IACMI: Task 6.1: Materials and Process Facilities and Technology Area Implementation

For Section IV Unique Qualifications and Expertise, Materials and Processing Technology Enabling Technology Center: The University of Kentucky operates the Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER). The Carbon Materials Group within CAER has extensive experience with activated carbons, high value industrial carbons and pitch-derived carbon fibers, and precursor spinning and thermal conversion of fibers for CF. The group has particular expertise with solution spinning of PAN precursor fibers in a bench-scale, multifilament, continuous precursor tow (> 1 km/day). For Section IV Existing Equipment and Facilities, Materials and Processing Technology Enabling Technology Center: The Spin Line Building for CAER at the University of Kentucky contains the largest solution spinning line found in an academic setting anywhere in the world (schematic and image of the line shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3). The 30m long spinning line is housed in a 300 m2 square building. The line was built to this scale to balance the production of meaningful research quantities of precursor tow (up to 0.5kg/working day) while minimizing the time and effort needed for line change-over. In this way, the line efficiently tests the ‘spinnability’ of experimental precursor ‘dopes,’ prepared in-house, as well as producing enough fiber for subsequent thermal processing. It is capable of producing enough fiber for prototyping near-finished carbon fiber composites. These spinning technologies are readily transferable to industry and are available to commercial and government clients.