Coked from coal by heating without air; petroleum coke is calcined and, for the silicon-carbide route to elemental C, reacted with SiO2 at ~2500 °C, driving off Si as SiO gas.
Research Elements C · atomic number 6 Reactive nonmetal · period 2, group 14 [He] 2s2 2p2 Shells: 2, 4 Valence electrons: 4 in the outer shell (2s2 2p2) Green dots are the outer shell's s and p electrons. Softer green dots are the d electrons of transition metals, and the d and f electrons of lanthanides and actinides: they often take part in bonding, but not always. Grey dots are the core. Ground-state configuration from the NIST Atomic Spectra Database (A. Kramida, Yu. Ralchenko, J. Reader and the NIST ASD Team). Abundance is the mole fraction of the element found as that isotope on Earth; digits in parentheses are the uncertainty in the last digits. Masses and abundances from NIST, Atomic Weights and Isotopic Compositions (J. S. Coursey, D. J. Schwab, J. J. Tsai and R. A. Dragoset, National Institute of Standards and Technology).Carbon
Electrons
How it's obtained
Natural isotopes
Isotope Relative atomic mass Abundance How this isotope is separated 12C 12.0000000(00) 0.9893(8) 13C 13.00335483507(23) 0.0107(8) Cryogenic distillation of CO at ~80 K in tall columns: 13CO has a slightly higher boiling point than 12CO (~0.003 K), so 13C enriches at the bottom over hundreds of theoretical stages. Also by amine chemical exchange between CO2 and carbamate solution. Molecules
Compounds