TITLE:
Optimizing Utilization of Petroleum Coke in Nigerian Metallurgical Industry
AUTHORS:
E.J. Akpabio, O.W. Obot
KEYWORDS:
petroleum, coking, plant, ore, residue, cracking
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering,
Vol.10 No.3,
March
5,
2011
ABSTRACT: Utilization of petroleum coke in the rejuvenating Nigerian metallurgical industry is currently
satisfied by importation from more industrialized nations of the world such as the USA, Brazil
and Venezuela where delayed coking plants operate and grow in number. The sad years of poor
planning have revealed lapses in integration and synergic planning of our industrial complex.
The sources of petroleum coke feedstock have been identified and confirmed as atmospheric and
vacuum residues of Nigerian refineries. Analysis has portrayed a symbiotic relationship between
the metallurgical industry as one of the major end users of various petroleum coke grades, the
shot coke, the sponge coke and the needle coke, and the petroleum industry on its part benefiting
while providing ready market for steel sheet metals for even coke drum manufacture. This effort
shall greatly increase the Nigerian content in these key industrial sectors, with the resultant
reduction in capital flight through importation, if rethinking, and re-strategizing are injected into
our industrial planning, and revamps models. Redesign options of existing refineries and reengineering of newly proposed refineries should contain resid processing units such as Delayed
Coking Plant which will deepen conversion of residual petroleum feed stocks and produce
various petroleum coke grades for utilization in power generation sector and our growing
metallurgical and electrode industries.