Researchers develop lignin-based carbon fiber for automotive industry. Using plants and trees
\nto make products such as paper or ethanol leaves behind a residue called lignin, a component of plant cell walls. <\/b>
\nSpecialChem, 25.08.2017
\n<\/i>Transforming Lignin into Carbon Fiber<\/b>
\nThat leftover lignin isn\u2019t good for much and often gets burned or tossed into landfills.
\nNow, researchers report transforming lignin into carbon fiber to produce a lower-cost material strong enough to build car or aircraft parts.
\nThe researchers presented their work at the 254th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
\nWays to Use Leftover Lignin <\/b>
\n\u201cLignin is a complex aromatic molecule that is mainly burned to make steam in a biorefinery plant, a relatively inefficient process
\nthat doesn\u2019t create a lot of value,\u201d says Birgitte Ahring, Ph.D., the principal investigator on the project.
\n\u201cFinding better ways to use leftover lignin is really the driver here. We want to use biorefinery waste to create value.
\nWe want to use a low-value product to create a high-value product, which will make biorefineries sustainable.\u201d
\nCarbon fiber <\/b>
\nCarbon fiber made with lignin would be more sustainable and less expensive than fibers currently being produced.
\nThe carbon fiber found in modern cars and aircraft are typically made from polyarylonitrile (PAN), which is a pricey, non-renewable polymer.
\n\u201cPAN can contribute about half of the total cost of making carbon fiber,\u201d Jinxue Jiang, Ph.D., says. He is a postdoctoral fellow in the Ahring
\nlaboratory at Washington State University. \u201cOur idea is to reduce the cost for making carbon fiber by using renewable materials,
\nlike biorefinery lignin.\u201d Other researchers have tried to make carbon fibers from 100 percent lignin, Jiang says, but ended up with a fiber
\ntoo weak for the automotive industry. \u201cWe wanted to combine the high strength of PAN with the low cost of the lignin to produce an automobile-grade carbon fiber.\u201d
\nTo develop a strong yet cheap carbon fiber, Ahring\u2019s team mixed lignin with PAN in varying amounts, from 0 to 50 percent.
\nThey melded the polymers together into a single fiber using a process called melt spinning.
\n\u201cYou elevate the temperature of the polymer blend until it melts, so it can flow,\u201dJiang says. \u201cThen, you spin these polymer melts until the fiber forms.\u201d
\nFibers\u2019 Structural and Mechanical Characteristics <\/b>
\nUsing a variety of methods, including nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, calorimetry and electron microscopy,
\nthe researchers evaluated the fibers\u2019 structural and mechanical characteristics.
\nThey found that they could get away with as much as 20-30 percent lignin without sacrificing strength.
\nThe lignin carbon fibers could, the researchers say, have automobile applications such as internal parts, castings and tire frames.
\nSustainable and Less Expensive <\/b>
\nAs a next step, the researchers will be taking their fibers to an automobile manufacturing plant to test their strength in a real-world scenario.
\n\u201cIf we can manage to get a fiber that can be used in the automobile industry, we will be in a good position to make biorefineries more economically viable,
\nso they can sell what they usually would discard or burn,\u201d Ahring says. \u201cAnd the products would be more sustainable and less expensive.\u201d
\nFunding for the research comes from the National Science Foundation Center for Bioplastics and Biomaterials along with Ford and Hyundai Motor Companies.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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