STTR Phase II: Innovative Dispersion Technology for the Sustainable Repurposing of Off-spec and Recycled Carbon Fiber into Low-cost, Defect-free, Nonwoven Fabrics

About This Grant

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project is the development of an innovative mixer for the dispersion of carbon fiber in the nonwoven method known as wet laid. The patented technique is used to fabricate mats for use in the production of advanced composite materials, lightweight materials characterized by high specific strength and stiffness. It has been previously shown that the technique could be used to produce high-performing nonwoven fabrics in a cost-effective, sustainable, and highly reproducible manner by incorporating material that is generally discarded, including off-spec carbon fibers and recycled carbon fibers. The company now plans to use this innovative process with an off-spec carbon-hemp, polypropylene blend to develop a sustainable and cost-efficient product line suitable for an automotive use case. The work will provide valuable insight into hybrid reinforcement of composites, a largely unstudied area. It will also provide a model for production of hybrid-reinforced composite products and a comprehensive assessment of products derived from off-spec carbon fiber and recycled carbon fiber. The development of this cost-efficient technique to produce carbon fiber advanced composites will create opportunities for several industries to incorporate these high-performance materials into a variety of products and applications. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will develop a novel method where off-spec and recycled carbon fiber can be cost-efficiently processed into high-value materials. This technique offers a way to produce nonwoven mats with fiber length retention and tailored fiber orientation. The system can produce carbon fiber mats at various area densities and is compatible with production of hybrid fiber textiles such as mixtures of carbon fiber/thermoplastic fibers (e.g., polypropylene fibers), natural fibers, and other synthetics such as glass, basalt, and Kevlar. The project will focus on producing and evaluating advanced composite materials for an automotive use case. This analysis will provide critical insight into the mechanical and commercially-relevant properties of composites generated through hybrid reinforcement. The project also aims to demonstrate consistency across production batches at larger scales by evaluating produced mats and measuring key performance indicators in a high-efficiency fabric production scenario. This work will help illuminate key considerations for the production of hybrid reinforced composites and inform future product design. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.