Carbon Fiber

By Pratima Bajpai

Carbon Fiber, Second Edition, brings together available information on the production, properties, application and future of carbon fibers. This book will be of interest to those involved in the investigation of carbon fiber, carbon fiber manufacturing, and users. In addition, the recycling of carbon fiber reinforced polymers and the manufacturing of composites from recycled carbon fiber reinforced polymers are discussed. The book offers in-depth coverage on the production of carbon fiber and the global carbon fiber market, demand and major growth drivers. Carbon structures from biowaste, waste lignin and novel processes to obtain high purity lignin are presented, along with future directions.

• Provides thorough and in-depth coverage of carbon fiber production
• Presents the global carbon fiber market, demand and major growth drivers
• Covers carbon structures from biowaste and waste lignin
• Discusses novel process to obtain high purity lignin
• Includes discussions of future directions for the carbon fiber industry

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Release date: Nov 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9780128219058

Pratima Bajpai

Dr. Pratima Bajpai is currently working as a Consultant in the field of Paper and Pulp. She has over 36 years of experience in research at the National Sugar Institute, University of Saskatchewan, the Universitiy of Western Ontario, in Canada, in addition to the Thapar Research and Industrial Development Centre, in India. She also worked as a visiting professor at the University of Waterloo, Canada and as a visiting researcher at Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. She has been named among the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University in the list published in October 2022. This is the third consecutive year that she has made it into the prestigious list. Dr. Bajpai’s main areas of expertise are industrial biotechnology, pulp and paper, and environmental biotechnology. She has contributed immensely to the field of industrial biotechnology and is a recognized expert in the field. Dr. Bajpai has written several advanced level technical books on environmental and biotechnological aspects of pulp and paper which have been published by leading publishers in the USA and Europe. She has also contributed chapters to a number of books and encyclopedia, obtained 11 patents, written several technical reports, and has implemented several processes in Indian Paper mills. Dr. Bajpai is an active member of the American Society of Microbiologists and is a reviewer of many international research journals.

Book preview

2004;39(10):1549–1556.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Abstract

Carbon fiber also known as graphite fiber is a very strong material and very lightweight. In comparison with steel, it is five times stronger and two times stiffer and lighter, which makes it an excellent manufacturing material for several parts. Carbon fiber is preferred by engineers and designers for manufacturing. Of the carbon fibers produced today, over 90% originate from the oil-based synthetic polymer polyacrylonitrile, which is expensive to produce.

Exploiting lignin as a precursor for carbon fiber adds high economic value to lignin and encourages further development in lignin extraction technology. General background and introduction on carbon fiber are presented in this chapter.

Keywords

Carbon fiber; Polyacrylonitrile; High-strength material; Lignin; Biopolymer; Renewable polymer

Carbon fiber—"the world’s structural wonder material"—is also known as graphite fiber. It is very lightweight and very strong material. In comparison with steel, it is five times stronger and two times stiffer and lighter, which makes it an excellent manufacturing material for several parts. Engineers and designers prefer carbon fiber for manufacturing. The reasons are presented in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1

http://www.innovativecomposite.com/what-is-carbon-fiber/; https://www.motioncomposites.com/en/about-carbon-fiber/

These fibers are not used as such. They are used to reinforce materials such as epoxy resins and other thermosetting materials. These materials are termed as composites as they possess more than one component and are quite strong for their weight. They are very strong in comparison with steel but very much lighter. Due to this property, they may be used to replace metals in several applications, from parts for airplanes and the space shuttle to tennis rackets and golf clubs.

Table 1.2 shows advantages of carbon fiber-reinforced carbon composites.

Table 1.2

Carbon fibers date back to 1879. Thomas Edison baked cotton threads or bamboo silvers at elevated temperatures, which carbonized them into an all-carbon fiber filament. In 1958 Roger Bacon of Ohio in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, produced high-performance carbon fibers. Leslie Philips, a British engineer, in 1964, realized the high strength of carbon fiber. Later on, carbon fibers produced from rayon strands processed by carbonation were developed. Akio Shindo in the early 1960s produced carbon fibers from PAN. For manufacturing PAN-based carbon fibers, PAN is processed to a fibrous shape by spinning and then subjected to oxidation, carbonization, and surface treatment. Leonard Singer produced carbon fibers from pitch in 1970. The manufacturing process involves in making petroleum or coal pitch into a fibrous shape; then oxidation, carbonization, and surface treatment are performed (Saito et al., 2011). These fibers were not efficient and contained about 20% carbon. The strength and stiffness properties were inferior. The US Air Force and NASA started using carbon fiber in aircraft and spacecraft application.

During the 1970s, work was conducted to find alternative raw materials for the production of carbon fibers made from a petroleum pitch obtained from oil processing. These fibers contained about 85% carbon and possessed excellent flexural strength. But, they had very little compression strength and were not very much accepted.

(www.madehow.com)

Nowadays, carbon fibers have become an important part of several products, and new applications are being developed. The leading producers of carbon fibers are the United States, Japan, and Western Europe.

Worldwide carbon fiber is in rapidly growing demand as a lightweight and strong alternative to metal for various industries such as aeronautics, automotive, marine, transportation, construction, electronics, and wind energy (Fitzer et al., 1989; Hajduk, 2005; Huang, 2009; Saito et al., 2011; Barnes et al., 2007; Soutis, 2005; Ogawa, 2000; Nolan, 2008; van der Woude et al., 2006; Fuchs et al., 2008; Zhang and Shen, 2002; Aoki et al., 2009; Tran et al., 2009; Olenic et al., 2009; Baughman et al., 2002; Thostensona et al., 2001; Roberts, 2006; Todd, 2019; Figueiredo et al., 1990; Chung, 1994; Watt, 1985; Donnet and Bansal, 1990; Minus and Kumar, 2005, 2007). Carbon nanofibers have been explored for use in regenerative medicine and also for treatment of cancer (Ogawa, 2000; Nolan, 2008; van der Woude et al., 2006; Fuchs et al., 2008. Zhang and Shen, 2002; Aoki et al., 2009; Barnes et al., 2007; Soutis, 2005; Tran et al., 2009; Olenic et al., 2009; Baughman et al., 2002; Thostensona et al., 2001). Table 1.3 shows the application of carbon fiber (Holmes, 2014). Applications in aerospace and defense, sport/leisure sector, and wind turbines have grown substantially. The automotive segment is also becoming very important. This could be because of the ramp-up phase for the production of the i-models from BMW. Other applications are construction of molding and compounding plant, pressure vessels, civil engineering, and marine. Table 1.4 shows global carbon fiber demand by application in 1000 tons (2013).

Table 1.3

http://www.formula1-dictionary.net/carbon_fiber.html

Table 1.4

Based on Holmes M. Global carbon fibre market remains on upward trend. Reinf Plast 2014;58:38–45.

The diameter of carbon fiber is about 0.0002–0.0004 in. and contains at least 90% carbon by weight. It is a long, thin strand of material (Figueiredo et al., 1990; Chung, 1994; Watt, 1985; Donnet and Bansal, 1990; Minus and Kumar, 2005). The carbon atoms are bonded together in microscopic crystals. These are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber. The crystal alignment makes the fiber very strong for its size (Chung, 1994). Thousands of carbon fibers are twisted together to form a yarn. This can be used by itself or woven into a fabric. The yarn or fabric is blended with epoxy and wound or molded into shape for producing different types of composite materials. Carbon fiber-reinforced composites are being used for making aircraft and spacecraft parts, racing car bodies, golf club shafts, bicycle frames, fishing rods, automobile springs, sailboat masts, and several other components where light weight along with high strength is required.

Several types of carbon are available. They can be sort or continuous. These are crystalline, amorphous, or partly crystalline. Table 1.5 shows estimated global carbon fiber consumption (Roberts, 2006; Red, 2006; Pimenta and Pinho, 2011).

Table 1.5

Based on Roberts T. The carbon fibre industry: global strategic market evaluation 2006–2010. Watford: Materials Technology Publications; 2006. pp. 10, 93–177, 237; Red C. Aerospace will continue to lead advanced composites market in 2006. Compos Manuf 2006;7:24–33; Pimenta S, Pinho ST. Recycling carbon fibre reinforced polymers for structural applications: technology review and market outlook. Waste Manag 2011;31:378–392.

Demand of Carbon fiber increased from 26,500 tons in 2009 to 63,500 tons in 2016, which yielded a revenue up about US$ 2.34 billion (a growth of 8.7% related to the year 2015). According to market trends it is expected an annual growth rate between 10% to 13% for the coming years, (Fig. 1.1) (Souto et al., 2018; Witten et al., 2015, 2016, 2017).

Demand for carbon fibre would reach 89,000 t by 2020 and would generate revenues of over US$3.3 billion.

(Holmes, 2014)

Fig. 1.1 Carbon fiber demand over the years. (Reproduced with permission Souto F, Calado V, Pereira Jr N. Lignin-based carbon fiber: a current overview. Mater Res Express 2018;5:072001. https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/aaba00.)

Generally, mechanical properties are used to classify their material (Minus and Kumar, 2005; Chen, 2014; Hedge et al., 2004). It should be mentioned that diameter and morphology are also an important criteria for classifying the fibers when it confers important prominence on mechanical properties (Minus and Kumar, 2005).

Carbon fibers were first produced in the 1950s as a reinforcement for high-temperature molded plastic components on missiles (Figueiredo et al., 1990; Chung, 1994; Watt, 1985; Donnet and Bansal, 1990; Minus and Kumar, 2005). These were produced by heating strands of rayon till they get carbonized. The resulting fibers contained ~ 20% carbon and had lower strength properties. Hence, this process proved to be inefficient. The carbon fibers were used successfully on a commercial scale in the early 1960s, as the need of the aerospace industry—especially for military aircraft—for better and lightweight materials became very important. In this process, polyacrylonitrile was used as a starting material. This process produced a carbon fiber that had very good strength properties. Therefore the polyacrylonitrile process rapidly became the main method for manufacturing carbon fibers. Carbon fibres are being used widely in commercial and civilian aircraft, recreational, industrial, and transportation markets. Carbon fibres are used in composites with a lightweight matrix. Carbon fibre composites are particularly suited for applications where strength, stiffness, lower weight, and outstanding fatigue characteristics are the main requirements. They can be also used where high temperature, chemical inertness and high damping are important (www.carbonfiber-vinyl.com). Carbon fibers offer 10 times the strength of steel at a quarter of the weight (Xiaosong, 2009).

Carbon fibers manufactured from polyacrylonitrile have better mechanical and physical properties in comparison with rayon-based ones. Today, they are the most promising raw materials for production of high-strength carbon fibers. Carbon fibers based on mesophase pitch turned out as more expansive following a complicated and complex process of conversion of cheap pitches into mesophase-forming modification. Table 1.6 shows market share of carbon fibers depending on the precursor type (Fitzer and Heine,