Nippon Oil Company

Takayoshi Sakamoto

Seiichi Uemura

Takao Hirose

Yoshio Sohda

Kenji Katoh

Yoshio Shohda

Yoshio Kishimoto

In the process for producing pitch carbon fibers by melt-spinning a carbonaceous pitch, and infusiblizing the resulting pitch fibers followed by carbonization and, additionally as needed, graphitization, the pitch fibers are subjected to infusiblization treatment following application of a dimethyl polysiloxane having a viscosity at 25.degree. C. in the range between 0.5 and 500 cSt and removing said dimethyl polysiloxane by washing prior to the carbonization.

Process for producing pitch carbon fibers

Provided is a process for producing pitch carbon fibers by subjecting pitch fibers obtained by melt-spinning a carbonaceous pitch to infusibilization treatment and then to carbonization treatment or both carbonization treatment and subsequent graphitization treatment, characterized in that a dimethyl polysiloxane having a viscosity at 25.degree. C. in the range of 12,000 to 1,000,000 cSt is applied to the fibers after the infusibilization treatment, and the infusibilized fibers with the dimethyl polysiloxane thus applied thereto are then subjected to the carbonization treatment or both the carbonization treatment and the subsequent graphitization treatment.

Provided is a process for producing a pitch-based graphite fiber, which process comprises treating a pitch fiber in an oxidative gas atmosphere to render it infusible, said pitch fiber being obtained by melt-spinning a carbonaceous pitch, then heat-treating the infusibilized fiber at 400.degree.-750.degree. C. in an inert gas atmosphere to obtain a precarbonized fiber substantially containing oxygen, then raising the temperature to 2,000.degree.-3,000.degree. C. at a rate of 500.degree. C. or higher per minute in an inert gas atmosphere and heat-treating the precarbonized fiber at the raised temperature of 2,000.degree.-3,000.degree. C. in said inert gas atmosphere.

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Hiratsuka, Japan

Takayoshi Sakamoto