Jun 16, 2021   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Global Needle Coke Market (2021 to 2029) - Featuring Phillips 66, Royal Dutch Shell and Graphite India Among Others - ResearchAndMarkets.com

The "Needle Coke Market Size, Market Share, Application Analysis, Regional Outlook, Growth Trends, Key Players, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts, 2021 to 2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The premium type of petroleum coke and coal tar based coke is needle coke. Coke is a byproduct of oil refining and coal gasification process and is used as a fuel to manufacture iron, steel and anodes for aluminum smelters. Higher quality ultra-high power (UHP) graphite electrodes and cathode electrodes to melt the scrap metal for recycling steel in the electric arc furnace (EAF) are manufactured from needle coke. For the production, of needle coke the separation of heavy fraction of aromatic feedstock is required to be done in fractionation unit. The thick fraction is then fed to coker unit to attain coking temperatures (3000ºC). The furnace operation is critical since it has to 'delay' the feed to attain desired temperature. This minimizes the coke formation in the furnace. Thus, the effective extraction of needle coke is done in this step which is similar to delayed coking.

Based on the type of needle coke, the market is segmented into oil & gas and coal tar pitch derived. Needle coke is the major heating elements used in an electric arc furnace (EAF) for steel making. Scrap from old cars or appliances are melted to form steel. The EAF steel furnace requires high quality coke for graphite electrode manufacturing. The demand from steel industry for specialty cokes is increasing for UHP (Ultra High Power) EAF to produce steel. The developed economies have huge demand of steel and aluminum due to its high consumption in automobiles, heavy equipment and machineries, aircraft amongst others. Graphitized cathodes are used in aluminum production and graphite electrodes are used in steel production. Thus, for graphitization of electrodes in metal production has led to high demand for needle coke globally.

In terms of grade, the needle coke is bifurcated into base premium, intermediate premium and super premium needle coke. The base premium needle coke has the highest coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) that is less than 0.65 (10-6/ºC). The sulfur content is less than 0.6% and hydrogen content is in the range of 0.035-0.055%. The intermediate premium coke has the CTE less than 0.5 (10-6/ºC). The xylene content is 2.12 g/cm3 and hydrogen content is similar to base premium type. The super-premium needle coke has sulfur content less than 0.4%. The coefficient of thermal expansion is less than 0.4 (10-6/ºC) Max. World's biggest manufacturers of needle coke also have super premium needle cokes with CTE as low as 0.1 (10-6/ºC) Max. On the basis of end-user, the market is segmented into steel industry, aluminum industry, nuclear power plants and others (lithium batteries, aerospace, etc.)

U.S., China and Japan are the world's top manufacturers of needle coke. India, Russia, Germany and the U.K are the other major countries where needle coke and graphite electrode manufacturing is based. The world's largest manufacturer of needle coke is Conoco Phillips (Phillips 66). There are only 2 companies in the world which derive needle coke from coal tar pitch. Both the companies are Japan based. As of 2021, the global EAF based steel production is expected to witness high growth rate. This has led to similar rise in demand of the graphite electrodes. Eventually, the rise in graphite electrode demand is expected to trigger the demand for needle coke.

Companies Mentioned

  • Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)
  • Phillips 66
  • Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
  • Royal Dutch Shell Plc
  • SeaDrift Coke LP
  • C-Chem Co. Ltd.
  • Boatailong New Co. Ltd.
  • Graphite India Ltd.
  • HEG Ltd.
  • Petroleum Coke Industries Co. Ltd.
  • Tokai Carbon
  • Nippon Carbon
  • Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Ltd..
  • JXTG Holdings

Key Topics Covered:

Chapter 1 Preface

Chapter 2 Executive Summary

Chapter 3 Market Overview

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Market Dynamics

3.2.1 Market Drivers

3.2.2 Market Restraints

3.2.3 Opportunities

3.3 Impact Analysis of Drivers, Challenges and Opportunities During the Forecast Period

3.4 Attractive Investment Proposition, by Geography, 2020

Chapter 4 Global Needle Coke Market, by Grade

Chapter 5 Global Needle Coke Market, By Type

Chapter 6 Global Needle Coke Market, by End-User

Chapter 7 Global Needle Coke Market, by Geography

Chapter 8 Company Profiles

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