How to know expandable graphite?

Commodity prices are on track for their biggest rally in more than a century, while fixed-income assets have seen their longest run of outflows as the war in Ukraine adds to inflationary pressures in the global economy emerging from the coronavirus lockdown, according to Bank of America.

"Commodity prices this year are on track to record their biggest gains since 1915." the bank said in its weekly briefing. They cite many factors, such as pandemics, lockdown, civil strife, wars, excessive monetary and fiscal stimulus, and supply chain disruptions, that have led to "historically" high inflation.  

By the same token, it said government bonds were heading for their worst year since 1949, and "negative-yielding bonds will quietly disappear" from the market as central banks embark on a monetary tightening cycle and raise interest rates to tame soaring inflation.  

The prices of many commodities like the expandable graphite are expected to increase in the future.

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.

With Russia taking the lead on Poland and Bulgaria at the end of last month, there appears to be a growing sense of compromise within the EU over whether to accept Moscow's proposed rouble settlement order. 

Italy's prime minister said recently that European companies would be able to buy gas in roubles without violating sanctions.  This apparently ignores the guidance of hardliners in the EU to "fight to the end". 

For weeks, European companies have been trying to find ways to meet Russia's payment demands for the rouble while maintaining vital gas supplies without violating sanctions against Moscow. 

Late last month, European Commission President Von der Leyen said operating under the mechanism would violate sanctions and asked European companies not to bow to Russian demands. However, the EU has yet to issue more rigorous written guidelines on how companies should pay Gazprom. 

The Italian prime minister said recently, "There is no official announcement from the European Union about what ruble settlement means for sanctions violations, and no one has said whether ruble payments violate sanctions or not. It's a grey area." 

"In fact, most gas importers are already opening rouble accounts for deals with Gazprom,"

He also used German companies as a shield. He said Germany's largest gas importer had already paid in rubles. "In fact, we saw evidence yesterday that the largest gas importer in Germany has already paid in rubles."

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