Sapropel is natural organic material, which is used in many industries, such as agriculture, medicine, pharmaceutical, manufacture of energy carriers and building materials. However, the widespread use of sapropel is associated with its high hydrophilicity and moisture capacity, leading to technological difficulties with sapropel dehydration to required humidity, depending on its further application. The article discusses various aspects sapropel beneficial application, primarily the advantages of the use of sapropel as a fertilizer for cultivated areas, and for the reclamation of industri-al wastelands and mined lands. As a part of this study, experimental research of the qualitative and quantitative parameters of sapropel of Savelievskoye field of the Yaroslavl region was conducted. Based on the results of this research, the nature of the high hydrophilicity of sapropel of Savelievskoye field and the possibilities of reducing its humidity for the production of fertilizers is revealed.

Needle coke is a strategically important carbon material with a unique anisotropic microstructure. Its primary application is the production of graphitized electrodes for electric arc steelmaking furnaces, which is critical for the manufacturing of high-quality steel. The quality of needle coke is largely determined not only by coking parameters but also by the properties of the raw material, traditionally coal tar and the pitches derived from it. The yield and key characteristics of tars and pitches vary widely depending on the coal nature, coking regime, and subsequent processing technologies. Therefore, preliminary preparation of the raw material is a mandatory stage in the production of structured carbon materials. The most promising method for such preparation is solvent extraction, which allows for targeted regulation of the group hydrocarbon composition, reduction of heteroatom content, and reduction of ash content. This work investigates the patterns of mass transfer in the "coal tar pitch – two-component solvent" system depending on temperature (50–150°C) and the "pitch/aromatic solvent/paraffinic solvent" ratio. The composition of the two-component solvent is justified. For all pitch samples, the degree of extraction of target fractions into the extract under various conditions was determined. The mechanism of the selective action of the two-component solvent is briefly explained. Rational technological parameters for the extraction process were identified, ensuring the production of pitch that meets the requirements for high-quality needle coke. Coal tar pitch, meeting the requirements for coal-based raw material to produce anisotropic coke, was obtained at a temperature of 130 °C and a pitch/aromatic solvent/paraffinic solvent ratio of 1/1/1.5.

Recently, there has been an increase in consumer demand for organic products, which implies the use of natural fertilizers in agriculture and food additives in animal husbandry. The moisture content of products obtained from sapropel for use in animal husbandry and agriculture should vary between 60 and 65%. But the reason for the low profitability of production for the extraction of sapropel is due to its high humidity, which can reach 92-96 %, and the complexity of removing moisture. Currently, a significant problem in the dewatering of sapropel is its sticking to metal surfaces of knives-inverters and plane-parallel plates-separators on machines for its dewatering. To solve this problem, it is proposed to use the effect of electroosmosis. In this paper, the rational parameters of the operation necessary to create the effect of electroosmosis in the intermediate attachment of processing of sapropel of the machine for sapropel dewatering are determined.

Mesophase pitch is a complex hydrocarbon dispersion system dominated by a liquid-crystalline phase, which forms during the thermolysis of polycyclic aromat