What is carbon electrode and what is carbon electrode used for?

What is carbon electrode?

As a conductive electrode for submerged arc furnace, carbon electrode is widely used in the smelting process of metal or non-metal such as industrial silicon, ferroalloy, calcium carbide, yellow phosphorus, etc. It is a carbon conductive material made of electric calcined anthracite, petroleum coke, graphite fragments, coal tar pitch, etc. as the main raw materials, through batching, molding, roasting, and mechanical processing.

What are carbon electrodes types?

Carbon electrodes can be divided into two categories according to their application environment: S grade is ordinary carbon electrode, suitable for submerged arc furnaces for the production of metallic silicon, yellow phosphorus, ferroalloy, calcium carbide, corundum and other products; G grade is a special carbon electrode, suitable for submerged arc furnaces with high current load.

Characteristics of carbon electrodes

Low resistivity.
Low electrode self-consumption.
High volume density.
Low ash content.
Good antioxidant properties.
Significant power saving.

The advantages of carbon electrodes.

First, because the production of carbon electrodes does not require graphitization process, its cost is lower than that of graphite electrodes.

On the one hand, the construction cost of graphitization workshop is high. There will also be issues such as expansion costs and power supply in the future. In addition, graphitization consumes a lot of electricity. The power consumption per ton of product is 4500kwh, and each kilowatt-hour is calculated at 0.08 USD, which increases the cost per ton by 373 SUD. Therefore, the carbon electrode does not need to be graphitized, and its price is also lower than that of the graphite electrode.

Secondly, on a submerged arc furnace of the same capacity. Compared with the graphite electrode, the diameter of the carbon electrode can be made larger .

The carbon electrode of Φ780-Φ1400mm can be produced, and the électrode en graphite can only be Φ700mm. This widens the arc band in the furnace, stabilizes the arc, and ensures hot melting efficiency. Therefore, product output is increased and product power consumption is reduced.

Main uses of carbon electrode

‌Metallurgical casting, carbon electrodes contain graphite, which is also a good conductor of electricity and can smelt metals at high temperatures.
In the field of electrochemistry, it is used in batteries to participate in the charging and discharging process. Because carbon electrodes are inert, they are reduced to produce organic compounds and electroplated metals in chemical reactions.
In the electrolytic industry, carbon electrodes are used in electrolytic processes such as water treatment and electroplating.
Welding and gouging: In this process, arc heat is generated between the carbon electrode and the metal to complete welding and cutting.

Compared with the electrode paste

Carbon electrodes can improve the thermal efficiency of submerged arc furnaces during use. Including shortening smelting time and increasing output. And it is easy to produce hollow carbon electrodes. This will help ferroalloy companies add various raw materials at any time.

Besides, the pâte d'électrode is loaded into the electrode shell installed on the furnace during use. A large amount of asphalt fume will be emitted during the production process, which seriously pollutes the environment and affects human health. Energy conservation and emission reduction is the general trend. So it is imperative to replace the electrode paste with high energy consumption with carbon electrodes.

Finally, the carbon electrode is not easy to break hard during use, and soft break can be eliminated, and its non-natural loss is less.

Conclusion

Carbon electrodes, as conductive electrodes for submerged arc furnaces. They can better reduce costs, save energy and reduce emissions, and improve smelting efficiency.