CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/632301
CompositesWorld.com 33 NEWS N E W S N S N E W S E N W S W Lignin-based Carbon Fiber? to be increasing, and several large pulp-and- paper companies are pursuing lignin fber development. Swedish forest products R&D; company Innventia (Stockholm, Sweden), for one, is producing high- quality lignin carbon fbers at lab scale and demonstrating their utility in several projects. Innventia, together with Chalmers University of Technology (Gothenburg, Sweden), is known for its patented LignoBoost process, which obtains high-volume softwood lignin from black liquor, says Per Tomani, Innventia's focus area manager of lignin and carbon fbers: "We developed a better way to extract softwood lignin, and that know-how was sold to Valmet and is now being commercialized." Valmet (Keilasatama, Finland) has since built two lignin plants, one in Finland and a second in Plymouth, NC, US. Te latter, operated by Domtar (Montreal, QC, Canada), has a projected production rate of 25,000 MT per year (see "Learn More") and has expanded the availability of high-quality lignin. Using that softwood lignin source, Tomani's group has focused on understanding the chemistry, developing best practices for melt-spinning and fber carbonization, and actually tailoring lignin for better fber production: "It's quite a diferent molecule, and it's important to understand the chemistry and the processing to produce a good carbon fber," says Tomani. "We're not trying to compete with PAN," Tomani points out. "We're focusing on the low-cost segment of the market as an alternative to glass fber and low-cost PAN fbers." Although Tomani won't reveal his group's carbon fber properties, he says it is producing 1K, with fber diameters of 10-15 microns. Partner Swerea SiComp (Kista, Sweden), Sweden's national research organization with polymer composites expertise, has woven the fbers and developed a balsa-cored structural composite panel with lignin-based carbon fber-reinforced facesheets. Intended for lightweighting in automotive and other high-volume applications, Searching for alternative applications Innventia lignin fbers, subsequently processed by partner Swerea SiComp (Kista, Sweden), a Swedish national organization, into a woven fabric, were used to make these demonstra- tion cored sandwich panels. The two groups hope to generate interest and funding for a lignin carbon fber line for consumer uses. Source | Innventia Losing weight is never fun – even for a car. Composites with ultra-lightweight ROHA riple F foam cores inside can substantially lighten a vehicle design. Because the cores are produced via in-mold foaming, it's even easy to create lightweight parts with complex geometries and integrated inserts. Design with freedom. Lose weight. • Lightweight, structural core shapes – in customized densities • Quality cores with fi ne surface details, ready to be used for lay-up and curing production • Optimal for fast processing cycles and high volume serial production • Integrate inserts during the foaming process Learn more at www.rohacell.com Please visit us at JEC, Paris Nord Villepinte, Hall 5a, Booth H44 Lightweighting with ROHA riple F Losing weight was never so easy.