Wet Spinning of Cellulose-Lignin Precursor for Carbon Fibers : Effect of Coagulation Bath Composition & Spin Finish

Abstract: Carbon fibers (CF) are a material with a composition of over 90% carbon, which has high mechanical properties and low density. This unique combination of properties makes it requirable in applications such as vehicles, aerospace, wind power, and space industries. Commercially made CF are made using the fossil raw material polyacrylonitrile (PAN). In order to make a more sustainable precursor fiber (PF), this project has focused on other raw materials; cellulose and lignin. The PFs were produced with a cellulose and lignin mixture (70:30 wt%). In order to make a more green production of PF, cold alkali system was used as the solution in conjunction with wet spinning with an acid:salt coagulation bath. The acid:salt baths used was the P system with phosphoric acid and ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADHP), and the S system with sulphuric acid and sodium sulphate with varying concentrations of both acid and salt. The objectives for this thesis was to evaluate the effect of the acid:salt coagulation bath composition, as well as the spin finish. This was done using tensile tests where Young’s modulus, strain to failure, and tensile strength (TS) were determined. The spin finish was evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed that the P system had a significantly higher Youngs modulus and tensile strength compared to the S system, whilst the S system had a higher strain to failure. For the different concentrations of the S system, the tensile tests showed no significant difference between the concentrations. The fibers contained more phosphorus when ADHP was added to the spin finish, making them more flame retardant.