Washington University engineers develop cheaper, renewable carbon fiber

Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a method to produce renewable carbon fiber using lignin, a waste byproduct from the paper pulping and biorefining industries. This new process aims to reduce the industry's heavy reliance on petroleum-derived polyacrylonitrile (PAN), which can account for up to 50% of total carbon fiber manufacturing costs.

By incorporating lignin, the research team successfully reduced PAN usage by half and lowered overall production costs by 25%. To ensure the material meets the high-quality standards required for aerospace, automotive, and energy infrastructure, researchers added single-walled carbon nanotubes to the mixture. These nanotubes act as nanoscale reinforcement to improve the fiber's internal structure and mechanical performance.

This innovation offers a way to significantly cut carbon emissions and repurpose an abundant natural biopolymer that is typically burned for energy or disposed of as waste.