Why Impregnation Treatment Necessary for Graphite Electrodes?

After undergoing processes such as mixing, forming, and baking, the porosity of graphite electrodes typically ranges between 16% to 25%. High porosity negatively impacts the physical, chemical, and operational performance of carbon materials. For example:

Increased porosity leads to reduced bulk density, higher electrical resistivity, and lower mechanical strength.

It degrades oxidation resistance, corrosion resistance, and increases permeability to gases and liquids.

Thus, impregnation densification treatment is essential for high-power graphite electrodes and structural carbon materials. Ultra-high-power graphite electrodes may even require secondary or multiple impregnation cycles to achieve desired parameters such as density, resistivity, and compressive strength.

Benefits of Impregnation Treatment

The impregnation process achieves the following objectives:

Significantly reduce porosity of the product.

Increase bulk density and enhance mechanical strength of the graphite product.

Improve electrical and thermal conductivity.

Reduce permeability to gases and liquids.

Enhance oxidation resistance and corrosion resistance.

Boost wear resistance when lubricants are used as impregnation agents.

Ruixiang carbon,this treatment ensures that graphite electrodes meet stringent performance requirements in high-temperature, high-current applications such as electric arc furnace steelmaking and industrial silicon production.