Natural graphite is a popular product with a wide variety of uses. It's ease of purification and conductive properties make it a sought after material in many areas, from industrial lubricants to high-tech and medical applications. The key to best using this versatile product is to determine which natural graphite properties best suits your business applications and needs.

There are three types of natural graphite. Within those three types, you can obtain each in a variety of grain sizes, purity levels, and prepared forms. When preparing to buy natural graphite products, take the following into account:

1. Which of the three forms of natural graphite material best suits your application?
2. Which grain size will fit both your needs and budget?
3. What purity level is both efficient and economical?
   

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose from the three forms of natural graphite products

Natural graphite comes in three forms: flake, vein (or lump), and amorphous. Though all can be used for applications such as lubricants and coatings, each have distinct properties that make them more suitable for various uses. Amorphous graphite tends to have lower grades and purity levels, but is the most economical choice and is useful if your needs are basic and low-tech. It's a popular choice for the 'lead' in pencils. Vein (or lump) is highly cohesive and is a popular choice for machined parts and solid shapes. Flake granite has the widest use. Since it also has the highest purity and grade potential, it is the best choice for high-tech applications that need a high-performance product.

I recommend: Non-Metals, Inc. provides bulk flake graphite as well as processed graphite products such as foils and braided compression packing. Superior Graphite Co. offers all three types of natural graphite processed to meet your needs.

Look for natural graphite producers that offer a wide range of grain size options

Due to processing costs, you will see the natural graphite price rise as the grain size gets smaller. To remain cost-effective, buy the largest grain size that will serve your needs.

I recommend: Graphite Technology Group, Inc. offers a wide range of grain sizes in both flake and amorphous natural graphite. Graphite Engineering & Sales Company offers graphite processing that provides customized product for most grain size needs.

Locate natural graphite material at the optimum purity level for your application

As with grain size, the natural graphite price usually goes up as the purity of the graphite goes up. So, the most cost-effective approach is to find the lowest purity level that will achieve the results you need. Using a natural graphite supplier that offers a wide range of purity levels will make it easier to find quality product within your budget.

I recommend: Industrial Minerals Inc. offers flake graphite in purity ranges from 85% to 95%. Asbury Carbons offers amorphous graphite in purity levels from 75 to 85% as well as flake and vein graphite from 80 to 99.9% pure. Their website also contains a large amount of natural graphite information that will help you narrow the many options to determine your best graphite choice.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Remember that more processing means a higher price. Your most economical solution is to buy your natural graphite products in the least processed form possible and perform the final processing, such as mixing lubricants, yourself.