ENABLING LOW-COST HIGH-QUALITY CARBON FIBER FROM VARIOUS LIGNINS-PREPARING FOR SCALING UP

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: ACTIVE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1030487
• Grant No.: 2023-67021-39598
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $650,000.00
• Proposal No.: 2022-10829
• Project Start Date: May 15, 2023
• Project End Date: May 14, 2026
• Grant Year: 2023
• Program Code: [A1531]- Biorefining and Biomanufacturing

Recipient Organization
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
2229 Lincoln Way
AMES,IA 50011

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
Lignin valorization remains the most significant challenge for biorefineries. Lignin-based carbon fibers are attractive as they are potential low-cost alternatives to commercial carbon fibers. However, the mechanical properties of current lignin-based carbon fibers are much inferior to the commercial requirements. In this project, we will investigate and develop a novel lignin-tailored carbon fiber production method, producing carbon fibers with significantly improved properties at low costs. If successful, the project will enable automobile-grade carbon fibers from general lignin.

Animal Health Component

30%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

40%

Applied

30%

Developmental

30%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
123	0680	2020	100%

Knowledge Area
123 - Management and Sustainability of Forest Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0680 - Other products of the forest;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering;

Keywords

lignin

biorefineries

carbon fiber

Goals / Objectives
This project aims to valorize lignin to improve the economic profitability of lignin producers and contribute to a sustainable and green environment by enabling low-cost lignin-based carbon fibers (CFs) in commercial applications. The research objective of this proposal is to develop a lignin-tailored CF processing technology to demonstrate lab-scale productions of low-cost commercial-grade CFs using various lignins. The objectives include(1) verifying the effectiveness of the controlled CF production method using multiple lignins from different sources;(2) establishing structure-process-properties relationships of lignin and lignin-based CFs;(3) examining the applicability of the structure-process-properties relationships;(4) developing an integrated controlled CF production method to shorten the production time.

Project Methods
1. Preparation of lignin precursorCharacterize diverse lignin produced from various sources and prepare spinnable precursors.2. Controlled production of carbon fibersEmploy a controlled fabrication method to convert the lignin-based precursors into carbon fibers with improved properties.3. Development of structure-property-process relationshipsDevelop structure-property-process relationships relevant to lignin-based carbon fibers and validate their applicability.4. Improved carbon fiber processingFurther improve the controlled method to lower production costs.

Progress 05/15/23 to 05/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences include 1) academic researchers in universities and national laboratories; 2) biorefineries and paper/pulp industries producing lignin as byproducts; 3) carbon fiber manufacturers; 4) industries that are interested insustainable and lightweight materials. Changes/Problems:There was a delay in hiring graduate students and postdocs in this report period. There are no changes in the project research approaches. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A graduate student was trained by conducting the project research. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The project outcomes have been published in a professional journaland a book. The results have also been presented at the AICHE conference.In addition, aUS patent application has been filed. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue investigatingdifferent lignins and fiber fabrication conditions. We will develop a comprehensive understanding of lignin-based CFs based on the characterization results. Meanwhile, the fiber fabrication method will be optimized to improve CF properties further.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Verifying the effectiveness of the controlled CF production method using lignins from different sources. We evaluated different lignins for carbon fiber production, which includewheat straw steam explosion lignin, softwood kraft lignin, softwood organosolv lignin, and pyrolytic lignin. 2) Developing an integrated controlled CF production method to shorten the production time. We developed a proprietary method to pretreat softwood lignin with high glass transition temperature. Non-meltablelignin was converted to a melt-spinnable precursor uponpretreatment. Moreover, the stabilization time was reduced to 4 hours from the previous 10-20 hours while maintaining the hightensile strength of the CF (about 2 GPa).An IP disclosure is being prepared. 3) Establishing structure-process-properties relationships of lignin and lignin-based CFs. We used different stabilization temperatures and carbonization temperatures to fabricate softwood lignin-based CFs. The fibers at different stages were comprehensively characterized to understand the structure-process-property relationships. This is an on-going work.

Publications

• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Razzaq, M. E. A., Mohammed, A., Bai, X. (2024) Lignin-based carbon fiber toward sustainability: opportunities and challenges, Included in AIBE 9: Advances in Bioenergy, CCM-M-10286078.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Luo, Y., Razzaq, M. E. A., Qu, W., Mohammed, A., Aui, A., Zobeiri, H., Wright, M., Wang, X., Bai, X. (2024) Introducing thermo-mechanochemistry of lignin enabled high-quality low-cost carbon fiber, Green Chemistry, 26, 3281-3300. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3GC04288J
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Bai, X., Luo, Y., Razzaq, M. Enabling commercially viable green carbon fiber by tuning lignin chemistry, 2023 AICHE Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, November 5th-10th, 2023.