Patent ID: 11959022
Assignee: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY
Field: Basic materials chemistry (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC C  D | IPC C  D

Claim 0:
1. A method of production for consistently sized and shaped optically anisotropic mesophase pitch from vacuum residue, the method comprising the steps of:
fractionating vacuum residue, produced in a vacuum distillation column at a temperature between about 430° C. to about 450° C. and a pressure of about 0.1 kPa, to remove liquid propane gas, fuel gas, coker naphtha, light coker gas oil, and heavy coker gas oil to produce a processed vacuum reside;
supplying the processed vacuum residue to an extruder;
heating the processed vacuum residue throughout a horizontal profile of the extruder from an inlet to an outlet of the extruder, wherein temperature of the extruder at the inlet is about 550° F. and decreases gradually along the horizontal profile to the outlet of the extruder to between about 50° F. and about 350° F., wherein pressure along the horizontal profile of the extruder is between about 0.1 kPa and 1 kPa;
venting hydrocarbon off-gases from the extruder along the horizontal profile of the extruder from the inlet to the outlet of the extruder; and
physically shaping the consistently sized and shaped mesophase pitch at the outlet of the extruder for production of carbon fibers.