L2M NSERC - Energy Efficient Production of Carbon Fibers from Asphaltenes

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This study is a part of Lab2Market initiative to improve research commercialization. In this study, we examine the feasibility of producing energy efficient carbon fibers from asphaltene. Carbon fibers are a strong, lightweight, electrically, and thermally conductive material which has been used in aerospace, medical, energy, and sports fields. Due to the high price of the precursors and a large amount of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions of the conventional post-treatment processes restricts the wide applications of carbon fibers. The conventional post-treatment process, including long-time stabilization, high-temperature carbonization, and graphitization processes account for significant costs and GHG emissions, which also contributes to the high price of carbon fiber products. Therefore, an economical precursor using Alberta Oilsands Asphaltene (AOA) and more efficient post-treatment processes are necessary for reducing the cost and widening the applications of carbon fibers. The market assessment will determine critical factors affecting commercialization of this technology.