ABSTRACT

The carbon industry, like other branches of the chemical processing industry, is noticeably reticent when it comes to the details of its manufacturing processes. The novelty of a new carbon grade usually lies in its formulation and the processing steps, items hard to protect adequately by patent coverage. The raw materials used in carbon manufacture can be divided into three general groups: fillers, binders, and additives. Compression molding is the usual way of forming carbon for mechanical components. The cheapest method of forming carbon is by extrusion. After carbon shapes are formed, they must be baked to convert the organic binder into carbon. At high temperatures, carbon reacts with silicon containing compounds to form a family of materials known as siliconized carbons. The manufacture of carbon blanks suitable for the production of high-performance mechanical carbons is an exacting science drawing principally on the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering.