Texas a & m engineering experiment station: new award vision open 2024, control# 3387-1550 project title: graphite from petroleum coke the research team propose to develop a new catalytic…

The Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded a $1.972 million Cooperative Agreement to Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station on September 30, 2025, to develop a catalytic graphitization technology for producing high-value graphite from petroleum coke under the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy program (CFDA 81.135).

The recipient will develop and demonstrate an iron-based catalytic graphitization process that converts multiple grades of petroleum coke into graphite at 1500 degrees Celsius in hours rather than the conventional 3000-degree, multi-day calcination and graphitization process. The technology includes catalyst recovery and process emissions capture. Current industry practice consigns low-grade petroleum coke—approximately 50 to 100 million tons annually—to fuel use, generating 150 to 300 million tons of CO2 yearly. The proposed work will transition the technology to pilot-plant runs with an industry partner.

Performance occurs in College Station, Texas, through September 29, 2028. The work aligns with ARPA-E's mandate to advance high-potential, high-impact energy technologies too early for private investment by converting fossil feedstocks directly into solid, high-value carbon products rather than fuels.

Texas a & m engineering experiment station: new award vision open 2024, control# 3387-1550 project title: graphite from petroleum coke the research team propose to develop a new catalytic graphitization technology for producing graphite from various grades of petroleum coke. Status QUO: industry currently processes a wide range of petroleum cokes. High-grade petroleum coke can be calcined and graphitized (at 3000 °c in a days-long process) and used in the battery industry, but low-grade petroleum coke is typically consigned to be used as fuel, at ~50-100 million tons per year, which contributes to 150-300 million tons CO2/year, or 0.5-2% of total U.S. CO2 emissions. The proposed work is based on our recent discovery that iron-based catalysts enable graphitization of a wide range of petroleum coke grades, complete with a catalyst recovery process. This process is successful at a much lower temperature (1500 °c) and shortened process time (hours rather than days) to produce high-value graphite from petroleum coke. This will radically decrease the emissions, cost, and processing time associated with conventional synthetic graphite production at ~3000 °c. Emissions from the graphitization and recycling process will be captured. The proposed work also plans to transition the technology to pilot-plant runs with our industry partner. The proposed technique improves on the status QUO by (i) using a low-temperature catalytic graphitization technique (rather than calcination followed by high-temperature graphitization), (II) rapid processing (hours rather than days), (III) valorizing cokes that would otherwise be burned as fuel. This matches the FOA by converting fossil feedstocks directly into solid high-value carbon allotropes products rather than fuels.