Synthesis and Characterization of Needle Coke Produced from Thermal Modified Ethylene Residue Pitch

Ethylene residue pitch (ETP) is the by-product in the process of producing ethylene from the pyrolysis of crude oil. ETP is a kind of complex organic matrix with a lower aromaticity, a larger number of aliphatic chain hydrocarbons, and a higher content of carbon. To study the effects of thermal polycondensation on the quality of derived needle coke, 5 types of thermally modified ETPs have been used as the feedstock for needle coke production. Thermal modification is a favorable method to adjust the molecular structure parameters of ETP (especially on Iar and CH3/CH2). Iar is also a key parameter to determine the quality of ETP-based needle coke. Thermal modification treatment of ETP followed by liquid-phase carbonization is a feasible strategy to obtain high-quality ETP-based needle coke with the content of tended regular carbon microcrystals higher than 74%, the specific area (SBET) lower than 6 m2·g−1, the microstrength higher than 61%, and the resistance lower than 5.747 Ω. Therefore, moderate thermal modification of ETP significantly enhances the properties of the derived needle coke.