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In the current wave of scientific and technological progress, high-tech new materials play an increasingly significant role in promoting industrial development and enhancing national competitiveness.
Carbon fiber, known as the "king of new materials", is unique among many high-tech materials. It has a series of excellent characteristics such as low density, high strength, high modulus, high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity.
Carbon fiber is widely used in various fields of national defense and military industry and national economy, such as aerospace, military industry, rail transit, sporting goods, new energy vehicles, construction and consumer electronics.
Carbon fiber is made of organic fibers pyrolyzed and carbonized in a high-temperature inert gas at 1000-3000 °C, with a carbon content of more than 90%, which is one of the lightest inorganic materials available at present. It not only has the inherent properties of carbon materials, but also has the soft processability of textile fibers.
The production efficiency and performance of carbon fiber have been significantly improved from traditional wet spinning to dry jet wet spinning, and then to dry jet dry spinning technology in recent years.
With the rapid development of the carbon fiber industry at home and abroad and the continuous growth of market demand, the application prospect of carbon fiber in the field of renewable energy represented by wind power will also be very broad.
Application sites of glass fiber/carbon fiber reinforced materials on blades:
Source: Gao Guoqiang, "Application and Future Development of Composite Materials in the Field of Wind Power Blade Manufacturing"
In addition, in the aerospace sector, the domestic demand for carbon fiber also continues to grow. In the case of the C919 large passenger aircraft, the radome is made of fiberglass composites, and the less stressed parts such as the flaps are also made of fiberglass composites. In addition, the doors and passenger and cargo floors of C919 are made of aramid honeycomb material, which has a stable, lightweight structure and high specific strength, higher shear strength compared with foam core material, and more corrosion resistance compared with metal honeycomb.
According to the "2022 Global Carbon Fiber Composite Market Report", it is expected that by 2025, China's carbon fiber market demand will be 132,200 tons, and the import dependence will be reduced to 16.2%.
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Carbon fiber industry chain and leading carding
The classification of carbon fibers includes precursor type, tow specification and mechanical properties.
The main types of precursor are PAN-based, asphalt-based and viscose-based, among which PAN-based carbon fiber occupies a dominant position in the market due to its simple production process, abundant raw materials and superior tensile strength. Tow specifications can be divided into small tows, large tows and giant tows. The mechanical properties can be divided into standard mold, medium mold and high mold.
Composite molding is an integral part of the process of transforming carbon fiber precursors into usable composite parts.
Carbon fiber reinforcements and resin matrices must undergo specific composite molding steps in order to successfully manufacture carbon fiber composites. In this process, the resin matrix is impregnated with carbon fiber or carbon fiber fabric under tightly controlled conditions to form a prepreg, which is a material that is used directly in most molding processes.
In the carbon fiber industry chain, upstream enterprises extract propylene from fossil fuels to produce PAN precursors, and midstream and downstream enterprises obtain carbon fiber through pre-oxidation, low temperature and high temperature carbonization, which can be further processed into carbon fiber fabrics and prepregs, combined with resin, ceramics and other materials to form carbon fiber composite materials, and finally obtain the final products required for downstream applications through various molding processes.
Carbon fiber industry chain industrial chain and representative manufacturers combing:
Source: Zhongfu Shenying, Zhongjian Technology, CITIC Securities
The carbon fiber industry chain includes five links: production equipment, precursor, intermediates, products and applications.
In terms of production equipment, American and Japanese companies occupy the majority of the high-end market. Due to its early research and development and complete process technology, the carbon fiber produced is in the leading position in the world in terms of quality and quantity. In terms of precursors, intermediates and products, Toray Corporation of Japan is the industry leader.
In recent years, the localization rate of carbon fiber in mainland China has increased rapidly, from 18.41% in 2016 to more than 50% in 2022. With the progress of domestic technology, the domestic substitution space of high-performance carbon fiber will be further opened, so as to get rid of the dependence on imports.
In 2022, the domestic operating capacity of carbon fiber will reach 892,000 tons, the output will be about 474,000 tons, and the capacity utilization rate will increase to 53.15% compared with 2021.
Jilin Chemical Fiber Group, Xinchuang Carbon Valley, Guangwei Baotou and other enterprises will expand their production in 2022. It is expected that more companies will be put into production in 2023, such as Baojing, Zhongfu Shenying and Shanghai Petrochemical.
Jilin Chemical Fiber Group has an operating capacity of 25,000 tons of large tow carbon fiber, accounting for 28%, ranking first in China. Major domestic manufacturers also include Jiangsu Hengshen and Weihai Expansion. #Carbon Fiber##New Materials##Article Launch Challenge##化工#
epilogue
Carbon fiber has extremely high strength and stiffness while being extremely lightweight, which makes it a huge advantage in a wide range of areas. With the continuous advancement of science and technology and the continuous improvement of carbon fiber manufacturing technology, the cost of carbon fiber is gradually decreasing, making it competitive in many traditional fields. As a new material with excellent performance, carbon fiber has a broad application prospect and market space.
Pay attention to Leqing's industry observation and gain insight into the industrial pattern!