Petroleum Coke Market Study

Petroleum coke, or petcoke, is a by-product produced during the oil refining process. It
is a dark solid made of relatively pure carbon. After crude oil is processed into gasoline,
diesel fuel, jet fuel, lubricating oils and waxes, the remaining product is further refined
into pet coke. This product resembles coal but has certain unique characteristics, such
as a higher heating value and higher carbon content. As a result, petcoke is used in a
wide range of industrial applications and as a fuel for electricity generation. About 80
percent of petcoke is used as a fuel for electric utilities and cement kilns. The
remainder is further refined into calcined petcoke, which is then used by
manufacturers.

Fig : Outline of Petroleum Coke generation process

Indian Petroleum Coke characteristics as per BIS 8502:1994
Parameter

Calcination grade

Fuel grade

Moisture as received, % mass.,

max.

10

8-12

Total Sulphur, % mass., max.

1.25 (Grade A); 2.50 (Grade

B)

4.57.5

Ash, % mass., max.

0.45

0.20.3

Volatile Matter, % mass, max.

12

8-11

Fixed Carbon, % mass, min.

85

87.7391.01

Calorific Value, kcal/kg

NS

78008000

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Industrial Applications of Pet Coke:

Fuel:
Petroleum coke is typically used as a source of energy, or as a source of carbon for
industrial application. Fuel grade petcoke represents nearly 80 percent of worldwide
petcoke production and is a source of fuel for cement kilns and electric power plants.
Calcined petcoke (CPC) has the highest carbon purity and is used to manufacture
energy, as well as in aluminum, graphite electrode, steel, titanium dioxide and other
carbon consuming industries.
Aluminum:
Calcined petcoke is necessary to make anodes for smelting and is the only
commercially viable method to do so. It boasts a superior combination of electrical
conductivity, resistance to chemical and physical degradation in the smelting pot,
higher carbon content, and low contaminants (i.e. ash).
Paint and Colorings:
Calcined petcoke is used in the production of titanium dioxide (TiO2), a mineral that is
used as a substitute for lead in paint. TiO2 is also used as a pigment in sunscreen,
plastic and food coloring.
Steel:
Calcined petcoke is a partial replacement for metallurgical coal as a feedstock for coke
oven batteries, and as a partial substitute for pulverized coal directly injected into blast
furnaces. Petcoke that is specially produced to have a needle-like crystal structure is
called needle coke. Needle coke is used to produce the electrodes used in electric arc
furnace (EAF) steel production. No other material has needle cokes combination of
electrical conductivity and physical properties required for EAF electrodes.
Paper:
Calcined petcoke is gasified to produce ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate, which is
then to produce pulp and paper. Calcined petcoke is also used in the production of
titanium dioxide, a mineral that is used as a whitener for paper.
Fertilizer:
Calcined petcoke is gasified to produce ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate, which is
then used in fertilizer production.
Other uses:
Calcined petcoke is also used as a recarburizer in the steel industry. Recarburizers are
used to make minor adjustments to carbon content to ensure that each batch of steel
meets specifications for carbon content. Calcined petcoke is used in lime production;
lime is used in many industrial processes including steel production. Brick and glass

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manufacturers use CPC because it has lower ash content than coal because coal cannot
be used due to its much higher ash (5-20 percent for coal vs. 0.5 percent for petcoke).

World wide Pet Coke usage

Calcining

15%
Cement 6% Power
5%
18%

Steel 30%
Storage

Other industry

26%

The usage of Pet Coke has been increasing especially in Cement industry because of its
low cost as compared to bituminous coal. India is the potential importer of Petroleum
coke followed by China where its imports level may reach to 10 million mt/ year by
2017 as projected by Platts, a global consulting firm.
Demand of Pet Coke : (Source: PNG statistics, India).
Year

Demand(MMTPA)

2011-2012

6,145

2012-2013

6,765

2013-2014

7,514

2014-2015

8,345

2015-2016

9,268

2016-2017

10,294

2017-2018

10,900

The demand for Pet coke in the country has been rising remarkably during the last few
years indicating that it will grow further. Pet coke demand in the country has grown at a
CAGR of around 23% during the last 5 fiscals. In a recent forecast by India Ratings and
Research, a premier credit rating agency in the country, the cement industry in India is
expected to grow higher in FY17 than in FY16.According to the agency, the countrys
cement industry is likely to grow at 4-6% compared to the growth at around 3% in
FY16. The steel industry is also on a growth path. SBI Research has recently stated in a
report that demand for steel in the country will grow at a CAGR of 6-7% for the next few
years. Hence the expected growth in these industries will lead to more demand for Pet

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coke as more quantities of fuel will be necessary for enhanced production. (Source:
steel 360 magazine)

Demand(MMTPA)
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000

Demand(MMTPA)

4,000
2,000
0

Consumption of Pet Coke:

The annual consumption in India is at around 14.44 mnt, according to the latest
statistics compiled by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India.
The production in the country however is at 12.45 mnt, according to the statistics, thus
indicating a demand and supply gap. The excess consumption is clearly catered to
through imports.

Availability of Pet Coke:

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Pet coke availability will increase from 12.44 Mt to 16.35 Mt

Need for transportation fuels will drive further pet coke availability

There is an increase in domestic petcoke production in India as refineries are using

cheaper and heavier crude oil.
Current availability: (in Tonnes)
2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

IOCL,Guwahati

55,000

61,000

60,000

IOCL,Barauni

142,000

124,000

132,000

IOCL,Koyali

606,000

681,000

761,000

IOCL,Digboi

40,000

35,000

35,000

IOCL,Panipat

885,000

978,000

869,000

IOCL,Bongaigaon

129,000

128,000

139,000

NRL,Numarigarh

65,000

67,000

93,000

MRPL,Mangalore

367,000

RPL,Jamnagar

2,873,000

2,799,000

2,844,000

RPL,SEZ

3,578,000

3,849,000

3,600,000

EOL,Vadinar

1,739,000

2,112,000

2,248,000

BORL,Bina

410,000

438,000

530,000

HMEL,Bathinda

457,000

795,000

770,000

12,067,000

12,448,000

10,979,000
Source: MoPNG ,KAPSARC analysis

Planned availability: (Source: MoPNG ,KAPSARC analysis)

Operational/Planned
Tonnes)
CPCL(MRL),Manali

500,000

IOC,Paradip

1,250,000

NOCL,Cuddalore

400,000

BPCL,Cochi

1,300,000

IOC,Haldia

500,000

(In

3,950,000
Pricing of Pet Coke:
The prices of petcoke have been decreased as compared to the previous years because
of the increase in domestic production and consumption as well as decrease in import
prices by Saudi Arabia. The price trend has been shown as below.

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Indian Petroleum coke Price (Source: Khurana Group) w.e.f 01.06.2016

DTA Refinery (2016)

DTA Refinery (2015)

Figs in Rs/MT

For customers
in Gujarat

For Customers
Outside Gujarat

For customers
in Gujarat

For Customers
Outside
Gujarat

Rate

4950

4950

6050

6050

Taxes

975.15

805.86

1218.53

1010.86

Total
ex-yard
Jamnagar

5925.15

5755.86

7268.53

7060.86

Coal Vs Pet Coke

Coal is the Primary fuel for the generation of Power in Coal fired Power Plants. Coal is
first milled to a fine powder, which increases the surface area and allows it to burn
more quickly. In these pulverized coal combustion (PCC) systems, the powdered coal is
blown into the combustion chamber of a boiler where it is burnt at high temperature.
The hot gases and heat energy produced converts water in tubes lining the boiler into
steam. The high pressure steam is passed into a turbine containing thousands of
propeller-like blades. The steam pushes these blades causing the turbine shaft to rotate
at high speed. A generator is mounted at one end of the turbine shaft and consists of
carefully wound wire coils. Electricity is generated when these are rapidly rotated in a
strong magnetic field.
With the increase in demand gap for coal and high efficiency in power generation, the
petroleum coke will be an alternative option for its own advantages.

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Pet Coke is one of the alternative options used as fuel which has the higher calorific
value having lower cost as well as lower handling cost per unit of heat content. A
typical comparison of Pet Coke to Coal has been depicted as below.
Characteristics

Indian Coal
(%wt)

Indonesian
Coal(%wt)

Pet Coke(%wt)

Moisture

10-20

16

8-12

Total Sulphur

0.3-0.8

1.0

4.5-7.5

Ash Content

25-50

4.5

0.2-0.3

Volatile Matter

16-30

41

8-11

Fixed Carbon

24-40

45

87.93-91.11

Gross Calorific
Value, (GCV),
(Kcal/Kg)

4940

6400

7800-8,000

Comparison between Coal and Petroleum Coke

Emission
SO2 emission
NOx emission:

Coal

Pet Coke

Comments

Low

High

Higher levels of Sox Emission for

Pet Coke when Compared to Coal

Low

High

As Pet Coke is Low volatile

compared to Coal and the
combustion
occurs
at
High
temperature which leads to Nox
Emission

Low

High

High Sulphur content in the Pet

Coke will lead to corrosion and
plugging in the boiler and water
heaters.

Low

High

Pet Coke is hard to grind where

finer grinding is needed for power
generation

High

Low

Low volatile content in Pet coke

makes it safer to handle

High

Low

Indian Coal has higher ash

content where as Pet Coke is
superior in heat content due to

Operation
Corrosion
formation

and

Coating

Hard Grove Index (HGI)

Safety
Fire and Explosion hazard
Characteristics
% Ash Content

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Lower Ash content.

% Fixed Carbon

Low

High

High Fixed Carbon in Pet Coke will

lead to Higher calorific value and
higher heat levels.

Gross Calorific Value

Low

High

Higher GCV in PetCoke will result

in lesser consumption of Fuel
required for the combustion and
increases boilers combustion
efficiency.

% Sulphur

Low

High

Higher Sulphur content in Pet

Coke will lead to emission for Sox
and other Operational Problems.

% Volatile matter

High

Low

Lesser Volatile matter in Pet Coke

makes it slow reactive fuel
difficult to burn, making it a less
of a fire and explosive hazard.

Pet Coke as a fuel in Thermal Power Plants & Effect on Boiler Performance:
As discussed in the above comparisons of the general properties of Pet Coke and Coal,
Pet Coke has higher heating value which is almost double that of Coal. Hence, it can be
assumed that the amount of fuel required for the electric power generation by Pet Coke
will be less than that of Coal. However, due to Pet Cokes higher Sulphur and heavy
metal and less Volatile matter content in comparison with the other fuels, hightemperature oxidation corrosion tend to occur on the heat transfer surface, causing
difficulties in stable combustion and operation. In view of these, Pet Coke is classified
as a poor quality fuel. But as pet cokes cost is lesser than the Coal and the in view of
the power generation cost, the Pet Coke can be a competitive fuel to the Coal. The
Petroleum Coke can be mixed with the Coal in the generation process to avoid the
operational problems occurred by firing pure pet coke in the boiler. The CFBC Boilers
will be the techno-economical viable choice as this technology can be applied to all
solid fuels including bio-fuels, lignite, coal, petroleum coke and municipal waste based
fuels etc.
Effects on Boiler:
HGI index:
The HGI value for the petcoke is higher than that of Thermal Coal. Hence a separate
milling system may be adopted to improve air to coal ratio before entering into furnace.

Sulphur Content:

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Because of the High Sulphur content in the petcoke, the corrosion of the pressure parts
of the boiler such as furnace walls, air heater and super heaters; hence
desulphurization process may be adopted to reduce this effect. Injecting Lime stone will
reduce this effect, which is generally used in FBC boilers to reduce Sox emissions.
Volatile matter:
Volatile matters are the methane, hydrocarbons, hydrogen and carbon monoxide, and
incombustible gases like carbon dioxide and nitrogen found in coal. Thus the volatile
matter is an index of the gaseous fuels present. Low Volatile matter may lead to use of
secondary fuel such as Oil to ignite the Fuel. Because of the low volatility of petroleum
coke, combustion tends to take place lower in the furnace. This means that lower
furnace temperatures will tend to be higher at low load, than at a comparable load
when firing more volatile fuel. The furnace design may be changed in case of pure
petcoke as fuel and also requirement of primary and secondary air also need to be
changed.
Combustion Efficiency:
Gross Calorific value is the indication of heat evolved when a unit weight of fuel is
completely burnt. The GCV of Petroleum coke is higher than that of the coal utilized in
thermal power plants. High GCV will improve the combustion efficiency of the boiler.
Ash Content:
Because of the low ash content in the Pet coke, which results in the low fly ash emission
and also useful in the sizing of the boiler.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, it can be stated that the use of petroleum coke in the power plant
blending with the Coal can be an alternative choice to reduce the cost of power
generation, because of its higher heat values and lower ash content.

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