Carbon fiber: New materials, new frontiers

By the end of the year, the State Carbon Fiber High-Tech Industrialization Base is expected to develop into China's biggest base for carbon fiber production thanks to its capacity for innovation, said Song Jiasheng, deputy director of the Jilin Science and Technology Bureau.

The goal of the base, which had its second anniversary this January, is to break China's dependence on imports to meet its ever-growing hunger for carbon fiber materials.

In 2010, the domestic consumption demand of carbon fiber exceeded 10,000 tons, accounting for 25 percent of the world's total.

The strength of carbon fiber is four times that of common steel, and they are only a quarter of the metal's weight.

Carbon fiber is a material with a high degree of stiffness, tensile strength and temperature tolerance as well as low weight and low thermal expansion, all of which make carbon fiber materials popular in the fields of aerospace, civil engineering, military and motor sports.

"We (Jilin city) spent over 30 years researching the production of carbon fiber," said Song. "We experienced the growth of the carbon fiber industry. Jilin can be said to be the cradle of carbon fiber in China," Song said.

In recent years, the municipal government has made great strides in researching high technology, new materials and new products, especially in the carbon fiber industry.

At present, a cluster of companies specializing in carbon fiber products has initially taken shape in Jilin city, making it one of the most important carbon fiber producers in China.

Meanwhile, the industry has been listed in the city's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).

By 2015, the production capacity of carbon fiber precursor will have reached 30,000 tons; that of carbon fiber, 12,000 tons; and carbon fiber products, 50,000 tons, amounting to a total production value of 30 billion yuan.

"As a new materials industry, carbon fiber is one of the most important for Jilin's strategic development," said Zhang Xiaopei, Party secretary of Jilin city.

liumingtai@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/21/2012 page12)