Published By : 03 May 2016 | Published By : QYRESEARCH
Petroleum coke, also commonly referred to as petcoke, is one of the many highly important byproducts of the process of refinement of crude oil. Primarily composed of elementary carbon, the substance is used as a highly viable source of energy or elementary carbon across a wide number of industry applications.
There are many benefits of petroleum coke that make it a highly preferable option of fuel, even over the most popular fuel varieties, coal and natural gas. Some of the most important ones are the high calorific value of petcoke, its low cost, and its relatively cleaner nature owing to the low toxicity index.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has certified petroleum coke as a non-hazardous waste. A vast number of other toxicity tests, undertaken with the aim of establishing the effects of petcoke on the health of humans as well as environment, have suggested that the substance has a relatively low potential of leading to any adverse effects and has no cancer-, development, or reproduction-related effects.
There are two chief varieties of petcoke that earn vast demand in industrial activities: fuel-grade petroleum and calcined petroleum. Of these, the segment of fuel grade petroleum accounts for nearly 80% of the total share of petroleum coke produced on a global front. Fuel-grade petroleum coke is heavily used as a substitute to coal in cement kilns and electric power stations.
The other variety of petroleum coke – calcined petcoke, features the highest carbon-purity level. This variety of petroleum coke finds major applications in the titanium, aluminum, steel, graphic electrode, and many other carbon intensive industries, as well as the power generation industry.
From a geographic perspective, the global market for petroleum coke earns a major share of its consumption and the overall revenues from rapidly industrializing countries such as India and China. The U.S. is the dominant producer of petcoke and had a share of over 55% in the global petcoke production that was consumed across major regional markets.