AFSCME 3357-HOF'S BLOG

Low-cost Carbon Fiber

Honda and GM have recently made great strides in their fuel cell car programs. To be more efficient in the long run, cars must be lighter. It's a challenge to reduce weight without sacrificing strength, safety, durability while still managing initial costs and repair costs. Probably the most promising material for weight reduction is carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is still way too expensive for mass-market cars. Although carbon fiber has been used for 40 years or more in aerospace, cost reductions through experience curve effects have been slow in coming. Recently, a government-funded project has uncovered a new "precurser" material for carbon fiber that could reduce the cost significantly. The material is lignin, sometimes called kraft-lignin. Lignin is a byproduct of papermaking that usually goes to waste. Info on turning lignin to carbon fiber is here. An article from 2003 on the same topic is here.