Kingwood coal has been digested with two coal derived (anthracene oil and carbon black base) and two petroleum derived (slurry oil and Maraflex oil) aromatic oils, both raw and catalytically hydrogenated. After a parametric study to determine reaction conditions (T, P, solvent, hydrogenation level), six one-gallon digestions were performed, using hydrogenated carbon black base (HCBB-L3), hydrogenated slurry oil (HSO-L3), hydrogenated Maraflex oil (HMO-L3) and combinations thereof. After solids separation, the coal digest liquids were air-blown at 250°C for 5 hours. Air-blown digests were carbonized and all products analyzed physically and chemically to determine the feasibility of using this process in producing anode coke feeds. Though solvent digestions proved successful in coal conversion, particularly using HCBB-L3 at 425°C, which achieved 93.89% (daf) coal conversion, the air-blown digests do not form anisotropic cokes upon carbonization. However, vacuum distillation of the digests results in material that becomes anisotropic upon carbonization.