Effect of different oxidation treatments on the chemical structure and properties of commercial coal tar pitch

Abstract Different oxidation treatment was used for the increase of the softening point of a commercial coal tar pitch. H 2 SO 4 , HNO 3 , H 2 O 2 and air are selected as treatment reagents. These preliminary investigations show that the oxidation treatment of commercial coal tar pitch with different reagents at 160 °C and heat treatment to 250 °C causes considerable changes in the chemical composition of obtained pitches. This leads to increase of TI and QI fraction, and results in considerable increase in the softening point of the pitches. The yield of modified pitches is considerable in the case of treatment with H 2 SO 4 , H 2 O 2 , and HNO 3 and lesser in the case of air blowing. The data obtained also indicate some differences in the composition and softening point of pitches obtained after modification with different reagents. These differences could influence the applicability of the obtained pitches in the various areas of carbon material production.