Clark, J.G.Rand, BrianHayes, M.P.Barnard, WernerLubhelwana, S.2012-03-082012-03-082012-04Clark, JG, Rand, B, Hayes, MP, Barnard, W & Lubhelwana, S, The effect of an iron oxide catalyst (Fe3O4) on the characteristics of Waxy Oil coke, Fuel, vol. 94, pp. 523–531 (2012), doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2011.09.051.0016-2361 (print)1873-7153 (online)10.1016/j.fuel.2011.09.051http://hdl.handle.net/2263/18405A study was conducted on four commercial Waxy Oil green cokes with varying catalyst (Fe3O4) concentrations (ash content: 1.84–11.18%), to determine the effect thereof on the structural characteristics of calcined (1400 C) and pre-graphitised (2000 C) cokes. An increase in the catalyst content of the coke shows a substantial detrimental effect on the overall anisotropy of the carbon microtexture. Catalyst particles below 100 lm) were found to present a physical barrier around which the anisotropic flow domains formed. At higher catalyst concentrations the catalyst dominates the carbon microtexture; however, there is still evidence of flow patterns albeit with a shorter range. XRD powder data and Raman spectroscopy provide evidence of multiphase graphitisation in both the calcined coke and pre-graphite. The crystal development of the calcined coke is dominated by catalytic graphitisation and that of the pregraphite showed a greater dependence on thermal graphitisation. This is the first scientific study of the effect of catalyst concentration on the characteristics of this novel coke and proves the disingenuous comparability thereof with a highly anisotropic coke (e.g. needle coke).en© 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Notice : this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Fuel. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Fuel, vol. 94, pp. 523–531 (2012), doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2011.09.051.Waxy Oil cokeCatalystReactivityMultiphase graphitisationMicrostructurePostprint Article