Carbon material for electric double layer capacitor electrodes

A process for producing a carbon material for electric double layer capacitor electrodes, which comprises the steps of:

• (a) heating a material pitch having a softening point of 150 to 350° C., a hydrogen/carbon ratio of 0.50 to 0.90 by atom and a content of optically anisotropic components of 50% or greater, at 400 to 800° C. under an inert gas atmosphere to produce a heat-treated granular or powdery pitch, the material pitch being a synthetic pitch produced by polymerizing a condensed polycyclic hydrocarbon or a substance containing the condensed polycyclic hydrocarbon in the presence of a hydrogen fluoride-boron trifluoride complex;
• (b) placing the heat-treated granular or powdery pitch obtained in step (a) into a reactor;
• (c) adding additional material pitch to the heat-treated granular or powdery pitch placed in the reactor while stirring and heating at 400 to 800° C. so as to allow the material pitch to be dispersed on the surface of the heat-treated granular or powdery pitch, thereby performing heat treatment at 400 to 800° C. while keeping the heat-treated granular or powdery pitch in fluid state by stirring to obtain a heat-treated pitch;
• (d) activating the heat-treated pitch from step (c) by mixing the heat-treated pitch with an alkali metal compound in an amount of 1 to 4 parts by weight per one part by weight of the heat-treated pitch while heating at 400 to 900° C. in an inert gas stream.