在铝工业焦炭电极制造过程中使用蒽油（AO）和高温煤焦油沥青（CTPHT）可以视为使用中间体吗？

在铝工业焦炭电极制造过程中使用蒽油（AO）和高温煤焦油沥青（CTPHT）可以视为使用中间体吗？

Can the use of Anthracene Oil (AO) andCoal tar pitch, high temperature (CTPHT) in the manufacture of coke electrodes for the aluminium industry be regarded as the use of an intermediate?

是的，在下面提供的理由中指定的条件下。焦炭电极的制造煤焦油沥青，高温（CTPHT - EC 编号 266-028-2）和蒽油（AO - EC 编号 292-602-7）用于制造用于铝工业（即铝冶炼厂）电解过程的电极。这些物质专门用于制造以下类型的电极：Søderberg 电极 - 首先在电解槽中直接制造，然后在同一槽中使用。预焙电极 - 它们在专用单元中制造，然后用于电解槽。电极制造单元可能位于与电解槽相同的位置，也可能位于另一个位置。在这两种情况下，电极的制造过程都包含以下阶段：混合原材料（所谓的填充颗粒，通常是石油焦或煅烧焦+CTPHT和/或AO）成型（使电极达到最终形状，以便将其装入电解槽外壳）焙烧焙烧过程的产物是一种新物质“焦炭”。这种新物质由石油焦或煅烧焦、构成其结构的AO和CTPHT制成。更详细地说，焙烧过程的工作原理如下：焦炭物质是通过焦化过程（例如在相对较高的温度下焙烧）获得的碳质材料。这些物质的特点是碳元素含量高，并且可以呈现出独特的结构，从而呈现出高碳氢比。焦炭的确切成分通常很复杂，取决于所用的来源和焦化条件。作为碳源，焦炭物质可用于电解铝等工艺。在这种特定情况下，CTPHT 和 AO 本身在预焙电极和 Søderberg 电极的制造过程中会化学转化为焦炭。这些转化涉及复杂的化学反应，包括 CPTHT 和 AO 成分的缩聚和聚合。这些反应在低氧气氛下约 400°C 的焙烧过程中开始。转化为焦炭的过程在约 700°C 时完成，所有多环芳烃都会缩合。这种转化会产生碳元素含量高的碳质材料，而 CTPHT 和 AO 则有助于形成待制造焦炭物质的结构。在这种情况下，焙烧过程是在易得的焦炭填料颗粒存在下进行的。最终得到具有特定电导率（焦炭用作电极的必备特性）和机械强度的均质焦炭。在这种特定情况下，如果不结合使用AO和CPTHT作为前体以及易获取的焦炭颗粒，所得焦炭原则上将不具备使其在电解过程中用作碳源所需的化学结构。在这种特定情况下，制造过程的产物（即焦炭电极）属于REACH法规下的物质，而非REACH第3(3)条定义的物品。电极的形状取决于其是否适合电解槽的外壳，而电解槽的外壳可能因情况而异。此外，在电极使用过程中，焦炭中的碳会被消耗。因此，电极在制造过程中的特定形状、表面和设计与其在铝生产过程中的使用关系不如其化学成分重要。监管分析 根据REACH第3(15)条，中间体是指“为化学加工而制造并在化学加工中消耗或使用，以转化为另一种物质（……称为合成）”的物质。任何物质用于实现除转化为另一种物质以外的其他功能（例如，作为物品生产过程中的独立步骤）时，均不得视为中间体。此外，鉴于制造工艺的实际性质以及生产场所的财政属性，在一种物质 (A) 的生产与其作为中间体用于生产另一种物质 (B) 之间可能需要一个或多个步骤，以促进/确保该物质 (B) 合成过程中的正确化学加工（参见欧洲化学品管理局 (ECHA) 2010 年 12 月中间体指南附录 IV）。在本案中，如果所有阶段 a、b 和 c 均为焦炭生产工艺装置的组成部分，则 AO 和 CTPHT 的使用可视为作为中间体的使用。但是，如果 AO、CTPHT 和填料颗粒（阶段 a）的混合不在同一场所进行，则可能表明该混合步骤并非为促进/确保焦炭合成过程中的正确化学加工而执行。在这种情况下，AO 和 CTPHT 不能被视为中间体。

Yes, under the conditions specified in the reasoning provided below. Manufacturing of coke electrodes Coal tar pitch, high temperature (CTPHT - EC number 266-028-2) and Anthracene oil (AO - EC number 292-602-7) are used in the manufacture of electrodes for applications in electrolytic processes in the aluminium industry (i.e. aluminium smelters). These substances are used specifically to manufacture the following types of electrodes: Søderberg electrodes – these are first manufactured directly in the electrolytic cell and subsequently used in the same cell.  pre-baked electrodes - they are manufactured in dedicated units and later used in the electrolytic cells. Electrodes manufacturing units may be located in the same site as the electrolytic cells or in another site. In both cases, the manufacturing process of the electrodes consists of the following stages: Mixing of the raw materials (so called filler grains usually petroleum coke or calcinated coke + CTPHT and/or AO)  Shaping (to give the electrode the final shape which is required to fit it into the housing of the electrolytic cell) Baking The outcome from the baking process is "Coke", a new substance. The new substance is manufactured from petroleum coke or calcinated coke, AO and CTPHT that contribute to its structure. In more detail the baking process works as follows: Coke substances are carbonaceous materials obtained from coking processes such as baking at relatively high temperature. These substances are characterised by a high carbon elemental content and can display unique structures presenting a high carbon-to-hydrogen ratio. The exact composition of coke is generally complex and depends on the source used and the conditions applied for the coking. As a source of carbon, coke substances find applications in processes such as aluminium manufacturing by electrolysis. In this specific case, CTPHT and AO are themselves chemically transformed into coke during the manufacturing process of pre baked and Søderberg electrodes. These transformations involve complex chemical reactions including polycondensation and polymerisation of the constituents which CPTHT and AO consist of. These reactions begin during the baking process in a low oxygen atmosphere at temperatures of ~400 C. The transformation process into coke is completed at around ~700 C with the condensation of all polyaromatic hydrocarbons. The transformation leads to a carbonaceous material of high carbon elemental content and CTPHT and AO contribute to the structure of the coke substance intended to be manufactured. In this case, the baking process is carried out in the presence of readily available coke filler grains. The result is a homogenous coke displaying specific electrical conductivity (a required feature for the coke to be used as an electrode) and mechanical strength. In this specific case, the resulting coke would in principle not have the chemical structure that would enable its use as a source of carbon in electrolytic processes without the combined use of the AO and CPTHT as precursors and readily available coke grains. The outcome from the manufacturing process (i.e. the coke electrode) is, in this specific case, a substance under REACH and not an article as defined in Article 3(3) of REACH. The shape of the electrode is decided to fit it into the housing of the electrolytic cell, which can be different from case to case. Furthermore, during theuse of the electrodethe carbon from coke is consumed. The specific shape, surface and design given to the electrodes during their manufacture are therefore less relevant for its use in the aluminium production process than its chemical composition. Regulatory analysis According to Article 3(15) of REACH, an intermediate is a substance which is "manufactured for and consumed in or used for chemical processing in order to be transformed into another substance (…referred to as synthesis)". Whenever a substance is used to achieve another function than its transformation into another substance (e.g. as an individual step in the production process of an article), it cannot be regarded as an intermediate. It is also recognised that, due to the practical nature of manufacturing processes and to the fiscal attributes of manufacturing sites, one or more steps between the manufacturing of a substance (A) and its use as an intermediate in the manufacturing of another substance (B) may be necessary to facilitate/ensure proper chemical processing in the synthesis of that other substance (B) (see Appendix IV of ECHA's Guidance on intermediates, December 2010). In the current case, if all stages a, b and c are an integrated part of the coke manufacturing process installations, the use of AO and CTPHT may be considered the use as an intermediate. However, whenever the mixing of AO, CTPHT and filler grains (stage a) is not carried out on the same site, this may indicate that the mixing step is not performed to facilitate/ensure proper chemical processing in the synthesis of the coke. In that case and AO and CTPHT cannot be regarded as intermediates.