Can carbon fiber composites have a lower environmental impact than fiberglass?

Hermansson, Frida; Heimersson, Sara; Janssen, Mathias; Svanström, Magdalena

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106234

Cited by 23 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The typical chemical structure of cellulose, is illustrated in Figure 1. The linkages in lignin appear to be randomly distributed [42]. Approximately two-thirds of the linkages are ether linkages and approximately one-third are carbon-carbon linkages [43].…”

Section: Structure Of Biobased Ligninmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Review on Lignin-Based Carbon Fibres for Carbon Footprint Reduction

et al. 2022

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Carbon fibers (CFs) are made mostly from a non-environmentally friendly polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and little from rayon. PAN-based CFs, require huge amount of energy for its production aside its contributions to the global CO2 emission. Therefore, there is recourse to a more environmentally friendly sources of CFs biomass. Recently lignin has been recognized as a potential renewable raw material for carbon fibers to replace PAN-based. The magnitude and quality of CO2 emission of lignin-based CFs are dependent on the processing route. On this premise; this review examines the various lignin-based CFs processing route adopted by researcher in the recent past to establish the most viable route with minimum carbon footprint emission. Outcome of the review shows that the major advantages of aromatic polymer (AP) generated precursor over PAN is the presence of higher quantity of guaiacyl units and oxygen content which makes the stabilization phase efficient and faster requiring less energy. Though there are several methods and options for the various stages of conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into CFs as highlighted in the study, establishing an optimum processing route will be a trade-off amongst various issues of concern; carcinogenic risk, carbon footprint emission, CFs Yield and mechanical strength of the CFs. Inferences from the study shows that the L-CF significantly produced reduced climatic impact in terms of CO2 emission.

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Section: Structure Of Biobased Ligninmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is done by arranging the fibers in an application-specific way and adding a polymer matrix. The composites are then formed using injection molding, compression molding, or resin transfer molding [42,45] Thus, a single-step process for converting biomass does not exist.…”

Section: Cfs Processing Routementioning

confidence: 99%

A Review on Lignin-Based Carbon Fibres for Carbon Footprint Reduction

et al. 2022

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“…Carbon fibers are often used as reinforcements in plastics due to their exceptional mechanical properties. However, the processes for producing these fibers alone have a high global warming potential (GWP) compared to other reinforcing fibers [ 1 , 2 ]. In particular, natural fibers have a much lower environmental footprint; however, they are used much less frequently in fiber-plastic composites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Global Warming Potential-Weighted Specific Stiffness Comparison among Different Natural and Synthetic Fibers in a Composite Component Manufactured by Tailored Fiber Placement

Cáceres,

Lisbôa,

Elschner

et al. 2024

Polymers

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This work aims to evaluate experimentally different fibers and resins in a topologically optimized composite component. The selected ones are made of carbon, glass, basalt, flax, hemp, and jute fibers. Tailored Fiber Placement (TFP) was used to manufacture the textile preforms, which were infused with two different epoxy resins: a partly biogenic and a fully petro-based one. The main objective is to evaluate and compare the absolute and specific mechanical performance of synthetic and natural fibers within a component framework as a base for improving assessments of sustainable endless-fiber reinforced composite material. Furthermore, manufacturing aspects regarding the different fibers are also considered in this work. In assessing the efficiency of the fiber-matrix systems, both the specific stiffness and the specific stiffness relative to carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq.) as measures for the global warming potential (GWP) are taken into account for comparison. The primary findings indicate that basalt and flax fibers outperform carbon fibers notably in terms of specific stiffness weighted by CO2eq.. Additionally, the selection of epoxy resin significantly influences the assessment of sustainable fiber-plastic composites.

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“…This can contribute up to ∼60% of the total P-CF manufacturing energy as the synthesis involves energetically demanding multi-step polymerization of the acrylonitrile monomer. 38,43,44 To obtain the high-performance Pi-CFs necessary for widespread application, petroleum or coal tar pitch needs to be transformed into mesophase pitch. 45 This transformation instigates high ordering of aromatic molecules having both an anisotropic phase and a graphite structure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%