Apparel / Textiles & Accessories

On August 16, Sinopec announced that the first large-tow carbon fiber production line in China has completed the installation of all equipment and entered the trial production stage. After the project is completed and put into operation, Sinopec is the first company in China and the fourth company in the world to master the production technology of large tow carbon fiber.

The large-tow carbon fiber developed and trial-produced by Sinopec is a new high-strength fiber material with a carbon content of more than 95%. Its specific gravity is less than a quarter of that of steel, but its strength is 7 to 9 times that of steel, and it also has corrosion resistance properties. It is known as the "king of new materials", also known as "black gold", and can be widely used It is used in aircraft parts, rail transit raw materials, body manufacturing, etc., and has broad application prospects in all walks of life.

Wan Tao, secretary of the Shanghai Petrochemical Party Committee, said that after the project is completed and put into operation, it will increase the single-line production capacity of raw silk and carbon fiber, effectively reduce the production cost of carbon fiber, and improve the situation that my country's large tow carbon fiber is all dependent on imports and long-term in short supply, and promotes the high-quality domestic carbon fiber industry. Development, help China's manufacturing transformation and upgrading, and rank among the forefront of the world.

In the carbon fiber industry, the number of carbon fibers per bundle greater than 48,000 (referred to as "48K") is usually called large tow carbon fiber. At present, each bundle of carbon fibers in China is basically between 1,000 and 12,000, called small tows. The biggest advantage of 48K large tow is that under the same production conditions, it can greatly improve the single-line production capacity and quality performance of carbon fiber, and reduce production costs, thereby breaking the application limitations caused by the high price of carbon fiber. So far, only a few countries in the world, such as Japan and the United States, have and master the production technology of large tow carbon fiber.

Sinopec, together with Shanghai Petrochemical Research Institute, Shanghai Engineering Company, etc., and with the strong support of Shanghai, has joined forces with more than 10 universities, research institutes and enterprises, including Beijing University of Chemical Technology and Fudan University, to develop an enterprise-based enterprise. The road of collaborative innovation combining "production, learning, research and application" made a major breakthrough in 2018, and successfully trial-produced 48K large tow carbon fiber, which went through the entire process. At present, Sinopec's carbon fiber technology has independent intellectual property rights, and has obtained 274 related patents and 165 authorizations, ranking third in the world.