UTILIZATION OF SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE MATERIALS FOR PRODUCTION OF CARBON FIBER MATERIALS FOR STRUCTURAL AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY APPLICATIONS

摘要

U.S. DOE Vehicle Technologies-funded work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is directed to the development of more energy-efficient, cost-effective processes for production of carbon fiber for use in lightweight composite materials for vehicles. Carbon fiber has the potential for substantial weight savings in vehicles because of its remarkable high strength, high modulus, and low density. Body-in-white modeling indicates that over 60% of the steel in a vehicle could be replaced with carbon fiber-reinforced composite materials without impacting vehicle crash worthiness; each 10% reduction in vehicle weight translates into an increase in fuel economy of 6-8% as well as lower greenhouse gas emissions. However, carbon fiber is currently too expensive for large scale automotive use, which necessitates a large reduction in the cost of industrial grade fiber from about $20/lb to $5-7/lb ($10-15/kg). In this paper we report on the utilization of lignin as a precursor material for the low cost production of carbon fiber for automotive use. In addition, new work on the utilization of lignin-based carbon fiber for production of high surface area electrode materials for electrical energy storage (supercapacitors) and high energy efficiency systems for capture of greenhouse gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is introduced.