Production of pitch from anthracene oil of coal tar induced by sulfur

This study focuses on the conversion of anthracene oil into pitch through the polymerization reactions of anthracene oil in coal tar induced by sulfur agent. The softening point, penetration, ductility, content of volatile matter, fractional and elemental compositions of the acquired pitches were determined. And their properties were characterized by thermal analysis, infra-red spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, and optical microscopy analysis. The softening point increases signally while the penetration decreases greatly when the sulfur content in coal tar increases. The thermogravimetric analysis was capable of as a measure of the anthracene oil polymerization conversion extent. Optical analysis of these pitch samples shows that the synthetic pitch has the isotropic properties with potential industrial applications as carbon precursors.