With an annual capacity of 2.1 million metric tons of calcined petroleum coke (CPC), Rain Carbon Inc. is one of the world’s largest producers of CPC, which is a crucial ingredient in the anodes used during the electrolytic production of aluminum worldwide. We're also a global leader in the production of coal tar pitch, which acts as a binder in the carbon anodes used for aluminum production.
Carbon Products
1. Calcination Products
Calcined petroleum coke (CPC) is created from green petroleum coke (GPC), a by-product of refining crude oil. While CPC can be created using a number of processes -- including rotary kiln, hearth and vertical shaft technologies -- the high-temperature conversion from green coke to calcined coke alters the material in key three ways:
- Drying
- Release of residual hydrocarbons
- Densification
This is accomplished as the coke is heated from ambient temperature to a finishing temperature of about 1,350°C. Although initial start-up of the process uses an external fuel such as natural gas or fuel oil, the vast majority of heat required to sustain the process after start-up comes from the in-situ combustion of the residual hydrocarbons inherent in the coke, and only oxygen is needed to maintain that combustion.
CPC is an essential ingredient in the production of aluminum. In fact, every ton of aluminum needs approximately 0.4 tons of CPC, making Rain Carbon a critical "carbon link" between the refineries and the aluminum industry. CPC also is in great demand for the production of titanium dioxide (TiO2).
Today, Rain Carbon is one of the world’s largest producers of calcined petroleum coke, with six plants in the United States and India producing a combined 2.1 million tons per year.
2. Coal Tar and Petroleum Distillation Products
Pitch Products
Pitch products are produced by Rain Carbon Inc. from coal tar pitch (CTP), a derivative of coal tar distillation, as well as from specialty petroleum feedstocks. CTP is mainly used as a binder for the production of carbon anodes essential for aluminum smelting. An important variation of CTP also serves for impregnation of graphite electrodes employed by electric arc furnaces in steel production. Rain Carbon offers its customers a broad range of coal tar and petroleum pitches with different properties for the widest spectrum of applications.
Pitch Products
- Coal Tar Pitch
Rain Carbon manufactures CTPs with many different softening points, used as binders for carbon anodes, graphite electrodes, specialty graphite, and Søderberg electrodes, as well as for refractory materials. - Impregnation Pitch
Rain Carbon produces pitches with properties suited to the impregnation of graphite electrodes, carbon cathodes, specialty graphite, and refractory materials. - Specialty Tars
Rain Carbon creates special tars with different viscosities for the production of monolithic refractory products. - Refined Tars
Rain Carbon produces its RT-12 tar for use in sealing road surfaces in North America. - Petroleum Pitch
Rain Carbon also creates petroleum-based pitches for road surface sealing, and for the production of clay pigeons and activated carbon. - Pitch with high softening temperature
Rain Carbon engineers pitches with softening temperatures between 150 and 200°C (300 and 390°F), which is essential to the manufacture of specialty graphite.
3. Energy
4. Carbon Black Oils
Tar oils are used in the production of carbon black feedstock. Rain Carbon produces specially designed, high-tech carbon black oils that are used as feedstocks that are converted by our customers into industrial carbon black for a wide variety of uses, including pigments for plastics, rubber and printer toners. The most important application of carbon black is in the tire industry, where it improves a range of performance properties including sidewall strength, rolling resistance and traction. Carbon black also increases tire life by improving wear resistance and UV protection.
5. Impregnation Oils
Creosote oils or impregnation oils are used to preserve wood products, such as railway tie sleepers, and utility and telephone poles. Impregnation oils were the core products around which the RÜTGERS Group was originally founded in the 1800s. Today, as Rain Carbon, the company still produces creosote oil, mainly for use in the North American and European impregnation markets.
6. Other Oils
Rain Carbon Inc. offers a wide range of oils including heating oils for industry, fluxing oils for road building, oil and gas exploration, bunker oils and wash oils.
Advanced Material Products
1. Naphthalene Derivatives
Naphthalene derivates are primarily produced from our internal naphthalene fractions, which are further processed into downstream products. We use various grades of naphthalene as a raw materials for producing phthalic anhydride polynaphthalene sulfonates (PNS). Phthalic anhydride is used in construction, plastics and as specialty chemicals in other industries. PNS are a class of polymer-based dispersant materials, principally used as in-process aids in the manufacturing of construction products such as concrete and gypsum, as well as a variety of other demanding applications.
2. Petrochemical Intermediates
We produce BTX products -- benzene, toluene and xylene -- from the secondary distillation of crude benzene, a liquid by-product derived in conversion of coal into metallurgical coke used for pig iron and steel production. A substantial part of our crude benzene is procured from third parties. Benzene, toluene and crude xylene are critical inputs for several chemicals-based substances. Applications of toluene and crude xylene include use as solvents for inks and paints.
3. Superplasticizers
Superstructures such as bridges and high-rises require concrete with flowability, compressive strength, low air permeability, good resistance to wear and tear, and longevity. Superplasticizers are necessary to achieve these properties.
The market today demands a wide variety of concrete superplasticizers specifically designed to offer different product properties for different end-use applications. Rain Carbon develops, produces and markets the broadest range of these critical construction polymers available in the Americas’ marketplace. Our products improve the rheological, mechanical and flow properties of concrete, while increasing its strength, promoting compaction and providing optimum workability.
Product quality and reliability is why our RÜTGERS brand of high-performance polymeric dispersants were selected for construction of the 452-meter Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, one of the tallest buildings in the world.
Industrial Dispersants
Demanding industrial, chemical, oil and gas as well as mining applications require the use of RÜTGERS brand additives and in-process aides to insure the consistent, high performance of critical operations and final products. The industrial dispersants, developed and manufactured by Rain Carbon are essential in gypsum and cement board production, extractive minerology, emulsion polymerization, oil-and-gas drilling and completion, leather processing and in agro-chemicals and dye intermediates.
4. Resins & Modifiers
We produce aromatic hydrocarbon resin products that are based on either petrochemical or coal tar distillate raw materials. Our petrochemical-based resins are used primarily for applications in adhesives and printing inks. Our coal tar-based resins are used primarily for applications in coatings, rubber tires and other end-user rubber products. We sell most of our petrochemical-based resins in the European, Asian and North American markets. We sell most of our coal tar-based resins products within the European market.
We also produce thermoplastic hydrocarbon resins sold under the NOVARES ® brand. Click here to learn more about NOVARES resins.
Phenolics are produced from the downstream refining of carbolic oil that we internally distill from coal tar, as well as carbolic oil and other raw materials we purchase from third parties. Anthracene and carbazole are produced from the downstream refining of anthracene oil that we internally distilled from coal tar. We also produce acetophenone and 3.5-xylenol which are produced from petrochemical-based raw materials we purchase from third parties.
5. Engineered Products
Our innovative CARBORES® binder, an engineered pitch product made at our facility in Castrop-Rauxel, Germany, combines the advantages of coal tar pitch products and phenolic resins.
Coal tar pitch contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that require special safety precautions be taken during its use. CARBORES® is a substitute binder used in carbon-containing refractory products and graphite products, created with a dramatically reduced concentration of PAHs. Consistent with our commitment to environmental sustainability, we are developing additional applications for this eco-friendly binder and working to further improve the outstanding environmental qualities of CARBORES®.
While designed for refractory products, the property profile of CARBORES® also allows for it to be substituted for standard coal tar pitch in other applications.
CARBORES® is available in three product lines:
- CARBORES® T: A binder for the production of monolithic refractory products, it is available in different viscosities, delivered as a liquid at ambient temperature.
- CARBORES® F: A binder with different softening points for the production of refractory bricks and for specialty graphite, delivered in molten or solid form.
- CARBORES® P: A high-performance binder for shaped and monolithic refractory products as well as for specialty graphite, delivered as a solid or powder.
Our engineered products also include:
- PETRORES®, which is used in specialty applications such as lithium-ion batteries and energy storage.
- LP Sealer Base, a petrochemical-based pavement sealer.
Demand for these one-of-a-kind advanced materials is increasing due to their eco-friendly characteristics, and Rain Carbon is constantly working to bring additional products to the market to help customers meet evolving environmental and societal requirements.
Source: Rain Carbon Inc.
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