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Critical breakthrough achieved in materials for hydrogen storage tanks at Sinopec! Author/Source: Modern Coal Chemical Industry Date: 2022-10-17 Clicks: 111 On October 10, the first domestic production line of China’s first 10,000-ton capacity 48K large-tow carbon fiber project was put into operation at Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Carbon Fiber Industrial Base, producing qualified products. The product performance is on par with that of similar products abroad, reaching an internationally advanced level. This marks Sinopec’s large-tow carbon fiber moving from key technological breakthroughs, pilot industrial production, and successful industrialization to scale-up as well as the localization of key equipment. It eliminates once and for all the situation in which China’s carbon fiber production and related equipment are dependent on others, thereby achieving true autonomy and control. Yahua Consulting has learned that on January 5 this year, the \"12,000 tons per year 48K large-tow carbon fiber\" project at Shanghai Petrochemical was officially launched. The project includes 12,000 tons per year of 48K large-tow carbon fiber and 24,000 tons per year of precursor fibers, with a total investment of 3.5 billion yuan. It is a major industrial project in Shanghai, and completion is scheduled for 2024. Once the project is put into operation, it will immediately change the situation in China, where large-tow carbon fibers rely on imports and there is a persistent shortage of such materials. It will effectively promote the development of the domestic carbon fiber industry and contribute to the advancement of \"Made in China\" products. According to Wang Peilin, a leading expert at Shanghai Petrochemical, the company is developing its own manufacturing processes for carbon fiber used in the production of gas cylinders. The 35Mpa gas cylinders have already passed the testing requirements, and in the future, the company plans to establish a production capacity for such cylinders on a larger scale. At the same time, Sinopec Shanghai has actively pursued research and development in the use of carbon fiber in hydrogen storage, including advancements in technologies related to type 3 and type 4 tanks, and has achieved significant breakthroughs in this area. “The greatest advantage of large-tow fibers, aside from their cost advantages, is that they **improve processing efficiency at the point of use**. In the case of gas cylinders, the winding efficiency of large-tow fibers is 3–4 times higher than that of small-tow fibers; this leads to a significant reduction in the manufacturing costs of carbon fiber-wound high-pressure gas cylinders, making them more suitable for use in hydrogen storage and transportation applications. He said that from a technical perspective, the technology for 35MPa hydrogen storage cylinders is now largely mature and is in the stage of expanded application; it will soon be widely used in commercial vehicles ； The main application area for 70MPa hydrogen storage cylinders in the future is the passenger vehicle market; in China, the technology is still in the stage of breakthrough, and its use is currently at the trial phase. The large-tow carbon fiber developed and produced by Sinopec is a high-strength new type of fiber material with a carbon content of over 95%. It has excellent mechanical properties: its density is less than one-fourth that of steel, its strength is 7 to 9 times that of steel, and it also possesses corrosion resistance. Carbon fiber technology holds broad application prospects across various industries. Among these, carbon fiber-wound composite hydrogen storage cylinders are regarded as an important technology for the storage and transportation of hydrogen. Advances in carbon fiber technology will contribute to the development of the hydrogen energy industry. Carbon fiber technology comes with strict technical barriers; Sinopec is the first company in China and the fourth in the world to master large-tow carbon fiber production. Sinopec has pooled various resources to make concerted efforts to overcome the key core technologies related to carbon fiber. Through top-level planning and organized collaboration involving Shanghai Petrochemical, the Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemistry, Shanghai Engineering Corporation, as well as well-known domestic equipment manufacturers, and with strong support from the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and municipal authorities, it joined forces with more than 10 institutions including Beijing University of Chemical Technology and Fudan University. This partnership led to a collaborative innovation model centered on enterprises that integrates production, academia, research, and application. In 2018, a major technological breakthrough was achieved: 48K large-tow carbon fiber was successfully developed, and the entire production process was perfected. Through more than a decade of efforts, China’s carbon fiber industry has achieved a significant breakthrough, moving from 12K to 48K levels, and has successfully seen a qualitative leap in its research, development, and production technologies. To date, Sinopec holds a total of 251 patents related to carbon fiber and 46 patents related to carbon fiber composites, ranking first in China and third in the world in terms of patent holdings.