Graphite: A key role to play in green technology economy
In today’s world, graphite is considered a key, strategic material in the emerging green technology economy (also known as the Carbon Age) that includes advances in energy storage, electric vehicles, photovoltaics and electronics from smartphones to laptops. Graphite is also the source of graphene.
Strategic material in the emerging green technology economy (also known as the Carbon Age) that includes advances in energy storage, electric vehicles, photovoltaics and electronics from smartphones to laptops. Graphite is also the source of graphene.
As the green technology economy grows, demand for graphite is expected to outstrip supply over the next decade. For just one market – electric vehicles – estimated demand by 2020 would require more than is produced globally today (China is by far the world’s No. 1 graphite producer). For example, there is up to 10 times more graphite in a li-ion battery than lithium....
✓ The Mineral Information Institute describes pure graphite as a form of the element carbon (atomic number 6) and its symbol is C. It forms in veins in metamorphic rocks as the result of the metamorphism of organic material included in limestone deposits.
✓ Graphite was named from the Greek verb “graphein,” meaning to write, because it was used in the manufacture of pencils. The name was given by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789.
✓ Its Old World European name was ”plumbago.” which means black lead, a reference to its use in pencils.
✓ It is an extremely soft mineral at 1 to 2 on Mohs’ hardness scale. It is black and has a black streak. (Streak is the color of a mineral when it is crushed to a powder).
✓ Graphite is the only non-metal element that is a good conductor of electricity and heat.
✓ Its softness and streak make graphite useful in making lead for pencils. Crystals are uncommon, but when they occur, they are found as rough, six-sided (hexagonal) flakes. It breaks into minute, flexible flakes that easily slide over one another. Mineralogists call this basal cleavage. This feature is the cause of graphite’s distinctive greasy feel. It is this greasy characteristic that makes graphite a good lubricant. Because it is a solid material, it is known as a dry lubricant.
✓ In nature, graphite is found in two distinct forms, flake graphite and lump graphite. Lump graphite is more compact than flake and lacks the distinctive flaking mentioned earlier.
