Encyclopedie de la recherche sur l'aluminium au Quebec - Edition 2014 | Page 34

32 PRODUCTION D’ALUMINIUM // ALUMINIUM PRODUCTION Characterization of pitches (wettability, MICROSCOPIE, CHIMIE) CARACTÉRISATION DU BRAI (MOUILLABILITÉ, microscopy, chemistry) Caractérisation du brai (mouillabilité, microscopie, chimie) CHARACTERIZATION OF PITCHES (WETTABILITY, MICROSCOPY, CHEMISTRY) Ying LU1, Duygu KOCAEFE1, Yasar KOCAEFE1, Xianai HUANG1, Dipankar BHATTACHARYAY1,Brigitte MORAIS2 CHAIRE DE RECHERCHE UQAC / AAI SUR LE CARBONE Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. 555 Boulevard Université, Chicoutimi, QC G7H 2B1 2 Aluminerie Alouette Inc. 400, Chemin De La Pointe-Noire, Sept-Îles, QC G4R 5M9 1 CHAIRE DE RECHERCHE UQAC/AAI SUR LE CARBONE Introduction Methodology Sessile Drop Wetting Test • Pitch properties strongly affect the properties of anodes. Pitches show significant differences in their chemical composition depending on different origins. • Four different coal tar pitches and their mixtures were studied to understand the interaction between these pitches and one calcined petroleum coke by using the sessile-drop test. Contact angle decreases with increasing time. Smaller contact angle means better wettability. • The chemical properties of coke and pitch were studied using FTIR and XPS. Their structures were characterized with SEM and optical microscopy. Pitch-Coke Drop FTIR XPS • • • • • Sessile Drop Wetting Test FTIR XPS SEM Optical Microscopy FTIR Pitch-1 & Pitch-2 100 100 Pitch-4 90 Pitch-2 60 Pitch-1 50 40 30 20 Pitch-2 (25%) & Pitch-1 (75%) 80 Contact Angle (°) 70 Pitch-2 (75%) & Pitch-1 (25%) 90 Pitch-3 80 Pitch-2 (100%) 70 Pitch-1 (100%) 60 50 40 30 20 10 10 0 150 200 250 0 300 0 Time (s) 50 T.I. Coking Value Pitch-1 0,974 0,453 0,875 0,983 Pitch-2 0,984 0,920 0,983 0,987 Pitch-3 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 100 250 300 Pitch-3 (100%) 90 Pitch-2 (25%) & Pitch-3 (75%) 80 (°) Q.I. 200 Pitch-2 & Pitch-3 60 0,983 0,680 0,946 0,995 4000 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Time(s) Total number Particle count 2500 2000 CHa l C-N 1500 Wave length (cm -1) Sample type Pitch-1 Pitch-2 Pitch-3 Pitch-4 Coke C(%) O(%) N(%) OH 1000 500 S(%) 90.03 94.4 98.44 91.71 97.41 5.21 2.64 0.76 4.38 1.98 3.5 2.42 0.43 2.94 0.46 1.25 0.54 0.37 0.98 1.15 Sample type Pitch-2 Pitch type Pitch-3 QI particle size distribution in pitch Pitch-1 Pitch-2 Pitch-3 Pitch-4 C=C C-C Pitch-1 64.05 21.98 8.56 Pitch-2 Pitch-4 64.99 25.08 Pitch-3 74.36 21.08 Pitch-4 75.65 Coke 76.83 CN/CO/CS C=O/CSO2 Deconvoluted C1s peak of Pitch-1 COOH 3.93 1.47 3.54 1.5 4.88 2.99 0.37 1.2 15.31 6.72 1.16 1.16 17.49 3.22 1.23 C1s C=C C-C C-N/C-O/C-S C=O/CSO2 1.23 291 289 287 285 Binding Energy (eV) 283 281 Table 4 : Oxygen (O1s) functionality of different samples Conclusions •The chemical and physical properties of pitches contribute to their wettability of coke. •The QI particle size and distribution in pitches play a significant role in the wettability of coke by pitch. Pitch-4/Coke 3000 Table 3 : Carbon (C1s) functionality of different samples •The wettability increases with increasing O, N, and S content in pitch. The presence of COOH and NR3 groups might induce an interaction in the pitch mixtures. Pitch-3/Coke NH/C=Ca r/C=O 3500 Table 2 : Atomic percentages of different samples 10 Particle count Pitch-2/Coke C=O C C C-S XPS 20 Pitch-4 SEM CHa l 30 Particle size Pitch-1/Coke CHa r 40 Pitch-1 Brigitte Morais Aluminerie Alouette Inc. OH COOH 50 Pitch-2 Pitch-3 NH Free Moiture OH Optical Microscopy Pitch-1 CHar C-O Pitch-2 (100%) 0 Pitch-4 The FTIR Spectra of Coke (Arunima Sarkar 2013) Coke Pitch-2 (75%) & Pitch-3 (25%) 70 Contact Angle S.P. 150 Time(s) Table 1:The properties of different pitches Pitch type 100 Intensity (CPS) 100 Acknowledgements The technical and financial support of Aluminerie Alouette Inc. as well as the financial support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council o