstructure, true density, carbon crystalline distribution, and micro-strength of the generated needle coke, respectively. Factually, the blending of CLP and refined soft pitch was an essential method to adjust the thermal stability of the pitch mixtures. In addition, co-carbonization of CLP and refined soft pitch was an effective technique for preparing needle coke of high quality with a true density of 2.206 g/cm−3 and a fibrous structure and leaflet structure content of 94.44%.