The development of a techno-economic model for the assessment of asphaltene-based carbon fiber production

Abstract

Carbon fiber is a material consisting of strong filaments made essentially of atoms of carbons. Asphaltene is as a potential precursor in the manufacturing of carbon fiber. The technology for production of carbon fiber from asphaltene is in the early stage of development, therefore the economic feasibility of the process at large-scale production has not yet been stablished. This information is critical for those making investment decisions and for policy formulation, and is required for the further development of this pathway. A techno-economic assessment of the production of asphaltene-based carbon fiber derived from bitumen to estimate the production cost was performed through the development of process models. The material and energy requirements, sizing of the main equipment, and capital and operating costs were obtained from a data-intensive process model. The results show that for a plant capacity of 3,000 tonnes per year, the production cost is $10.16 per kg of carbon fiber. This cost estimate is most sensitive to the stabilization time, the process yield, and the flow of nitrogen required to set the atmosphere of the carbonization operation. The effect of scale and tow size were also studied; production cost decreased with those parameters. For a 12 k tow and capacities greater than a 890 t/y plant, the production cost is lower than the current market price of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fiber, while for capacities above 3,060 t/y, the production cost would be below $10/kg CF. The uncertainty analysis shows that production cost would likely range between 11.50 and 14.80 $/kg CF, indicating that it is potentially cheaper to produce carbon fiber from asphaltene than from polyacrylonitrile. These results are useful for making investment decisions, policy formulation, and identifying process variables important for low-cost carbon fiber.