Pyrolysis fuel oil (PFO) has been reformed to increase the quinoline-insoluble (QI) content by adding carbon black for use as a binder pitch because petroleum-based pitch generally has a low QI content. The prepared pitch was analyzed for its aromaticity (f(a)), QI content, molecular weight distribution, coking value (CV), softening point (SP), and carbonization yield. The QI content of the reformed pitches increased from 0.4% to 14.1%, whereas the average molecular weight of only quinoline-soluble content decreased by increasing the carbon black content. These results indicate that carbon black adsorbs low-molecular- weight compounds and serves as nuclei for the growth of QI particles. For these reasons, the SP and carbonization yield showed a decreasing tendency, but increased when QI sharply increased. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.