New University of Limerick, Ireland discovery could ‘revolutionize carbon fibre industry’

A research team at University of Limerick in Ireland has developed a groundbreaking new method of producing carbon fibre while drastically reducing its energy footprint.

Researchers at UL are leading a project that has developed a new method of producing carbon fibre, a high-cost light weight material used in sectors such as aerospace, wind energy, construction, and transportation.

The CARBOWAVE project uses an innovative plasma and microwave heating method to make carbon fibre, replacing the conventional heating processes and significantly reducing energy consumption by as much as 70% while maintaining the materials performance.

The reduction in the energy required to produce the material will make the process greener and less expensive.

The ambitious new project, coordinated by UL’s Professor Maurice N Collins and Dr Anne Beaucamp McLoughlin, is set to transform the energy intensive carbon fibre industry by deploying cutting-edge alternative heating technologies.

The groundbreaking advancement, the first results of which were published in the renowned Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials Journal, will help to address environmental challenges like energy consumption and emissions while also contributing to sustainable industrial growth.

The advancements developed by the research team will enable a more efficient conversion of Polyacrylonitrile (PAN), a key component in carbon fibre production, which needs a vast amount of energy to be converted into carbon fibres and is a strategic material vital for Europe’s future energy security.

The CARBOWAVE team will use susceptor-induced microwave heating utilising self-assembled nanostructures technology, initially developed by researchers at University of Limerick and University of Valencia, to convert PAN into carbon fibre. This will allow it to be heated quicker making the production process more efficient.

Remarkably, during their research, the UL team discovered that carbon fibre can be produced in an inexpensive domestic microwave and exhibit mechanical performance equivalent to that produced using conventional heating.

Professor Maurice Collins, principal investigator on the project and Professor of Materials Science in UL’s School of Engineering, explained: “Europe’s reliance on energy-intensive processes has long been a barrier to achieving sustainability. CARBOWAVE addresses this challenge and is an exciting project which offers the potential to produce more sustainable and cheaper carbon fibre.

“The long-term implications are enormous as it could allow the deployment of carbon fibre in all sorts of applications where high strength and stiffness is needed from construction, transportation, hydrogen storage to wind energy and beyond.”

Co-principal investigator Dr Anne Beaucamp McLoughlin, Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering at UL, explained that the project “aims to revolutionise the carbon fibre industry by significantly reducing the energy consumption and the cost of the carbon conversion process without losing their mechanical properties.

“This project will allow for carbon fibres production to be more energy efficient, faster and cheaper, and to reduce significantly their environmental footprint.”

Carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRPs), derived from carbon fibre, are crucial in sectors like wind energy, construction, and transportation. The light weighting capabilities of CFRPs enhance wind turbine efficiency, support decarbonisation in construction, and improve fuel efficiency in transport, particularly electric vehicles.

However, current carbon fibre production is highly energy-intensive and relies heavily on electricity and natural gas.

CARBOWAVE’s solutions aim to reduce this energy use by over 70% while maintaining material performance. Europe’s advanced carbon materials market, which dominates 37% of the global market, will directly benefit from this groundbreaking initiative.

Professor Collins added: “This project promises to unlock the broader industrial use of carbon fibre by drastically reducing its production costs and environmental footprint.

“CARBOWAVE represents a step toward decarbonising Europe’s energy-intensive industries. By integrating plasma and microwave heating technologies, the project not only addresses immediate challenges like energy consumption and emissions but also paves the way for sustainable industrial growth.”

The project unites leading research institutions and industry partners across Europe to drive this transformative change with research team at UL partnering with the Deutsche Institute für Textil- und Faserforschung in Germany, the University of Valencia, Spain, Fraunhofer IFAM in Germany, Microwave Technologies Consulting SAS in France, Muegge GmbH in Germany, Centro Ricerche Fiat in Italy, Juno Composite Ltd in Ireland, and Eirecomposites Ltd, also Ireland, form the CARBOWAVE consortium.

CARBOWAVE is a European commission-funded initiative, designed to develop and implement alternative heating sources for energy-intensive industries by leveraging advanced plasma and microwave technologies. It is funded by the European Union.

ENDS

The study, ‘Decreasing the environmental impact of carbon fibre production via microwave carbonisation enabled by self-assembled nanostructured coatings’, by Maurice N Collins and others, has been published by the journal Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials.

For further information, please contact:

Alan Owens

Communications Manager

University of Limerick

alan.owens@ul.ie

About University of Limerick:

University of Limerick is a research-led, independent, internationally focused university with almost 18,000 students and 2,000 staff. It is a young, energetic and enterprising University with a proud record of innovation in education and excellence in research and scholarship.

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