Graphite can be classified into natural graphite from mines and artificial graphite. Due to its outstanding properties such as light weight, thermal resistance, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, chemical stability, and high-temperature strength, artificial graphite is used across various industries in powder form and bulk form. Artificial graphite of powder form is usually used as anode materials for secondary cells, while artificial graphite of bulk form is used in steelmaking electrode bars, nuclear reactor moderators, silicon ingots for semiconductors, and manufacturing equipment. This study defines artificial graphite as bulk graphite, and provides an overview of bulk graphite manufacturing, including isotropic and anisotropic materials, molding methods, and heat treatment.

When manufacturing bulk graphite, pores develop within the bulk during the carbonization process due to the volatile components of the fillers and the binders. As a result, the physical properties of bulk graphite are inferior to the theoretical values. Impregnants are impregnated into the pores generated in the carbonization process through pressurization and/or depressurization. The physical properties of bulk graphite that has undergone impregnation and re-carbonization processes are outstanding. In the present study, a green body was manufactured by molding with natural graphite flakes and phenolic resin at 45 MPa. Bulk graphite was manufactured by carbonizing the green body at 700 and it was subsequently impregnated with impregnants having viscosity of 25.0 cP, 10.3 cP, and 5.1 cP, and the samples were re-carbonized at 700°C. The above process was repeated three times. The open porosity of bulk graphite after the final process was 22.25%, 19.86%, and 18.58% in the cases of using the impregnant with viscosity of 25.0 cP, 10.3 cP, and 5.1 cP, respectively.

This study investigated a developed process for producing a composite bipolar plate having excellent conductivity by using coal tar pitch and phenol resin as binders. We used a pressing method to prepare a compact of graphite powder mixed with binders. Resistivity of the impregnated compact was observed as heat treatment temperature was increased. It was observed that pore sizes of the GCTP samples increased as the heat treatment temperature increased. There was not a great difference between the flexural strengths of GCTP-IM and CPR-IM as the heat treatment temperature was increased. The resistivity of GPR700-IM, heat treated at 700℃ using phenolic resin as a binder, was 4829 μΩ·cm which was best value in this study. In addition, it is expected that with the appropriate selection of carbon powder and further optimization of process we can produce a composite bipolar plate which has excellent properties.