In a recent demonstration of carbon fiber production, 4M Carbon Fiber announced that the strength of the carbon fiber it produced increased by 15%, while using its atmospheric plasma oxidation technology to triple the output.
The results provided carbon fiber manufacturers with the opportunity to disrupt the industry, demonstrating their ability to produce better carbon fibers, while allocating capital and operating costs to three times their production capacity. 4M is exploring ways to license the technology to end users worldwide.
4M worked with the National Laboratory's Department of Energy's carbon fiber technology facility to oxidize Formosa's precursors using international patented technology. The fibers were then carbonized, surface treated and sizing on CFTF. Carbon fiber properties were then tested on CFTF using industrial test methods. Initial tests showed that the fiber exhibited higher tensile properties than carbon fibers produced for this particular precursor by conventional techniques.
It is believed that these results strengthen the value proposition by demonstrating that plasma oxidation can have a positive effect on carbon fiber performance.
A person in charge commented: "We have not optimized the process for this precursor, so we believe that there is still room to increase processing speed and even improve carbon fiber performance. We intend to continue discussions with several carbon fiber manufacturers and new entrants on technology licensing, and we hope that Complete and announce the strategic partnership as soon as possible. "
The next step in the commercialization of plasma oxidation is to produce samples required by car manufacturers, freight companies, container manufacturers and carbon fiber manufacturers. Pilot plants should allow operation on a near-commercial scale and produce large enough quantities so that carbon fiber manufacturers can decide whether to license the technology. The company also expects that the pilot plant project will be best positioned to support building capacity with technology licensed partners.