This
study outlines a novel thermal extrusion system and methodologies
for evaluating the potential to manufacture carbon fiber directly
from thermoplastic coals. It is envisioned that the intermediate product
will be further refined by spinning down to commercial fiber sizes
and thermal annealing. Commercial melt spinning is used for manufacturing
carbon fibers from pitch-based feed materials, and a similar approach
for plasticized coal is likely to be a lower risk option. However,
the critical aspect of using coal for this purpose is its behavior
inside a higher pressure extrusion unit and the need to characterize
its rheology. This work has evaluated the thermoplastic development
needed for extrusion of a single coking coal in terms of the heating
rate and residence time and characterized the extruded fiber product.
It was observed that the coal underwent a preliminary softening phase
prior to extruding at significant speed. This phase appeared necessary
to develop the critical viscosity for extrusion and was affected by
the heating rate. The size of the orifice that the coal was extruded
through also impacted the point of extrusion, with the smaller 0.5
mm hole requiring lower viscosity to be developed to flow at steady
state. Other operating modes were developed to examine the thermoplastic
properties of the coal over an extended residence time, and it was
found that the coal could be maintained up to 60 min at selected temperatures.
The product fiber was larger than the commercial size, appearing slightly
larger than the orifice size. Internal porosity and surface roughness
were observed as coal-based fiber qualities in need of controlling,
along with the mineral content and size.