Viscose-based carbon fiber has good application prospects, but industry development still faces challenges

​​​​According to different base materials, carbon fiber can be divided into three types: pitch-based carbon fiber, PAN-based carbon fiber and viscose-based carbon fiber. Viscose-based carbon fiber refers to carbon fiber prepared by pre-oxidation and carbonization of viscose fiber. Viscose-based carbon fiber has the advantages of high specific modulus, high specific strength, good weavability, high purity, and chemical corrosion resistance. It has good application prospects in the fields of thermal insulation materials, aerospace, national defense, and medical materials.

In terms of technology, the production of viscose-based carbon fiber requires raw material preparation, washing, impregnation, oxidation, carbonization and other links. The production process is relatively complex and the technical barriers to the industry are high. In terms of raw materials, the main raw materials of viscose-based carbon fiber include wood pulp, cotton pulp, viscose, alumina, polyacrylonitrile fiber, etc. Wood pulp and cotton pulp account for the main production costs. my country is a major producer of cotton pulp, and local companies mostly use cotton pulp as raw material to produce viscose-based carbon fibers. The advantages of raw materials have laid a good foundation for the development of my country’s viscose-based carbon fiber industry.

According to the “2023-2028 China Viscose-Based Carbon Fiber Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center , Viscose-based carbon fiber has good application prospects in the fields of thermal insulation materials, aerospace, defense industry, medical materials and other fields. In the field of thermal insulation materials, viscose-based carbon fiber can be used to produce industrial thermal insulation materials, building wall materials, etc.; in the aerospace field, viscose-based carbon fiber can be used to manufacture aerospace vehicle heat protection systems; in the field of national defense and military industry, viscose-based carbon fiber Glue-based carbon fiber can be used as the heat shield skeleton material of intercontinental ballistic missiles. In the future, as research continues to deepen, the application scope of viscose-based carbon fiber will be further expanded.

The viscose-based carbon fiber market has broad prospects, but industry development still faces many challenges. On the one hand, compared with pitch-based carbon fiber and PAN-based carbon fiber, viscose-based carbon fiber has a complicated production process and higher production costs, accounting for less than 5% of the carbon fiber market. On the other hand, the global high-end viscose-based carbon fiber market mainly Concentrated in Europe, the United States and other countries, Chinese companies lack high-end competitive advantages and are highly dependent on imports for demand.

The major global manufacturers of viscose-based carbon fiber include Japan’s Toray Corporation (TORAY), Japan’s Mitsubishi Group (Mitsubishi), and the United States’ Union Carbide (Union Carbide), etc. There are a small number of companies in my country with the production capacity of viscose-based carbon fiber, mainly including Hengshen Co., Ltd., Zhongjian Technology, Yuanhui Composite Materials, Ruicheng Carbon Fiber, etc.

          Industry analysts said that as a carbon fiber segmented product, viscose-based carbon fiber has a wide range of applications and good industry development prospects. In recent years, Chinese enterprises and scientific research institutions have continued to increase investment in the research and development of viscose-based carbon fibers, driving the industry to gradually develop in the direction of high performance. However, currently, due to factors such as high technical barriers and high production costs, my country’s high-end viscose-based carbon fiber is still highly dependent on imports, which is the main challenge facing the development of the industry.