Enhancing Carbon Fibre Production Through Life Cycle Analysis

This book describes the application of life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to streamline analysis of process and material variations in carbon fibre manufacturing, focusing on large-scale continuous production. It reports on a modular LCA concept based on accepted international standards and an in-depth analysis of carbon fibre manufacture. This streamlined assessment approach considers material flows and properties, and generated emissions, throughout the manufacturing process. Further, four manufacturing scenarios for optimizing material throughput are discussed, highlighting trade-offs between production rate, material properties, environmental impact, and cost. In turn (“Subsequently” or a synonym may be more suitable here as this part is not directly linked to what is described in the previous sentence), the evaluation of three precursor materials,traditional PAN, textile-grade PAN, and an experimental bio-based lignin-cellulose blend is described. The strengths and weaknesses, like processability and cost efficiency, of each material are outlined in detail. Overall, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of the effect process and material variations have on carbon fiber manufacture. It also showcases methodologies to optimize these industrial processes for a sustainable production on a large scale.