Pyrolysis of brominated polyethylene as an alternative carbon fibre precursor

Carbon fibers and their composites have attracted much attention in recent years and are being used in an increasing number of industries. However, due to the high production costs of carbon fibers and the complex manufacturing process of composites, their use in large series applications is still limited. The main cost driver in carbon fiber manufacturing is the production of the precursor fiber, with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) being the prevailing feedstock today. Approximately 50% of the production cost of carbon fibers is related to the precursor fiber. For this reason, the use of a new precursor material offers enormous cost-saving potential.Polyethylene (PE) is a promising alternative to PAN due to its high carbon content, low cost, high availability, and melt processability. This study reviews the research and development activities on PE-based carbon fibers. The manufacturing of the precursor fiber and its conversion process into a carbon fiber are discussed. The review also provides an overview of published information on concepts for commercial production of PE-based carbon fibers and various cost models.

show abstract

“…• PE is a mass production polymer and thus offers cost advantages over special polymers such as carbon fiber grade PAN [33,34].…”

Section: Precursor Fibers For Carbon Fiber Manufacturingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…• The properties of PE have been well researched and the technologies for structure-property modification are available [34].…”

Section: Prerequisite Precursor Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of polyethylene‐based carbon fiber manufacturing

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Different kinds of products were obtained, such as succinic, glutaric, and adipic acids, as well as longer dicarboxylic acids, acetic acid, and propionic acid (Bäckström et al, 2017;Jehanno et al, 2019). In addition to the mentioned alternatives, some studies have explored the use of PE as a precursor in the production of carbon fiber through carbonization (Laycock et al, 2020).…”

Section: <92mentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine Environmental Plastic Pollution: Mitigation by Microorganism Degradation and Recycling Valorization

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plastics are very useful materials and present numerous advantages in the daily life of individuals and society. However, plastics are accumulating in the environment and due to their low biodegradability rate, this problem will persist for centuries. Until recently, oceans were treated as places to dispose of litter, thus the persistent substances are causing serious pollution issues. Plastic and microplastic waste has a negative environmental, social, and economic impact, e.g., causing injury/death to marine organisms and entering the food chain, which leads to health problems. The development of solutions and methods to mitigate marine (micro)plastic pollution is in high demand. There is a knowledge gap in this field, reason why research on this thematic is increasing. Recent studies reported the biodegradation of some types of polymers using different bacteria, biofilm forming bacteria, bacterial consortia, and fungi. Biodegradation is influenced by several factors, from the type of microorganism to the type of polymers, their physicochemical properties, and the environment conditions (e.g., temperature, pH, UV radiation). Currently, green environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic made from renewable feedstocks are starting to enter the market. This review covers the period from 1964 to April 2020 and comprehensively gathers investigation on marine plastic and microplastic pollution, negative consequences of plastic use, and bioplastic production. It lists the most useful methods for plastic degradation and recycling valorization, including degradation mediated by microorganisms (biodegradation) and the methods used to detect and analyze the biodegradation.

show abstract

“…The second one is the cross-linking-carbonization strategy. [23][24][25][26] Typically, heating PE in concentrated sulfuric acid at 100-130 °C or air atmosphere at 250-350 °C can incorporate many sulfonic acid or oxygen-containing moieties into the chains of PE. During the subsequent carbonization, cross-linking of the chain structure takes place via the elimination of sulfonic acid or oxygen-containing groups, forming a stabilized cyclic structure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Upcycling Waste Polyethylene into Carbon Nanomaterial via a Carbon‐Grown‐on‐Carbon Strategy

Jia

Bai

Liu

et al. 2022

Macromol. Rapid Commun.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Upcycling waste plastics (e.g., polyethylene (PE)) into value‐added carbon products is regarded as a promising approach to address the increasingly serious waste plastic pollution and simultaneously achieve carbon neutrality. However, developing new carbonization technology routes to promote the oxidation of PE at low temperature and construct the stable cross‐linking network remains challenging. Here, a facile carbon‐grown‐on‐carbon strategy is proposed using carbon black (CB) to convert waste PE into core/shell carbon nanoparticles (CN) in high yields at low temperature. The yield of CN remarkably increases when the heating temperature decreases or the dosage of CB increases. The obtained CN displays turbostratic structure and closely aggregated granular morphology with a size of ≈80 nm. It is found that, prior to the oxidation and carbonization of PE, CB forms a 3D network architecture in the PE matrix. More importantly, CB not only catalyzes the partial oxidation of PE to form PE macromolecular radicals and introduce oxygen‐containing groups at low temperature in the early stage, but also favors for the construction of a stable cross‐linking network in the latter stage. This work offers a facile sustainable strategy for chemical upcycling of PE into value‐added carbon products without post‐treatments or usage of metallic catalysts.

show abstract

Pyrolysis of brominated polyethylene as an alternative carbon fibre precursor

Cited by 12 publications

References 29 publications

A review of polyethylene‐based carbon fiber manufacturing

A review of polyethylene‐based carbon fiber manufacturing

Marine Environmental Plastic Pollution: Mitigation by Microorganism Degradation and Recycling Valorization

Upcycling Waste Polyethylene into Carbon Nanomaterial via a Carbon‐Grown‐on‐Carbon Strategy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About