Purchasing resources for Natural Graphite

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?
   

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.

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.

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.

• 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.