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Prenzel TM, Hohmann A, Prescher T, Angerer K, Wehner D, Ilg R, von Reden T, Drechsler K, Albrecht S. Bringing Light into the Dark-Overview of Environmental Impacts of Carbon Fiber Production and Potential Levers for Reduction. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 16:12. [PMID: 38201677 PMCID: PMC10780919 DOI: 10.3390/polym16010012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Carbon fibers (CFs) are a crucial material for lightweight structures with advanced mechanical performance. However, there is still a paucity of detailed understanding regarding the environmental impacts of production. Previously, mostly singled-out scenarios for CF production have been assessed, often based on scarce transparent inventory data. To expand the current knowledge and create a robust database for future evaluation, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out. To this end, a detailed industry-approved LCI is published, which also proved plausible against the literature. Subsequently, based on a global scenario representing the market averages for precursor and CF production, the most relevant contributors to climate change (EF3.1 climate change, total) and the depletion of fossil energy carriers (EF3.1 resource use, fossil) were identified. The energy consumption in CF manufacturing was found to be responsible for 59% of the climate change and 48% of the fossil resource use. To enable a differentiated discussion of manufacturing locations and process energy consumption, 24 distinct scenarios were assessed. The findings demonstrate the significant dependence of the results on the scenarios' boundary conditions: climate change ranges from 13.0 to 34.1 kg CO2 eq./kg CF and resource use from 262.3 to 497.9 MJ/kg CF. Through the investigated scenarios, the relevant reduction potentials were identified. The presented results help close an existing data gap for high-quality, regionalized, and technology-specific LCA results for the production of CF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Manuel Prenzel
- Department Life Cycle Engineering GaBi, Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP, Nobelstrasse 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Andrea Hohmann
- Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV, Am Technologiezentrum 2, 86159 Augsburg, Germany
| | - Tim Prescher
- Institute for Acoustics and Building Physics IABP, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 7, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Kerstin Angerer
- Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV, Am Technologiezentrum 2, 86159 Augsburg, Germany
| | - Daniel Wehner
- Department Life Cycle Engineering GaBi, Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP, Nobelstrasse 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Robert Ilg
- Department Life Cycle Engineering GaBi, Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP, Nobelstrasse 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Tjark von Reden
- Composites United e.V., Oranienburger Str. 45, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Klaus Drechsler
- Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV, Am Technologiezentrum 2, 86159 Augsburg, Germany
- Chair of Carbon Composites, TUM School of Engineering and Design, Technical University of Munich, Boltzmannstr. 15, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Stefan Albrecht
- Department Life Cycle Engineering GaBi, Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP, Nobelstrasse 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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Harrell TM, Scherschel A, Love-Baker C, Tucker A, Moskowitz JD, Li X. Influence of Oxygen Uptake on Pitch Carbon Fiber. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023; 19:e2303527. [PMID: 37420324 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202303527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
Carbon fiber precursor materials, such as polyacrylonitrile, pitch, and cellulose/rayon, require thermal stabilization to maintain structural integrity during conversion into carbon fiber. Thermal stabilization mitigates undesirable decomposition and liquification of the fibers during the carbonization process. Generally, the thermal stabilization of mesophase pitch consists of the attachment of oxygen-containing functional groups onto the polymeric structure. In this study, the oxidation of mesophase pitch precursor fibers at various weight percentage increases (1, 3.5, 5, 7.5 wt%) and temperatures (260, 280, 290 °C) using in situ differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis is investigated. The results are analyzed to determine the effect of temperature and weight percentage increase on the stabilization process of the fibers, and the fibers are subsequently carbonized and tested for tensile mechanical performance. The findings provide insight into the relationship between stabilization conditions, fiber microstructure, and mechanical properties of the resulting carbon fibers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy M Harrell
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, 122 Engineer's Way, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA
| | - Alexander Scherschel
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, 122 Engineer's Way, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA
| | - Cole Love-Baker
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, 122 Engineer's Way, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA
| | - Amy Tucker
- Solvay Composite Materials, 7139 Augusta Rd, Piedmont, SC, 29673, USA
| | | | - Xiaodong Li
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, 122 Engineer's Way, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA
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Unveiling the microstructural evolution of carbon fibers derived from polyamide-6. JOURNAL OF POLYMER RESEARCH 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10965-023-03455-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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Yang X, Wu X, Chen Z, Li W, Sun Q, Guo Z, Liang X, He Y. Hierarchically porous
N‐doped
carbon nanofibers derived from
ZIF
‐8/
PAN
composites for benzene adsorption. J Appl Polym Sci 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/app.50431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xing Yang
- Department of Physics Guangxi Normal University Guilin China
| | - Xianghua Wu
- Department of Physics Guangxi Normal University Guilin China
| | - Zhaoyang Chen
- Department of Physics Guangxi Normal University Guilin China
| | - Wenqiong Li
- Department of Physics Guangxi Normal University Guilin China
| | - Qi‐Jun Sun
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering City University of Hong Kong Kowloon Hong Kong
| | - Zeping Guo
- Department of Physics Guangxi Normal University Guilin China
| | - Xiaoguang Liang
- Department of Physics Guangxi Normal University Guilin China
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Low Carbon Energy Materials Guangxi Normal University Guilin China
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology Guangxi Normal University Guilin China
| | - Yun He
- Department of Physics Guangxi Normal University Guilin China
- State Key Laboratory for Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Medicinal Resources Guangxi Normal University Guilin China
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Impact of Alternative Stabilization Strategies for the Production of PAN-Based Carbon Fibers with High Performance. FIBERS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/fib8060033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this work is to review a possible correlation of composition, thermal processing, and recent alternative stabilization technologies to the mechanical properties. The chemical microstructure of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) is discussed in detail to understand the influence in thermomechanical properties during stabilization by observing transformation from thermoplastic to ladder polymer. In addition, relevant literature data are used to understand the comonomer composition effect on mechanical properties. Technologies of direct fiber heating by irradiation have been recently involved and hold promise to enhance performance, reduce processing time and energy consumption. Carbon fiber manufacturing can provide benefits by using higher comonomer ratios, similar to textile grade or melt-spun PAN, in order to cut costs derived from an acrylonitrile precursor, without suffering in regard to mechanical properties. Energy intensive processes of stabilization and carbonization remain a challenging field of research in order to reduce both environmental impact and cost of the wide commercialization of carbon fibers (CFs) to enable their broad application.
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Soulis S, Dragatogiannis DA, Charitidis CA. A novel methodology for designing thermal processes in order to optimize stabilization of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers. POLYM ADVAN TECHNOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/pat.4870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Spyridon Soulis
- Laboratory of Advanced, Composite, Nano‐Materials and Nanotechnology (R‐Nano Lab), Material Science and Engineering Department, School of Chemical EngineeringNational Technical University of Athens Zographou Greece
| | - Dimitris A. Dragatogiannis
- Laboratory of Advanced, Composite, Nano‐Materials and Nanotechnology (R‐Nano Lab), Material Science and Engineering Department, School of Chemical EngineeringNational Technical University of Athens Zographou Greece
| | - Costas A. Charitidis
- Laboratory of Advanced, Composite, Nano‐Materials and Nanotechnology (R‐Nano Lab), Material Science and Engineering Department, School of Chemical EngineeringNational Technical University of Athens Zographou Greece
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Structural Transformation of Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) Fibers during Rapid Thermal Pretreatment in Nitrogen Atmosphere. Polymers (Basel) 2020; 12:polym12010063. [PMID: 31906379 PMCID: PMC7023665 DOI: 10.3390/polym12010063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Revised: 11/15/2019] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The modification before the stabilization process could tune the exothermic behavior and the structural evolution of PAN fibers during stabilization. In this study, we demonstrate that a rapid thermal pretreatment in nitrogen can effectively mitigate the exothermic behavior of PAN fibers, such as decreasing the initial temperature, broadening the exothermal peak, and decreasing the nominal heat release during heating the fibers in air. The color of fibers has shown gradual changes from white to light yellow, yellow and brown during thermal pretreatment in nitrogen with the increase of pretreating temperature and time. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TG) characterization have been applied to analyze the thermal properties, chemical and physical structural difference between PAN, and thermally pretreated PAN fibers. The thermal pretreatment of PAN fibers in nitrogen could induce cyclization, dehydrogenation, and cross-linking reactions, in which the cyclization play an important role on improving the cyclization index of stabilized PAN fibers. Meanwhile, the pretreatment can result in noticeable changes of the aggregation structure of PAN fibers, as indicated by the increase of crystallinity and crystalline size. These structural modifications can benefit the main cyclization reaction during stabilization and enhance the carbon yield in resultant carbon fibers. The rapid thermal pretreatment in nitrogen could increase efficiency of modification on PAN fibers, and that could save much time and energy. It is beneficial to manufacture low-cost carbon fibers and to spread the applications of carbon fibers.
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Zhang C, Xiao S, Shen Z, Li R, Liu J, Guo S, Xu L. Effects of oxidation treatment by KClO 3/H 2SO 4 systems on the chemical, crystal and microscopic structures of polyacrylonitrile fibers. NEW J CHEM 2020. [DOI: 10.1039/d0nj00442a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Oxidation treatment of PAN fibers (PFs) in a KClO3/H2SO4 system as a new pretreatment method for carbon fiber oxidation stabilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Zhang
- Faculty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering
- Kunming University of Science and Technology
- Kunming 650093
- China
- State Key Laboratory of Complex Nonferrous Metal Resources Clean Utilization
| | - Shijie Xiao
- SINOPEC Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemical Technology
- Shanghai 201208
- China
| | - Zhigang Shen
- SINOPEC Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemical Technology
- Shanghai 201208
- China
| | - Runping Li
- Faculty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering
- Kunming University of Science and Technology
- Kunming 650093
- China
- Key Laboratory of Unconventional Metallurgy, Ministry of Education
| | - Jianhua Liu
- Faculty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering
- Kunming University of Science and Technology
- Kunming 650093
- China
- State Key Laboratory of Complex Nonferrous Metal Resources Clean Utilization
| | - Shenghui Guo
- Faculty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering
- Kunming University of Science and Technology
- Kunming 650093
- China
- State Key Laboratory of Complex Nonferrous Metal Resources Clean Utilization
| | - Lei Xu
- Faculty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering
- Kunming University of Science and Technology
- Kunming 650093
- China
- Key Laboratory of Unconventional Metallurgy, Ministry of Education
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Kim MJ, Song EJ, Kim KH, Choi SS, Lee YS. The textural and chemical changes in ACFs with E-beam and their influence on the detection of nerve agent simulant gases. J IND ENG CHEM 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jiec.2019.07.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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