Petroleum coke (petcoke) is a by-product of the oil refining process. As refineries around the world seek to operate more efficiently and extract more gasoline and other high-value fuels from each barrel of crude oil, a solid carbon material called petcoke has emerged. The physical and chemical properties of petroleum coke depend on the crude oil and refining technology used in the refinery. Physically, petroleum coke can be hard or relatively soft. It can resemble a large sponge with many holes, or it can resemble small spheres ranging in size from a grain of sand to a large marble. From a chemical point of view, petroleum coke may contain a wide range of elements and metals in a wide range of concentrations. Depending on these physical and chemical properties, petroleum coke is often used as a source of British Thermal Units (BTUs) in energy applications or as a source of carbon in industrial applications.
