Multi-task research program to develop commodity grade, lower cost carbon fiber

In pursuit of the goal to produce ultra-lightweight fuel efficient vehicles, there has been great excitement during the last few years about the potential for using carbon fiber reinforced composites in high volume applications. Currently, the greatest hurdle that inhibits wider implementation of carbon fiber composites in transportation is the high cost of the fiber when compared to other candidate materials. As part of the United States Department of Energy's FreedomCAR initiative, significant research is being conducted to develop lower cost, high volume technologies for producing carbon fiber. This paper will highlight the on-going research in this area. Through Department of Energy (DOE) sponsorship, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and its partners have been working with the Automotive Composites Consortium (ACC) to develop technologies that would enable the production of carbon fiber at 11.00 - 15.40 dollars per kilogram (5-7 dollars per pound). Achievement of this cost goal, would allow the introduction of carbon fiber based composites into a greater number of applications for future vehicles. The goal of lower cost carbon fiber has necessitated the development of both alternative precursors and more efficient production methods. Alternative precursors under investigation include textile grade polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers and fibers from lignin-based feedstocks. Previously, as part of the research program, Hexcel Corporation developed the science necessary to allow textile grade PAN to be used as a precursor rather than typical carbon fiber grade precursors. Efforts are also underway to develop carbon fiber precursors from lignin-based feedstocks. ORNL and its partners are working on this effort with domestic pulp and paper producers and with current and future ethanol fuel producers. In terms of alternative production methods, ORNL has developed a microwave-based carbonization unit that can process pre-oxidized fiber at over 200 inches per minute. ORNL has also developed a new method of high speed oxidation and a new method for precursor stabilization. Additionally, novel methods of activating carbon fiber surfaces are under development which allow atomic oxygen concentrations as high as 25-30% to be achieved rather than the more typical 4-8% achieved by the standard industrial ozone treatment.