From Waste Cotton Linter: A Renewable Environment-Friendly Biomass Based Carbon Fibers Preparation

Abstract

As a high performance fiber material, carbon fibers are practically important in various applications. Traditional methods for the preparation of carbon fibers are based on fossil fuels using poly(acrylonitrile) and mesophase pitch as starting materials. The preparation of carbon fibers based on renewable low cost biomass is an alternative and sustainable approach in green chemistry. Herein, an environmentally friendly low cost approach is established to prepare carbon fibers from waste cotton linter though the CarbaCell method using a wet-spinning technology and carbonization process. Crude cellulose carbamate (CC) fibers and one treated with dibasic ammonium phosphate (DAP) were investigated by TGA and DTG. The prepared carbon fibers were characterized with SEM, IR, and contact angle measurements. Thermal behavior analysis indicated that the carbon yield increased by 133% with the use of DAP as impregnant. The SEM images showed these carbon fibers had a relatively smooth surface and approximately round compact morphology in cross-section. Without hot-stretching and post-thermal treatments steps, the as-prepared carbon fibers carbonizing at 900 °C reach tensile strength around 0.72 GPa with the carbon yield up to 36.4%. This process provide a green approach for the preparation of carbon fibers based on a renewable resource.