To meet the demand for carbon-fibre-reinforced composites in lightweight applications, cost-efficient processing and new raw materials are sought for. Cellulose and kraft lignin are each interesting renewables for this purpose due to their high availability. The molecular order of cellulose is an excellent property, as is the high carbon content of lignin. By co-processing cellulose and lignin, the advantages of these macromolecules are synergistic for producing carbon fibre (CF) of commercial grade in high yields. CFs were prepared from precursor fibres (PFs) made from 70: 30 blends of softwood kraft lignin (SW-KL) and cellulose by dry-jet wet spinning with the ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([EMIm][OAc]) as a solvent. In focus was the impact of the molecular mass of lignin and the type of cellulose source on the CF yield and properties, while membrane-filtrated kraft lignin and cellulose from dissolving kraft pulp and fully bleached paper-grade SW-KP (kraft pulp) served as sources. Under the investigated conditions, the yield increased from around 22% for CF from neat cellulose to about 40% in the presence of lignin, irrespective of the type of SW-KL. The yield increment was also higher relative to the theoretical one for CF made from blends (69%) compared to those made from neat celluloses (48-51%). No difference in the mechanical properties of the produced CF was observed.

There is an increasing demand for lightweight composites reinforced with carbon fibers (CFs). Due to its high availability and carbon content, kraft lignin has gained attention as a potential low-cost CF precursor. CFs with promising properties can be made from flexible dry-jet wet spun precursor fibers (PFs) from blends (70:30) of softwood kraft lignin and fully bleached softwood kraft pulp. This study focused on reducing the stabilization time, which is critical in CF manufacturing. The impact of stabilization conditions on chemical structure, yield, and mechanical properties was investigated. It was possible to reduce the oxidative stabilization time of the PFs from about 16 h to less than 2 h, or even omitting the stabilization step, without fusion of fibers. The main reactions involved in the stabilization stage were dehydration and oxidation. The results suggest that the isothermal stabilization at 250 degrees C override the importance of having a slow heating rate. For CFs with a commercial diameter, stabilization of less than 2 h rendered in tensile modulus 76 GPa and tensile strength 1070 MPa. Impregnation with ammonium dihydrogen phosphate significantly increased the CF yield, from 31-38 to 46-50 wt %, but at the expense of the mechanical properties.

Carbon fibers (CFs) are gaining increasing importance in lightweight composites, but their high price and reliance on fossil-based raw materials stress the need for renewable and cost-efficient alternatives. Kraft lignin and cellulose are renewable macromolecules available in high quantities, making them interesting candidates for CF production. Dry-jet wet spun precursor fibers (PFs) from a 70/30 w/w blend of softwood kraft lignin (SKL) and fully bleached softwood kraft pulp (KP) were converted into CFs under fixation. The focus was to investigate the effect of carbonization temperature and time on the CF structure and properties. Reducing the carbonization time from 708 to 24 min had no significant impact on the tensile properties. Increasing the carbonization temperature from 600 to 800 °C resulted in a large increase in the carbon content and tensile properties, suggesting that this is a critical region during carbonization of SKL:KP PFs. The highest Young's modulus (77 GPa) was obtained after carbonization at 1600 °C, explained by the gradual transition from amorphous to nanocrystalline graphite observed by Raman spectroscopy. On the other hand, the highest tensile strength (1050 MPa) was achieved at 1000 °C, a decrease being observed thereafter, which may be explained by an increase in radial heterogeneity.

: The demand for carbon fibers (CFs) based onrenewable raw materials as the reinforcing fiber in composites forlightweight applications is growing. Lignin−cellulose precursorfibers (PFs) are a promising alternative, but so far, there is limitedknowledge of how to continuously convert these PFs underindustrial-like conditions into CFs. Continuous conversion is vitalfor the industrial production of CFs. In this work, we havecompared the continuous conversion of lignin−cellulose PFs (50wt % softwood kraft lignin and 50 wt % dissolving-grade kraft pulp)with batchwise conversion. The PFs were successfully stabilizedand carbonized continuously over a total time of 1.0−1.5 h,comparable to the industrial production of CFs from polyacrylonitrile. CFs derived continuously at 1000 °C with a relative stretch of−10% (fiber contraction) had a conversion yield of 29 wt %, a diameter of 12−15 μm, a Young’s modulus of 46−51 GPa, and atensile strength of 710−920 MPa. In comparison, CFs obtained at 1000 °C via batchwise conversion (12−15 μm diameter) with arelative stretch of 0% and a conversion time of 7 h (due to the low heating and cooling rates) had a higher conversion yield of 34 wt%, a higher Young’s modulus (63−67 GPa) but a similar tensile strength (800−920 MPa). This suggests that the Young’s moduluscan be improved by the optimization of the fiber tension, residence time, and temperature profile during continuous conversion,while a higher tensile strength can be achieved by reducing the fiber diameter as it minimizes the risk of critical defects.