Abstract: A process is provided for the production of a carbonaceous material. The process comprises the following steps: subjecting a vacuum distillation residual pitch to heat treatment until the content of quinoline-insoluble components thereof becomes 50 to 85 wt. %, whereby the pitch is converted into a mesophase pitch; grinding the thus-obtained mesophase pitch into fine particles having an aspect ratio not greater than 2; subjecting the thus-ground product to oxidation treatment; and subjecting the thus-oxidized product to carbonization or graphitization treatment. A lithium ion secondary battery comprises a negative pole made of the carbonaceous material.

Abstract: A high crystalline coke can be prepared by heat-soaking a petroleum feedstock in the presence of added dissolved sulfur, heating to effect controlled thermal cracking thereof, separating non-crystalline substances as pitch, recovering a heavy cokable residue from the pitch free feed, and subjecting the residue to delayed coking.

Abstract: A high-crystalline petroleum coke is produced from low-sulfur petroleum feedstock such as virgin crude oil, distillation residuum and cracked residium by subjecting the feedstock to preheat treatment under specific conditions to effect cracking and soaking thereof, subjecting the preheat-treated feedstock to flash distillation to remove non-crystalline substances contained therein as pitch and to recover distillate, fractionating the distillate to provide a heavy residue and subjecting the heavy residue to a delayed coking under specific conditions to produce the desired coke which has a coefficient of thermal expansion of less than 1.0 .times. 10.sup.-6 /.degree. C over 100.degree.-400.degree. C.

Abstract: A petroleum coke of unusually high-crystalline texture and of high purity is produced from a low-sulfur petroleum material by a process including a preheat-treating step for removing non-crystalline substances contained in the material as pitch or coke and a coking step wherein a heavy oil derived from the preceding step is coked in a coking crystallizer in such a manner that pitch-like heavy oil downwardly flows and is progressively accumulated and coked therein while gaseous light hydrocarbons are discharged at the upper part of crystallizer whereby the coking is conducted with a high growth and high orientation of coke crystals formed.