Asphaltene derived carbon fibre reinforced lightweight composites via additive manufacturing

阿尔伯塔省的沥青储量约为1800亿桶，其中含有相当数量的沥青质（按重量计约为15-20%）。沥青烯是一种富含碳的低价值副产品，有望成为各种不燃、高价值产品的廉价原料，具有多种用途。在过去的两年里，我们一直在开发一种从低价值沥青质中生产高价值碳纤维的技术。目前，我们能够生产直径为7-20µm的沥青质衍生碳纤维，强度为1000mpa，模量为100gpa，屈服率为1000m /min。在这一成功的基础上，在这个拟议的项目中，我们的目标是利用这些沥青质衍生的碳纤维，利用增材制造（AM）方法生产低成本、轻质的碳纤维增强复合材料（CFRCs）。两个主要目标是使用3D打印技术生产沥青质衍生的CFRCs，以及定制碳纤维和热塑性聚合物基体的物理化学和机械性能，以获得具有竞争力的机械和热性能。此外，我们的项目还将专注于严格的性能测试，并开发沥青质衍生CFRCs的首个原型。与现有的聚丙烯腈基碳纤维相比，该项目的成功实施将使低价值沥青质的轻质复合材料增值，以显著降低成本和温室气体排放，从而应用于汽车、能源和其他轻质应用（即体育和娱乐）等各个行业。总的来说，从沥青质中开发低成本的CFRCs将创造新的就业机会，保护阿尔伯塔省的油砂行业免受化石燃料需求下降的影响，并通过促进油砂和复合材料行业之间的合作机会，增加对阿尔伯塔省和加拿大的投资。

With ~180 billion barrels of bitumen reserves in Alberta, a considerable amount of asphaltenes (~15-20% by weight) are present within these bitumen. Asphaltenes, being highly carbon-rich low-value by-products, hold great promise to serve as a cheap feedstock for a wide variety of non-combustible, high-value products with diverse applications. Over the past two years, we have been developing a technology to produce high-value carbon fibres from low-value asphaltenes. Currently, we are able to produce asphaltene-derived carbon fibres with variable diameters ~7-20 µm, strength >1000 MPa, modulus >100 GPa and yield ~1000 meter/min. Building on this success, in this proposed project, we aim to exploit these asphaltene-derived CFs to produce low-cost and lightweight carbon fibre reinforced composites (CFRCs) using additive manufacturing (AM) approaches. The two primary objectives are to produce asphaltene-derived CFRCs using 3D printing techniques, as well as tailoring the physicochemical and mechanical properties of the carbon fibres and thermoplastic polymer matrix to achieve competitive mechanical and thermal performance. Moreover, our project will also focus on rigorous performance testing and developing first-of-its-kind prototype of the asphaltene-derived CFRCs. Successful implementation of this project will valorize low-value asphaltenes to produce lightweight composites using additive manufacturing at a significantly lower cost and greenhouse gas emissions versus incumbent polyacrylonitrile based carbon fibres with applications in various industries, including automotive, energy, and other lightweight applications (i.e., sports and recreation). Overall, the development of low-cost CFRCs from asphaltenes will generate new employment opportunities, protect Alberta's Oil Sands industries from declining fossil fuel demand, and increase investment in Alberta and Canada by fostering opportunities for collaboration and partnerships between the Oil Sands and the composite industries.