What is Petroleum Coke? Is it alternative energy?

"Petroleum coke or 'pet coke' is a solid high carbon material that is produced as a by-product of the oil refining process. During the oil refining process, crude oil is distilled down into products such as kerosene, diesel fuel, jet fuel, gasoline, home oil and asphalt. Heavier products like asphalt are similar to the sediments found in wine as they both tend to fall to the bottom. Indeed, the petroleum industry often refers to these heavier by-products as 'heavy fractions' or 'bottoms'."

"In an effort to extract the more valuable, lighter fractions like gasoline, refineries run heavier sediments through a coking unit. The almost pure carbon residual is the solid by-product commonly referred to as petroleum coke. The world’s major oil refineries, including ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, Shell, Valero, BP, CITGO, and Marathon, all produce varying quantities of petroleum coke."

"Petroleum coke can serve as either an energy source or carbon source. Fuel grade petroleum coke, which serves as an energy source, represents about 71 percent of the total “pet coke” production. This product is burned to produce energy used in making cement, lime, co-generation and other industrial applications. A particularly attractive feature of petroleum coke is that it produces 14,000 BTU/pound as compared to the 8,000 to 13,500 BTU/pound associated with coal and, unlike coal, has very little ash. The cement/lime industries, for instance, utilize large amounts of petroleum coke because they require higher kiln temperatures and the sulfur dioxide from the coke is absorbed into the process."

"Products that utilize petroleum coke as a carbon source include aluminum (calcined coke) and steel (metallurgical coke). "


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