14 January 2016
ABOUT CARBON FIBER REINFORCED PLASTIC, CFRP
DETAILS
the core company of the Teijin Group’s
carbon fibers and composites business,
announced today that it has developed technologies
for innovative microwave carbonization and
plasma surface treatment, which are expected
to help energy and CO2 emissions saving production of
automobiles, high-speed railcars and aircrafts
through increased use of
carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP).
Carbon fiber applications are expanding beyond
* aerospace
into fields including
* automobiles,
* the environment,
* energy and infrastructure.
However, the carbonizing process in
the carbon fiber manufacturing process
consumes large amounts of energy and
produces CO2 emissions, so reductions in these areas
are urgently required
to facilitate large-scale mass production
for automobiles and other applications.
Microwave Carbonization
Toho Tenax, using the world’s first application of
microwave energy carbonization under atmospheric pressure,
has achieved a tensile modulus of 240 GPa or greater
and rupture elongation of 1.5% or greater, both equivalent to
levels found in industrial products.
The advanced carbonizing process was developed by
examining the fiber- structure formation process
when carbonizing a bundle of between 12,000 and 24,000 pieces
of flame-resistant oxidized PAN fibers, and
then developing the most appropriate microwave processing method
to carbonize this fibrous material.
Using direct heating with microwave energy, fibrous material
is carbonized continuously without having to
maintain a high-temperature oven,
thereby saving time and energy.
Surface Treatment
Toho Tenax has also succeeded in developing
a carbon fiber ultra-fast plasma surface treatment technology
using dry process.
The highly simplified process reduces energy consumption by 50%
for the whole process, compared to
the conventional carbon fiber production process. In addition,
the ultra-fast treatment improves
the adhesiveness of carbon fiber and matrix resin.
TEIJIN Press Contact
Corporate Communications
Teijin Limited
+81 3 3506 4055
pr@teijin.co.jp
WWW.CHEMWINFO.COM BY KHUN PHICHAI