Physico-Chemical Behaviour of Beneficiated Indian Graphite

Graphite commonly called as plumbago is a soft, black crystalline form of naturally occurring carbon. Natural graphite is often found with carbonates and other carbon compounds and could be the result of their decomposition under conditions of high pressure and high temperature. Perfect crystals of graphite are very rare indeed and the imperfections and grain boundaries present in the materials are important in determining the properties of material. Impurities and absorbed gases also play an important role. Carbon materials are basically porous, having pores and cracks, sizes varying from angstrom units to several millimetre. The cracks often run along the lamellae of the carbon plane. India has a rich deposit of graphite. The total reserves of graphite in India is about 48 lakh tonnes. Properties of graphite varies from source to source depending on the mineral content, degree of graphitisation, crystal size, nature of crack and pores, specific surface areas, etc. Bulk of the graphite consumption is from the refractory Industry and major graphite suppliers in India are located in three states of India, i.e. Orissa, Jharkhand and Tamilnadu. Refractory industry uses graphite in purer form as higher ash percentage and lower degree of graphitisation deteriorates the refractory property. In presence of oxidising atmosphere, graphite oxidises very fast and deteriorates the brick property. Better the oxidation resistance of graphite better is the usefulness.

The findings is expected to give an insight into the physico-chemical characteristics of Indian graphite which will ultimately lead to their best possible industrial and technological application.