Coal Tar, Pitch & Benzole

Coal tar products start at the by-product coke oven. A recovery-type coke plant collects around 30-50 litres of crude tar per tonne of dry coal and strips crude benzole, the benzol sold for recovery of benzene, toluene and xylenes, out of the oven gas with wash oil; ovens that burn their volatiles for heat recover neither. Tar distillers split crude tar (HS 2706.00) into naphthalene, oils and pitch. Coal tar pitch (HS 2708.10), the residue, is the binder in anodes for aluminium smelting and in electrodes for electric arc furnaces, bought on Mettler softening point (about 110-115 °C for aluminium binder), quinoline and toluene insolubles and coking value, while low-QI impregnating pitch is used to raise the density and conductivity of graphite. The heavy oils go to carbon black plants on high BMCI and low sulphur, and as creosote oil (HS 2707.91) to industrial wood treaters for authorised uses. Naphthalene, about 10% of typical coal tar, sells crude at about 95% or refined at 99% for phthalic anhydride, SNF concrete superplasticisers and dye intermediates. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations: HS 2708.10 pitch about USD 968 million, led by China at 47.5%, Belgium at 18.2% and India at 9.2%; HS 2706.00 tar about USD 716 million, led by Poland at 22.1% and Indonesia at 14.9%; HS 2707.91 creosote oils about USD 163 million, led by Korea at 33.2%, Canada at 24.6% and Taiwan at 22.8%; and HS 2707.40 naphthalene about USD 42.7 million, led by Japan at 34%.

These are hazardous cargoes. IARC classifies coal-tar pitch, coal-tar distillation and benzo[a]pyrene as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1); pitch, coal tar, high-temp. has been on the REACH Candidate List of substances of very high concern since January 2010; and in the EU, creosote-treated wood may be placed on the market only as railway sleepers and utility poles, in the Member States that allow those uses, since 30 April 2023 under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1950. At sea they are MARPOL Annex II cargoes under chapter 17 of the IBC Code: coal tar, coal tar pitch (molten) and creosote (coal tar) at pollution category X, ship type 2, and benzene and mixtures having 10% benzene or more at category Y, ship type 3. As dangerous goods in packages and tank containers, naphthalene is UN 1334 (UN 2304 molten) and flammable coal tar distillates are UN 1136. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers each lot against the coke plant or distiller named on the certificate of analysis, SGS or Intertek sampling at load, the safety data sheet, a certificate of origin and a named buyer or charterer; offers built on tank storage receipts, dip tests, SCO/ICPO/FCO sequences or advance fees are not worked. Needle coke is on the petroleum coke page, refined benzene, toluene and xylenes on the petrochemicals page, and carbon black on the carbon black page. Send the product, key limits, form, tonnage and discharge port, and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.