Scholarlink

<p>Petroleum coke, a low-value byproduct of oil refining, is widely used as an industrial fuel with significant carbon and sulfur emissions. Converting petroleum coke into battery-grade graphite reduces its environmental footprint while meeting the rising demand for sustainable energy materials. Conventional graphitization, however, requires extreme temperatures (&gt;3000 °C) and long processing times, limiting industrial adoption. We demonstrate a catalytic graphitization process that transforms the coke into graphite at &lt;1600 °C within hours, using iron (Fe) as a recoverable and reusable catalyst. Structural analyses confirm a high degree of graphitization, and electrochemical testing shows lithium-ion battery anode performance comparable to commercial graphite. By operating at reduced temperature and shortening reaction time, our method theoretically lowers energy by more than 9-fold as compared to the conventional process. By reducing energy demand and enabling resource recovery, this method offers a scalable, energy-efficient route to valorize petroleum coke. Our results highlight catalytic graphitization as a practical pathway to reduce emissions from oil refining byproducts while supporting sustainable energy storage technologies.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Low-temperature catalytic upcycling of petroleum coke into battery-grade graphite

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月3日

查看全文
  • Ramu Banavath,
  • Yufan Zhang,
  • Sayyam Deshpande,
  • Jodie L. Lutkenhaus,
  • Micah J. Green

摘要

Petroleum coke, a low-value byproduct of oil refining, is widely used as an industrial fuel with significant carbon and sulfur emissions. Converting petroleum coke into battery-grade graphite reduces its environmental footprint while meeting the rising demand for sustainable energy materials. Conventional graphitization, however, requires extreme temperatures (>3000 °C) and long processing times, limiting industrial adoption. We demonstrate a catalytic graphitization process that transforms the coke into graphite at <1600 °C within hours, using iron (Fe) as a recoverable and reusable catalyst. Structural analyses confirm a high degree of graphitization, and electrochemical testing shows lithium-ion battery anode performance comparable to commercial graphite. By operating at reduced temperature and shortening reaction time, our method theoretically lowers energy by more than 9-fold as compared to the conventional process. By reducing energy demand and enabling resource recovery, this method offers a scalable, energy-efficient route to valorize petroleum coke. Our results highlight catalytic graphitization as a practical pathway to reduce emissions from oil refining byproducts while supporting sustainable energy storage technologies.