Carbon for aluminum can be used to prepare electrolytic aluminum. my country’s industry development faces challenges

Carbon for aluminum refers to carbon materials made from deep processing using pitch coke, petroleum coke, anthracite, etc. as raw materials and coal pitch as a binder. Compared with ordinary carbon materials, carbon for aluminum needs to have the characteristics of corrosion resistance, high temperature resistance, high strength, strong chemical inertness, and good electrical conductivity. It is widely used in the processing of refined aluminum and the preparation of electrolytic aluminum.

​​According to different uses, carbon for aluminum can be divided into two types: carbon anode materials for aluminum and carbon cathode materials for aluminum. Carbon anode materials for aluminum are represented by prebaked anodes for aluminum, including anode carbon blocks, anode pastes and residual electrodes; carbon cathode materials for aluminum include cathode pastes and cathode carbon blocks. After years of development, my country’s production technology of carbon anode materials for aluminum has continued to advance, driving its output to continue to increase. According to the “2023-2028 China Aluminum Carbon Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center, In 2022, my country’s output of carbon anode materials for aluminum will reach 23.649 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%.

Carbon for aluminum is mainly used to prepare electrolytic aluminum, which is widely used in many fields such as construction engineering, electronic devices, automobile manufacturing, and household appliances. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, my country’s electrolytic aluminum production will reach 40.214 million tons in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 4.5%. Cryolite alumina molten salt electrolysis, carbon thermal reduction, aluminum fluoride molten salt electrolysis, etc. are commonly used preparation methods for electrolytic aluminum. As market demand grows, my country’s aluminum carbon production capacity continues to expand and has become one of the world’s major producers.

Although the market prospects of carbon for aluminum are good, the development of my country’s industry still faces many challenges, mainly including the following points: (1) Chinese companies focus on the production of mid-to-low-end carbon for aluminum, and the supply of high-end products is insufficient; (2) Carbon for aluminum Smoke, dust and sewage will appear during the production process, which can easily cause environmental pollution. In the future, as the national environmental protection policy becomes stricter, the development speed of my country’s aluminum carbon industry will slow down; (3) my country’s production and export of aluminum carbon A big country, in recent years, affected by factors such as the escalation of Sino-US trade friction, my country’s exports of carbon for aluminum have declined, and the industry’s overcapacity problem has become increasingly serious.

There are many carbon production companies for aluminum in my country, and the market competition is fierce. The main manufacturers include Soton Development, Zhongke Electric, Chalco, Yunnan Aluminum Co., Ltd., etc. The main products of Yunnan Aluminum Co., Ltd. include aluminum ingots for remelting, carbon for aluminum, alumina, aluminum processing materials, etc., and it is the leading carbon enterprise for aluminum in my country.

Industry analysts said that aluminum carbon is an important raw material for electrolytic aluminum. After years of development, my country’s production technology has continued to improve and has become a global One of the main producing countries. However, at present, the development of my country’s aluminum carbon industry still faces many challenges. Local companies urgently need to increase investment in research and development, optimize the industrial structure layout, and increase the market share of high-end products.