The Origin of carbon fiber
Carbon fiber (CF for short) is a new type of fiber material with high strength and high modulus with a carbon content of more than 95%. It is a microcrystalline graphite material obtained by carbonization and graphitization by stacking organic fibers such as flake graphite microcrystals along the fiber axial direction. It combines the inherent properties of carbon fiber with the soft processability of textile fibers. This material is black and hard. Although it is several times thinner than a human hair, its strength is greater than that of steel, its density is less than that of aluminum, it is more resistant to corrosion than stainless steel, and it is more resistant to high temperature than heat-resistant steel. Therefore, it is known as “black gold” by the industry.
Carbon fiber was born as a luminous body for incandescent lamps.
Sir Joseph Wilson Swan (1828–1914), an English chemist and physicist, invented the incandescent lamp with platinum wire as the light source. In order to solve the problem that platinum wire is not heat-resistant, Swan uses carbonized thin paper strips instead of platinum wire. Since carbon paper strips burn easily in the air, Swan basically solved the problem by evacuating the light bulb. In 1860, Swan invented a semi-vacuum electric lamp with carbon paper strips as the light source, which is the prototype of the incandescent lamp. But the vacuum technology was immature at that time, so the life of the lamp was not long. By the late 1870s, vacuum technology had matured, and Swan invented the more practical incandescent lamp, which he patented in 1878. In 1879, Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) invented the incandescent lamp with carbon fiber as the light source. He shapes linden, tallow, manila and tots, rich in natural linear polymers, into the desired size and shape, and bakes them at high temperature; when heated, these are made of continuous glucose fiber units.The plain fibers are carbonized into carbon fibers. In 1892, Edison received a US patent for his invention of “Manufacturing of Filaments for Incandescent Electric Lamp”. It can be said that Edison invented the earliest commercialized carbon fiber.
Carbon fiber ushered in the “blowout” stage of research and application, or after the 1950s. In 1958, American researchers first discovered high-performance carbon fibers, followed by Japanese and British researchers to improve the performance of carbon fibers.
Development Prospects of China Carbon Fiber Industry
In the past, the phenomenon of “capacity but no output” in China’s carbon fiber industry was more serious, and the capacity utilization rate was lower than the international level, mainly because China did not master the core technology of the carbon fiber industry, and the product technology content was low, the quality was poor, and the strength was even T300. not reach. However, in recent years, China’s carbon fiber industry has made breakthroughs in independent research and development, and the capacity utilization rate of the carbon fiber industry has shown a sharp trend. In 2020, China’s carbon fiber production capacity will reach 36,200 tons, and the actual domestic carbon fiber supply will be about 18,500 tons.
According to the “2022-2027 Carbon Fiber Market Investment Prospect Analysis and Supply and Demand Pattern Research Forecast Report” released by the China Research Institute:
In recent years, global carbon fiber consumption has shown a rapid growth trend. In 2020, the global carbon fiber consumption will reach 107,000 tons, an increase of 5,000 tons compared with 2019, a year-on-year increase of 4.94%. In the future, carbon fiber demand may continue to be in a period of rapid growth. It is estimated that the global carbon fiber consumption will reach 200,000 tons in 2025, and the growth drivers will mainly come from wind power blades, aerospace, etc.
According to incomplete statistics, China has planned and under construction carbon fiber production capacity totaling 140,700 tons per year, which is a considerable amount. China’s carbon fiber production capacity is gradually increasing. As Chinese carbon fiber manufacturers continue to make technological breakthroughs in the field of high-performance carbon fiber, it is expected to achieve domestic substitution.
Due to the advantages of light weight and high strength of carbon fiber, it is widely used in the downstream market, and the market demand continues to expand. In 2019, the domestic carbon fiber market demand was 37,800 tons. At present, China’s carbon fiber industry is in a period of explosive growth, and the growth rate of the carbon fiber demand market will remain at around 17% in the future. It is estimated that China’s carbon fiber market demand will exceed 110,000 tons in 2026.
In 2020, the global carbon fiber market size is about 106,900 tons, and the demand for carbon fiber industry is expected to reach 200,000 tons in 2025. The domestic demand for carbon fiber in 2020 is 48,900 tons, and it is expected that the demand will reach 150,000 tons in 2025, with an annual compound growth rate of 25.1%. Among them, the supply of domestic carbon fiber reached 83,000 tons, with a compound annual growth rate of 35.1%, and the supply of imported carbon fiber was 66,500 tons.
In 2020, China’s carbon fiber demand is 48,900 tons, of which 18,500 tons are supplied domestically, and the overall supply is in short supply. Strong market demand has promoted technological progress, industrial upgrading and production expansion.
Carbon fiber is a strategic new material with very broad application prospects.
The application industry is becoming more and more extensive. With the continuous expansion of China’s market demand, China’s carbon fiber will also have a lot of room for development.