The cooperation between Saudi Arabian National Petroleum Corporation (hereinafter referred to as Saudi Aramco) and ITA aims to study ways to reduce energy consumption in polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polyethylene (PE)-based technologies.
Saudi Aramco (AramcoTech, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) and Aachen University of Technology (Aachen, Germany)'s Institute of Textile Technology (ITA, the Institute of Textile Technology) have carried out research cooperation, which is an international research and training institution . AramcoTech said that this research cooperation program was originally planned to last for two years, and its purpose was to reduce the cost of manufacturing standard modulus carbon fibers by using different petroleum-based precursors. More specifically, this collaboration will investigate different ways to optimize the energy consumption of current polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based technologies, thereby reducing the residence time in the oxidation stabilization step. In addition, AramcoTech stated that the team will explore ways to overcome the technical challenges of polyethylene (PE)-based technology and conduct a technical and economic feasibility study to outline the plan to establish the world's first semi-industrial production line.
According to the company, the carbon fiber manufacturing process is relatively energy intensive-in the case of conventional processing using carbon fiber grade polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-the precursor cost accounts for more than 50% of the total cost. Therefore, efforts to reduce carbon fiber manufacturing costs are already underway, mainly through pre-oxidation treatment and different plasma and/or microwave assisted heating to improve the energy consumption of different heat treatment levels (ie, oxidation and carbonization). method. Or, unlike ordinary PAN precursors, polyethylene (PE) precursors have proven to be a cost-effective choice for reducing carbon fiber manufacturing costs due to their high carbon content, low cost, and melt spinnability.
AramcoTech stated that its goal is to reduce carbon fiber manufacturing costs by 50%, which may accelerate the application of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) outside of high-end industries such as automobiles, wind energy and pipelines.