How to know expandable graphite?

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A tanker carrying 650,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude oil is reportedly bound for Europe, the first time Venezuela has exported crude to Europe in the past two years under US sanctions.  It is analyzed that the U.S. is making up for the European energy gap caused by the sanctions against Russia by giving the green light to Venezuelan oil exports. It is reported that Venezuela is rich in oil resources, with the current proven reserves of 300 billion barrels, ranked the world's first, oil export is also one of the country's economic pillars.  

Germany will take emergency measures to ensure it meets its energy needs, including increasing its use of coal, the German government said recently, after a drop in gas supplies from Russia.  

"In order to reduce gas consumption, it is necessary to reduce the use of gas for electricity generation," the Economy Ministry said in a statement. We're going to have to switch to more coal-fired power plants."  

The measures announced that day also include an "auction" system to sell natural gas to manufacturers, according to reports. The German government says the system will help reduce gas consumption in manufacturing industries.  

The measures come as Russian energy giant Gazprom recently warned that it would sharply cut gas supplies to Europe, the report said.

The supply and prices of international bulk expandable graphite are still very uncertain.

Expandable graphite - a special type of graphite.

Due to the laminar structure of graphite, atoms or small molecules can be introduced between the carbon layers (intercalation). During this process, so-called swellable graphite salts or GICs (graphite embedded compounds) are produced. Excellent grades of expandable graphite have a high percentage of intercalation layers. Usually sulphur or nitrogen compounds are used as insertion agents. Under the influence of heat, these layers separate like an accordion and the graphite sheet expands.

Depending on the grade of material, expansion can start at as low as 180°C and can occur suddenly and rapidly. In the case of free expansion, the final volume may be hundreds of times larger than the initial volume. The properties of expandable graphite, i.e. the initial expansion temperature and the degree of expansion, are mainly determined by the quality of the insert (the proportion of the insert) and the inserting agent.

Expandable graphite as a flame retardant.

One of the main applications of expandable graphite is as a flame retardant. Due to the heat of the fire, the graphite expands and forms an intumescent layer on the surface of the material. This delays the spread of the fire and minimises one of the most harmful effects of combustion, namely the production of toxic gases and smoke.

How to produce expandable graphite?

To produce expandable graphite, natural graphite flakes are treated in a bath of acid and oxidizing agent.Usually used oxidizing agents are hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate or chromic acid. Concentrated sulphuric acid or nitric acid are usually used as the compound to be incorporated, with the reaction taking place at temperatures of 30 °C to 130 °C for up to four hours. After the reaction time, the flakes are washed with water and then dried.[2] Starting temperature and expansion rate depend on the production conditions and particle size of the graphite. temperature and expansion rate are depending on the degree of fineness of the graphite used.

What are the applications of expandable graphite?

Flame retardant

One of the main applications of expandable graphite is as a flame retardant. When exposed to heat, expandable graphite expands and forms an intumescent layer on the material surface. This slows down the spread of fire and counteracts the most dangerous consequences of fire for humans, the formation of toxic gases and smoke.

Graphite foil

By compressing expanded graphite, foils can be produced from pure graphite. These are mainly used as thermally and chemically highly resistant seals in chemical plant construction or as heat spreaders.

Expandable graphite for metallurgy

Expandable graphite is also used in metallurgy to cover melts and moulds. The material serves here as an oxidation protection and insulator.

Expandable graphite for the chemical industry]

Expandable graphite is included in the chemical processes for paints and varnishes.

High-quality expandable graphite supplier

Luoyang Moon & Star New Energy Technology Co., LTD, founded on October 17, 2008, is a high-tech enterprise committed to developing, producing, processing, selling, and technical services of lithium-ion battery anode materials. After more than 10 years of development, the company has gradually developed into a diversified product structure with natural graphite, artificial graphite, composite graphite, intermediate phase, and other negative materials (silicon-carbon materials, etc.). The products are widely used in high-end lithium-ion digital power and energy storage batteries.

If you are looking for expandable graphite material, click on the needed products and send us an inquiry：sales@graphite-corp.com.

Recently, the first press conference of the Boao Forum For Asia Annual Conference 2022 was held. Two flagship reports were released at the conference: "Asia's Economic Prospects and Integration Process 2022" and "Sustainable Asia and the World 2022-Green Transformation in Action in Asia".

The flagship report points out that the global economy will recover in 2021, and the pace of economic integration in the Asia-Pacific has not stopped even in the face of the impact of COVID-19. The Asia-Pacific region has provided new impetus for the world's economic recovery and institutional building.  

The report gives an outlook on the Asian economy, noting that a number of factors will affect Asian economic growth. For example, mutated strains such as Delta and Omicron have become more transmissible, and many economies are experiencing epidemic peaks again. The Ukraine crisis has triggered geopolitical changes in Asia and Europe, leading to higher commodity prices, which may affect the global energy supply and energy transformation.

The report pointed out that the Asian economy will still be in the process of recovery in 2022, but the growth rate may moderate. According to the report, Asia's economic growth in 2022 is likely to be lower than the current IMF forecast, which is projected at 4.8%.

Affected by several factors, the supply of the expandable graphite is erratic and thus its prices are expected to go higher in the future.

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