Manufacturing Carbon Fiber Using Alberta Oilsands Asphaltene with Microwave Plasma Assistance

The considerable expenses associated with carbon fiber (CF) production have imposed limitations on its widespread application across diverse industries, primarily due to the costs of precursor materials and energy−intensive post−treatment procedures. This research explores the potential utilization of Alberta oilsands asphaltenes (AOAs), a carbon−rich by−product derived from oilsands extraction, as a more cost−effective precursor for CF production. Polystyrene and poly(styrene–butadiene–styrene) were also used as polymer additives. In addition to conventional thermal post−treatment, microwave plasma was employed for the carbonization process. The CFs generated through this approach were subjected to a comprehensive analysis involving SEM, FTIR, TGA, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy. The best tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the AOA carbon fibers when using conventional thermal post−treatment were 600 MPa and 70 GPa, respectively. The microwave plasma process indicates the higher temperature and promise of eliminating heteroatoms of AOA carbon fibers. The temperature for microwave plasma modelling was set using COMSOLTM, with the modelling temperature and detection temperature being established at 1600 K and 1568 K, respectively.