【Deep Coating Society Industry Analysis】The development trend of 11 types of high-performance fiber materials in the world and the prediction and layout of China's fiber industry

High-performance fiber refers to a class of special fibers with special resistance to external physical and chemical effects, which is one of the main development directions of the chemical fiber industry in recent years, and can be divided into organic high-performance fibers and inorganic high-performance fibers
according to chemical composition.
High-performance fibers are not only important strategic materials urgently needed for the development of aerospace and defense industries, but also play an irreplaceable role in promoting various strategic emerging industries and low-carbon economy, energy conservation and emission reduction, and are one of the symbols of
a country's comprehensive strength and technological innovation.
Japan, the United States and developed European countries attach great importance to and monopolize the research and development, production and market
of global high-performance fibers for a long time.
Since 2006, with the key support of national policies and finances, China's high-performance fiber industry has developed rapidly, and a relatively complete domestic high-performance fiber preparation technology research and development, engineering practice and industrial system have been established, which has greatly shortened the gap with developed countries and effectively alleviated the urgent demand
for high-performance fibers in the national economy and national defense construction.
The following describes common high-performance fibers
.

1.
Carbon fiber

Carbon fiber is a kind of fiber material with carbon content of more than 90%, with light weight, high strength, corrosion resistance, high modulus, low density, no creep, good electrical and thermal conductivity, non-oxidizing environment ultra-high temperature resistance, good fatigue resistance and other characteristics, is the development of aerospace, new energy, high-end equipment manufacturing and other high-tech industries of important basic materials, is the manufacture of rockets, missiles, fighters, naval ships and a variety of cutting-edge military weapons necessary key materials, in the field of national defense industry has an irreplaceable strategic position
。 Relevant data show that the current use of carbon fiber composite materials in military aircraft accounts for 30%~40%, and the use of large passenger aircraft accounts for 15%~50%.

For example, the carbon fiber composite materials used in the US F-22 and F-35 fighters reached 24% and 36% respectively, the use of B-2 stealth strategic bombers accounted for more than 50%, the US "Global Hawk" unmanned reconnaissance aircraft used 65%, and the "Thor" UAV even exceeded 90%.

At the same time, in the field of civil aviation, the amount of composite materials used in large passenger aircraft such as B-787 and A-380 has exceeded 50%.

China's military aircraft, domestic large aircraft, satellites, spacecraft, etc.
also began to use carbon fiber composite materials, but the application ratio and level are far lower than foreign countries, of which the carbon fiber and material consumption of third-generation fighters accounts for less than 5%, although the amount of fourth-generation fighters has increased, but still not reached 20%, domestic large aircraft carbon fiber composite materials use less than 15%, and are imported
.
In 2020, the global demand for carbon fiber is 10.
6kt, Chinese mainland the operating capacity of carbon fiber is about 3.
6kt, and the actual output is about 1.
8kt, ranking second in the world
.

2.
Para-aramid

Paryl-aramid has excellent properties such as light weight, high strength, high toughness, high temperature resistance, wave transmission, impact resistance and wear resistance, and has a wide range of applications
in the fields of optical cable reinforcement, bulletproof armor, asbestos substitution, personal protection and so on.
The global para-aramid market belongs to a typical oligopoly situation, North America and Europe belong to mature markets, China is an emerging market, as a potential aramid consumption of large countries, in recent years, China's para-aramid market demand growth rate of about 10%, far beyond the global average
.
With the increasing demand for aramid personalization in electronic communications, national defense industry, lightweight materials, and 5G industry, it has driven the rapid development of para-aramid industry, and there is huge
market space to be explored.
In 2020, the global para-aramid production capacity is 83.
7kt, and the total production capacity is expected to be 94.
6kt by 2022, mainly concentrated in DuPont, Teijin and Kolon three companies, accounting for about 90% of the global para-aramid production capacity, while domestic enterprises account for a relatively low
proportion.

3.
Meta-aramid

Meta-aramid has excellent heat resistance (decomposition temperature greater than 400 °C, long-term use temperature greater than 200 °C), flame resistance (limiting oxygen index greater than 29%), excellent high temperature acid and alkali resistance, electrical insulation and good processing performance, widely used in high temperature protective clothing, high temperature filter material, electrical industry and composite materials
.
In 2017, the global consumption of aramid was 35kt, which increased to 43.
2kt in 2018, of which 50% was produced by DuPont, and it is expected to reach 66kt in 2025, mainly used in the field of insulation paper and safety protection, with high requirements for fiber performance and high technical threshold
.
In 2020, the global meta-aramid market reached 6.
3 billion yuan, and it is expected to reach 10.
3 billion yuan in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.
3%.

At present, the quality of domestic meta-aramid supply is close to that of foreign products, the market capacity is gradually increasing, and it has a strong price advantage, which has forced DuPont of the United States and Teijin of Japan to basically withdraw from the domestic meta-aramid market
.
However, more than 60% of China's meta-aramid products are used in the field of relatively low-end high-temperature filter materials, and the technical threshold is relatively low, followed by the field
of safety protection and insulating paper.
Compared with the international market, the performance of meta-aramid manufactured in China, especially insulating paper, still has a lot of room for
improvement.

4.
Aramid III

Aramid III has higher strength, modulus, better impact resistance, flame retardancy and thermal oxygen aging resistance than para-aramid, while having lower dielectric constant, dielectric loss and better composite performance, etc.
, in winding, impact resistance and structural transmission composite materials and optical fiber/cable reinforcement has important high-end applications, has been used in batch intercontinental missile engine housing, helicopter skin, individual helmets, military and police body armor and other fields
.
At present, Russia's aramid III is still at the world's leading level, and it is the only country that
can mass-produce aramid III.
Compared with foreign countries, China's aramid III series products are relatively single, mainly high-strength and high-model, and lack differentiated varieties
that appropriately adjust performance according to different uses.

5.
Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber

UHMWPE fiber has excellent mechanical properties, chemical resistance, weather resistance, high energy absorption, low conductivity and waterproofness, etc.
, is the lowest density of high-performance fiber, widely used in military bulletproof, aerospace, marine engineering, security protection, transportation, sports equipment, biomedical and home textile supplies and other fields
.
In the development process of more than 40 years, the production technology of UHMWPE fiber has been continuously improved, and the fiber performance and output have made great progress, which has driven the comprehensive and rapid development
of the whole industrial chain from UHMWPE raw materials to fiber products.
Especially in the field of bulletproof products, given that the density of UHMWPE fiber is only 2/3 of para-aramid, it shows obvious advantages in lightweight bulletproof products, and its bulletproof effect is better than aramid, and has now become the main fiber
in the US bulletproof market.
At present, 45% of the total amount of UHMWPE fiber is used to produce bulletproof products, and local wars and terrorist incidents continue to occur around the world, and the demand for UHMWPE fiber will further expand.

With the further expansion of application in industrial and civil fields, domestic and foreign companies continue to develop new brands of UHMWPE fiber, and fiber production capacity has gradually increased
.
In 2011, the total production capacity of global UHMWPE fiber was about 30kt, and in 2019, the fiber production capacity reached 64.
6kt, while the demand reached 86kt, and the fiber production capacity increased to about 80kt in 2020, of which the rapid development of domestic UHMWPE fiber enterprises has made a great contribution
to the sudden increase in global production capacity.

6.
Polyimide fiber

Polyimide fiber not only has high strength and modulus, but also chemical resistance, thermal oxidation stability and radiation resistance is very superior, in aerospace, national defense construction, new construction, high-speed transportation, marine development, sports equipment, new energy, environmental industry and protective equipment and other fields have been widely used, in addition to more superior performance of bulletproof clothing fabrics, high specific strength series ropes, spacesuits, high temperature protective clothing, etc
。 At present, China's metallurgical industry needs about 100,000 sets of heat-insulating, breathable and soft flame retardant work clothes every year, hydropower, nuclear industry, geology and mining, petrochemical, oilfield and other fields need 300,000 sets of protective clothing every year, need high temperature flame retardant special protection to take polyimide fiber about 500t, and fire rescue protective clothing in more than 200,000 sets / year, which provides a broad space
for the application of polyimide fiber in the field of high temperature special protection.
Polyimide is a general term for a large class of materials, with a very rich chemical structure, corresponding to fiber varieties with different properties and functions, and has a larger range of
applications.
These varieties have many common problems in polymer preparation, fiber molding, etc.
, which are conducive to the development of multiple varieties, so as to meet the demand for high-performance fibers in extreme aerospace environments, and will play an important role in
China's aerospace exploration activities.

7.
Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) fiber

PPS is a kind of polymer material
with a regular structure composed of benzene rings and sulfur atoms alternately arranged in opposition.
It has good mechanical strength, heat resistance and chemical corrosion resistance
.
PPS fiber is currently one of the few commercial high-performance fibers that can be melt-spun and processed, and is the basic material of high-temperature, corrosive tail gas bag dust removal core components such as thermal power plants and waste incineration plants, and has the characteristics of
high filtration accuracy (PM10.
0, PM2.
5) and long service time (4 years).
Toray and Toyobo have in-depth studied and mastered the production technology of high-quality PPS staple fiber, monopolizing the global market of PPS staple fiber, accounting for more than
80% of the world's output.
In recent years, China has adopted nano-composite modification technology to further improve the comprehensive performance of PPS fiber, break the monopoly of high-quality PPS fiber abroad, and provide PPS series products with the most cost-effective cost performance for China's high temperature filtration industry, providing an important guarantee
for the industry to enhance market competitiveness, maintain domestic leadership, and open up the international market 。 PPS nanocomposite fiber as a new basic material of thermal protective equipment, its development can break the monopoly of foreign materials on special protective equipment, and reduce the cost of high-end protective equipment, improve the popularity of thermal protective equipment in China's petrochemical, metal smelting, emergency rescue and other harsh environments, the market demand is significant, to promote the research and development of personal protective equipment in China and improve the level of emergency rescue is of great significance
.

8.
Polyaryl fiber

Polyaryl ester is a special polymer
formed by connecting aromatic rings by ester bonds, generally with thermogenic liquid crystal characteristics.
In the process of polyaryl melt spinning, its polymer chain is highly oriented, thereby giving polyaryl fiber high heat resistance, high strength, high modulus, low water absorption, creep resistance, low dielectric constant and other excellent characteristics, which are widely used in aerospace, industrial materials and other fields, with great military and industrial value
.
In 1977, polyaryl fiber was selected by NASA as a safety bag for the Mars Explorer landing vehicle for a soft landing; In 2004, it was again used on the "Courage" and "Opportunity" Mars rovers; Since 2003, Japanese stratospheric airships have also used this fiber
.
Stratospheric airship is a new type of platform working in the adjacent space, with the advantages of long space stationing time, low cost and high resolution, broad commercial application prospects and important national defense value, and has been listed as an important development technology
by developed countries such as the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
The preparation technology of stratospheric airship capsule skin material is the key to the development of airship, mainly using polyaryl fiber as a high-specific strength fabric, combined with high-barrier materials and adhesives to composite to build reinforced composite materials
.
At present, only Kuraray Japan has an annual output of 2000t fiber product VECTRAN, and Celanese of the United States and Sumitomo of Japan are preparing to develop this fiber
.
Due to the excellent comprehensive performance of polyaryl ester fiber, the fiber is restricted to China, and the price is extremely high, which seriously restricts the development of
China in the above fields.
The research topic of polyaryl fiber of Donghua University has passed the identification organized by the China National Textile and Apparel Council on May 18, 2019, and the industrial production and implementation of this technology will effectively break the foreign blockade and monopoly on China, meet China's urgent needs in the above important fields, and solve the key fiber and its composite material problem
of "stuck neck".

9.
Polybenzodiazole (PBO) fiber

PBO fiber is currently the high-performance organic fiber with the highest strength and best comprehensive performance, and it is a new generation of high-performance fiber after aramid fiber and carbon fiber
.
Its outstanding performance advantages are mainly manifested in the following aspects:

• Excellent mechanical properties, PBO fiber strength reaches 5.
  8GPa (aramid is 2.
  9~3.
  4GPa), modulus reaches 280GPa (aramid is 64~144GPa), which is the highest among organic fibers, and is also higher than inorganic high-performance fibers such as carbon fibers;

  
  

• Good heat resistance, PBO fiber thermal decomposition temperature reaches 650 °C, which is also the highest among organic fibers, and the heat-resistant working temperature is about 100 °C higher than that of aramid;

  
  

• Excellent flame retardant performance, PBO fiber limiting oxygen index reaches 68% (aramid is 29%), second only to PTFE fiber in organic fiber;

  
  

• Excellent chemical stability, except for 100% concentrated sulfuric acid, methanesulfonic acid, polyphosphoric acid and other strong acids, all other organic solvents and alkalis are stable, the strength is almost unchanged
  .
  

  
  

Therefore, PBO fiber is considered to be the next generation of basic materials for armor protection, aerospace structural components, aviation structure/stealth field of key raw materials, and also has broad application prospects in civilian fields such as optical cables, vehicle protection, human protection, building reinforcement and sporting goods, which is a high-end fiber material for both military and civilian use, which is of great significance
to support the traditional composite material industry to achieve leapfrog improvement in performance and promote upgrading.

10.
Silicon carbide (SiC) fiber

SiC fiber has a series of excellent properties such as high strength, high modulus, high temperature resistance, oxidation resistance, creep resistance, corrosion resistance, and good compatibility with ceramic matrix, is a very ideal reinforcement fiber, in aviation, aerospace, weapons, ships and nuclear industry and other high-tech fields have a wide range of application prospects, is the development of high-tech weapons and equipment and aerospace industry strategic raw materials
。 SiC ceramic matrix composites (SiCf/SiC) reinforced by continuous SiC fibers have high strength, low density and high service temperature, and have significant weight reduction effects in high thrust-to-weight ratio engines, which is the best choice
to replace existing ultra-high temperature heat-resistant alloys.
SiCf/SiC composites have broad application prospects
in the fields of heat-resistant parts of aerospace engines, hypersonic transportation propulsion systems, and nuclear reactor materials.
Developed countries such as Japan and the United States have carried out a lot of basic and applied research on high-performance continuous SiC fibers, and have realized the industrial production
of continuous SiC fibers.
Due to the important application prospects of continuous SiC fiber in the military field and its strategic position in aviation, aerospace and other high-tech fields, for a long time, Western developed countries have implemented a monopoly policy on this product and carried out strict product and technology blockade
on China.

11.
Basalt fibers

Basalt fiber is a continuous inorganic amorphous fiber
prepared by drawing after high-temperature melting with mafic volcanic rock as the main raw material.
Because volcanic rock has high silica, aluminum oxide and iron oxide components, it gives basalt fiber high strength, high modulus, low thermal conductivity, wear resistance, low temperature resistance and good chemical stability, and is currently widely used in concrete, high temperature filtration, building insulation, vehicle engineering, wind power, petrochemical and sports and leisure industries
.
As a natural product of the universe, basalt materials are not only widely distributed on the earth, but also in the moon, Mars and the vast universe, and the development and deepening of basalt fiber preparation technology is of far-reaching significance
to the future use of space in situ resources.
In addition, some high-performance fibers such as alumina continuous fibers, boron nitride fibers, silicon-boron nitrogen fibers, etc.
, are still in the stage of research and development to be mass-produced, and it is necessary to further improve the precursor heat treatment technology, break through the key technologies of industrial production and application, and improve the stability
of fiber performance.
Among them, Shanghai Rongrong New Material Technology Co.
, Ltd.
plans to build a continuous alumina fiber production line in Shanghai Lingang by the end of 2021, and is expected to produce 5kt within 3 years; Shandong Dongheng National Fiber New Materials Co.
, Ltd.
invested in July 2020 to build a continuous alumina fiber production line
with an annual output of 100t in Dongying.

One

International development status and trend of high-performance fiber industry

As the main birthplace of technology, and thanks to a strong industrial base and long-term accumulation, countries and regions such as the United States, Japan and Europe have formed a first-mover advantage
in the field of high-performance fibers and their composite materials.
The advantages of the United States are concentrated in viscose-based carbon fiber, asphalt-based carbon fiber, alumina fiber, aramid fiber, etc.
, and the application technology of composite materials is also far ahead; Japan has obvious advantages in polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber, asphalt-based carbon fiber and ceramic fiber; Europe has a good foundation and high level in spinning equipment
.
They have a high degree of interdependence in high-performance fiber materials, and technology and capital are cross-integrated to form an industrial ecosystem
.
Russia and Eastern European countries have inherited the fiber material technology independently developed by the Soviet Union, of which organic high-performance fiber, viscose-based carbon fiber technology is relatively high, and various thermal processing equipment is practical and reliable, which can basically meet the needs
of its defense industry.
The following is an introduction
to the foreign development status and trend of each high-performance fiber.

1.
Carbon fiber

Polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber was first developed by Shinto Shonan, Osaka Industrial Laboratory, Japan, in 1959
.
On the basis of its work, Japan Carbon Corporation used polyacrylonitrile fiber as raw material in 1962 to obtain general-grade carbon fiber
through pre-oxidation treatment and carbonization treatment.
W.
of the Royal Aeronautics Institute (RAE) Watt et al.
found in 1963 that in the process of pre-oxidation treatment, a certain tension is applied to polyacrylonitrile fiber, inhibiting the shrinkage of polyacrylonitrile precursor in the pre-oxidation heat treatment process, which can significantly improve the mechanical properties of the final carbon fiber, and the use of this technology has laid the process foundation
for the production of modern polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber.
Since then, Courtaulds in the United Kingdom and Carbons of Japan have built industrial production plants
for high-performance polyacrylonitrile carbon fiber in 1969.
Japan's Toray Industries Co.
, Ltd.
and Toho Rayon Co.
, Ltd.
also joined the production of polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber after 1971
.
Since the successful research and development of polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber in the late 60s of the 20th century, after the stable development of 1970-1980 and the rapid development in the 90s of the 20th century, its production and preparation technology has matured
.
At present, the production of polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber accounts for more than 90% of the world, and has been differentiated into two categories
: large tow fiber (represented by the United States) and small tow fiber (represented by Japan).
Large tow is suitable for ordinary industrial, civil and sports and leisure fields; The small tow fiber represents the world's most advanced level of polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber development, the pursuit of high performance, of which the tensile strength of polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber T1100 produced by Toray Japan has reached 7.
0GPa, which is the world's highest mechanical strength of polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber
.
The world's main carbon fiber producer is Japan, its Middle East Li, Toho rayon and Mitsubishi rayon rely on its advanced precursor preparation and carbonization technology and other advantages, in the quality of the world's leading position, has developed high strength, high mold and high strength high mode three series
.
High-strength carbon fiber has risen from T-300 (mechanical strength of 3.
53GPa, modulus of 230GPa) to T-1100 (mechanical strength of 7.
0GPa, modulus of about 324GPa); the tensile strength of "M60J" with high strength and high modulus is 3.
82GPa, and the highest modulus can reach 588GPa
.
Zoltek of the United States (wholly acquired by Toray of Japan) and SGL Group of Germany are the main producers of large tow carbon fiber, of which the United States is the main producer of
large tow carbon fiber.
The information of major foreign carbon fiber manufacturers in 2020 is shown in Table 1
.

Table 1 Information on major foreign carbon fiber manufacturers in 2020

Note: The data in this table is from market research

2.
Para-aramid

Parabon was first successfully developed by DuPont in the 60s of the 20th century, and began industrial production in 1972, and then the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea and Russia and other countries also began their own research work
.
As the main technology birthplace, and thanks to a strong industrial base and long-term accumulation, DuPont of the United States and Teijin of Japan have absolute technical advantages
in the field of para-aramid.
DuPont has established para-aramid production sites in the United States, Japan and Ireland, with a capacity of 34kt in 2016, but has maintained its para-aramid production capacity at 29kt/a until 2020 after shutting down the Cooper River 5kt/a
plant in the United States in 2017.
Teijin's para-aramid production base, mainly built in Japan and the Netherlands, has a production capacity of 32kt in 2020 and plans to expand production capacity by approximately 25% by 2022 to an estimated capacity of 39kt/a
.
Among them, Teijin's para-aramid in Matsuyama, Japan is ternary copolymerized para-aramid, which is made by polymerization-wet spinning one-step process, the trade name is Technora®, and the production capacity has been maintained at 3kt/a
.
In 2019, DuPont and Teijin accounted for 83% of the world's total para-aramid production capacity, and in 2020, due to the expansion of domestic para-aramid companies, the production capacity of these two companies fell to 72%.

In addition to the United States and Japan, Kolon South Korea is also an earlier para-aramid manufacturer, expanding its production capacity to 7.
5kt/a in 2020; South Korea's Hyosung and Taeguang also have para-aramid products with production capacities of 1.
7kt/a and 1.
5kt/a
, respectively.
From 2015 to 2020, the production capacity of para-aramid of foreign enterprises is shown
in Table 2.

Table 2 Production capacity of foreign enterprises in para-aramid from 2015 to 2020 (KT)

Note: The data in this table is from market research

In terms of para-aramid applications, fibers for safety protection and bulletproof materials accounted for 30%, fibers for automotive friction materials accounted for 30%, optical fibers for protection and reinforcement accounted for 15%, tires accounted for 10%, rubber reinforced fibers accounted for 10%, and other fibers accounted for 5%.

Developed countries have high interdependence in high-performance fibers and composite materials, cross-integration of technology and capital, industrial scale expanding year by year, active reorganization and integration, and advance layout for large-scale industrial applications
.
With the rapid development and demand growth of the global market of high-performance para-aramid, a new round of technological breakthroughs in para-aramid and its composite materials is accelerating, and at the same time, the global industry monopoly pattern is also intensifying, and the dominance of dominant enterprises is difficult to shake
.
The product layout of the main para-aramid manufacturers in foreign countries is shown in Table 3
.

Table 3 Product layout of major para-aramid production enterprises abroad

3.
Meta-aramid

DuPont, which occupies more than half of the global meta-aramid market share, has maintained its production capacity at 25kt/a, and has significantly expanded Nomex aramid paper production capacity in recent years, and intends to shut down some meta-aramid production capacity
.
DuPont is involved in every link of the supply chain, controlling the global meta-aramid market in many ways, in terms of staple fiber, Nomex fiber is used in clothing and spinning, and in other end areas, DuPont only licenses specific spinning mills and is not open
to all terminals.
Teijin Japan is also an established supplier of meta-aramid, and its meta-aramid production capacity has been maintained at about
4.
5kt/a for many years.
In addition, South Korea also has a small amount of meta-aramid supply, namely South Korea's Woongjin Company and HUVIS Company, with a capacity of 1.
2kt/a and 50t/a
respectively.
The product layout of major foreign meta-aramid manufacturers is shown in Table 4
.

Table 4 Product layout of major meta-aramid manufacturers abroad

4.
Aramid III

Aramid III is mainly developed by the All-Union Research Institute of Synthetic Fiber Science and the All-Russian Research Institute of Polymer Fiber Science, and the production is concentrated in the two companies of Tver and Kamensk, and the product varieties mainly include SVM, Armos and Rusar series, with a total production capacity estimated to be about 2000t/a
。 Among them, SVM and Armos were industrialized in the Soviet Union, and Rusar is a new type of heterocyclic aramid developed by the dry spray wet spinning process in Russia in the 1990s, and since then, its high-strength and high-model Rusar-S (strength 5.
5~6.
4GPa, modulus 160GPa) and heat-resistant flame-retardant Rusar-O [limiting oxygen index (LOI) up to 40~45] have also been successfully developed, especially Rusar-S in the downstream demand driven, production technology is constantly updated
。 In recent years, a number of Russian researchers have jointly developed a quaternary copolymer Rusar-NT fiber, which introduces a more economical chlorine-containing fourth monomer in the ternary structure of Armos, and its strength is expected to reach 7GPa, the elastic modulus can reach 180~200GPa, and the LOI reaches more than 40, representing the highest level
of heterocyclic aramid research and development 。 At present, Armos has been equipped with a variety of Russian high-performance weapon systems, such as the SS-24, SS-25 for Russia and the most advanced "Topol-M" (that is, SS-27) and other intercontinental missiles I.
, II.
, III.
engine housing, the engine mass ratio reaches more than
0.
92 。 Russia's latest Bulava submarine-launched missile also uses Armos fiber for the engine shell, in addition, Russia also uses Armos to prepare the BLIT series aramid helmet, and equips the troops, its latest model of aramid helmet bulletproof V50 reaches 600 ~ 650m / s, more than the US military PASGT helmet (609m/s) and the German active helmet (620m/s), and the mass is only about 1.
25kg, greatly reducing the weight of soldiers and improving mobility
。 In addition to resin matrix composite reinforced fibers, Russian aramid III is also used for rubber reinforcement, fire clothing, rope and cable, sewing thread, parachute, etc
.

5.
UHMWPE fiber

UHMWPE fiber was invented by the Dutch DSM company in 1978, the United States Honeywell purchased the Dutch DSM company patented technology and first realized the industrialization of the fiber in 1984, and then the Dutch DSM company and the Japanese Toyobo cooperation in 1986 to achieve industrialization
.
DSM is the inventor of UHMWPE fiber and has been a world leader
in UHMWPE fiber production technology and application development.
The company has a UHMWPE polymerization plant that produces fiber-grade UHMWPE resins specifically for the company's fiber production, and has built several UHMWPE fiber production lines
in the United States and Japan in addition to the Netherlands.
In 2009, DSM's UHMWPE fiber production capacity exceeded 10kt/a, and in 2012, the fiber production capacity expanded to 13.
2kt/a
.
In addition to leading UHMWPE fiber production capacity, they have been developing new products, developing the highest strength SK99 fiber (strength > 40cN/dtex), high creep resistant DM20 fiber, high cut resistant 3G12 fiber and medical Purity fiber, and developed wear-resistant coating technology
dedicated to UHMWPE fiber.
For different application needs, DSM has also developed bulletproof plates, puncture-resistant vests, radomes and carbon fiber composites based on UHMWPE fiber
.
In March 2020, DSM announced the development of bio-based UHMWPE fibers in an effort to reduce carbon emissions, declaring that at least 60% of UHMWPE fibers will be made
from bio-based feedstocks by 2030 。 Although Honeywell Company of the United States first realized the industrialization of UHMWPE fiber, but because of the extraction agent used to the atmosphere and face the problem of banning, the expansion of its UHMWPE fiber is limited, the production capacity is not as good as DSM's UHMWPE fiber production line in the United States, and the fiber strength is not comparable to DSM's similar products, but Honeywell is the inventor of UHMWPE bulletproof non-woven cloth, and created the application
of UHMWPE fiber in the field of bulletproof 。 Honeywell's UHMWPE fiber production capacity has been growing with the U.
S.
military's demand for ballistic protection, with fiber production capacity increasing from 1kt in 2009 to 2kt in 2012, and the most recent expansion plan was in 2019, fiber production capacity expanded to 3kt/a and has been maintained to this day
。 Based on its UHMWPE fiber, Honeywell has developed a variety of specifications of Spectra Shield series bulletproof protective substrates for the preparation of soft and hard bulletproof products, including military and police body armor, bulletproof plates, bulletproof armor, etc.
, and also combined UHMWPE fiber with para-aramid successfully solved the problem of large depression of UHMWPE fiber-based bulletproof helmets, greatly improving the application of UHMWPE fiber in the field of military bulletproof helmets.
And further improve the bulletproof performance of bulletproof armor, its research on UHMWPE fiber bulletproof application has been in the world's leading
position.

6.
Polyimide fiber

In the 60s of the 20th century, the textile frontier laboratory of DuPont and related research institutions in the Soviet Union began the research of polyimide fiber, but it was limited to the immature overall technology of polyimide resin synthesis and fiber molding at that time, the fiber preparation cost was high, and polyimide fiber was not rapidly promoted and applied
.
By the 70s of the 20th century, the Soviet Union reported related research on polyimide fiber, the production scale was small, and the products were limited to military equipment, lightweight cable sheaths and other fields
in aerospace.
Later, the French company Rhône Blanc developed the M-aromatic polyamide type polyimide fiber, which was commercialized by the French company Kermel
.
Today, in order to meet the special requirements of increasing temperature and chemical reactions in the high-temperature gas filtration market, Kermel has developed Kermel-Tech polyamide-imide fibers
.
The fiber has a continuous working temperature of 220 °C, a glass transition temperature of up to 340 °C, and can retain its excellent mechanical properties at extremely high operating temperatures, and has been widely used in energy production, high temperature filtration, French Air Force combat uniforms, Antarctic scientific expeditions, extreme climbing and other harsh environments
。 In the mid-80s of the 20th century, Austrian Lenzing AG (currently the technology is unique to German Evonik) with toluene diisocyanate (TDI), diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and benzophenonetetraic anhydride (BTDA) as reaction monomers, launched a polyimide fiber with the trade name P84®, which is also one of
the most important polyimide fiber products.
P84® fiber can be used continuously below 260°C, and the instantaneous temperature can reach 280°C
.
The fiber has an irregular blade-like cross-section, which increases the surface area by 80% compared with the general circular section, making it widely used
in the field of high-temperature filtration.
In 2009, Evonik expanded its production of P84 fibers and announced the start of
production in July 2010.
After nearly 10 years of development, Evonik has successively launched innovative fiber products
such as P84®HT and P84Premium with better comprehensive performance.
Taking the P84Premium product as an example, the fiber fineness is 1.
3dtex, and the specific surface area is as high as about 435m2/kg, which is nearly 12%
higher than the conventional 2.
2dtex product.
Excellent dust removal efficiency can bring lower pressure drop, save induced draft fan power consumption, extend the service life of filter material, greatly reduce the operating cost of enterprises, and achieve significant
economic benefits.

7.
.
PPS fiber

The world's main PPS resin manufacturers include Ticona of the United States, accounting for 9.
6% of the production capacity; Japan's Toray Co.
, Ltd.
, production capacity accounted for 17.
6%; Japan's DIC Co.
, Ltd.
, production capacity accounted for 21.
7%; Belgian Solvay Group, production capacity accounted for 12.
8%; Japan's Kureha Chemical Co.
, Ltd.
, with a production capacity of 6.
8%, has an annual production capacity of more than
150kt tons.
Among them, Ticona and Toray have mastered the production technology of multi-grade and multi-variety PPS fiber grade chips, and are the main suppliers
of PPS fiber grade chips.
Currently, only Ticona and Toray have the production capacity
of filament-grade PPS resin.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, Toray first adopted a market merger strategy, acquiring PPS staple fiber technology from Philips Corporation and Lenzing Corporation of the United States, becoming the world's largest producer
of PPS staple fiber.
Secondly, Japanese companies such as Toray and Toyobo have in-depth research and mastery of high-quality PPS staple fiber production technology, monopolizing the global market for PPS staple fiber, accounting for more than
80% of the world's total output 。 In order to improve the market competitiveness of PPS staple fiber in the field of high-temperature filtration, Toray and Toyobo and other foreign PPS staple fiber manufacturers have realized the preparation technology and application development of fine denier and special-shaped PPS fiber by integrating the upstream and downstream industrial chains, significantly improved the filtration accuracy of filter bags, and achieved an ultra-net emission standard of 5mg/m3; In addition, in view of the problem of short service life of dust filter bags, Toray systematically carried out research on high-strength PPS fibers, and prepared short fibers with a breaking strength of up to 5.
5cN/dtex, which greatly improved the service life of high-temperature filter bags and had significant global influence
in the field of high-end PPS fiber applications 。 In terms of expansion of other application fields, DSM has prepared PPS proton exchange membranes with high reliability and durability based on the comprehensive performance of PPS.
Toray prepared PPS fibers into mesh fabrics with a microporous diameter greater than 1.
0 μm, and composite them with polymer electrolytes to prepare composite electrolyte membranes, which were used in the field of
battery separators.

The development trend of PPS fiber in the future is mainly summarized into two points:

• At present, PPS fiber at home and abroad is concentrated in coal-fired power plants, waste incineration, chemical plants and other harsh environment filter bag products, the market scale is small, and can not play the excellent comprehensive performance
  of PPS fiber.
  

  
  

• The research on the high performance of PPS fiber can improve the mechanical strength, oxidation resistance, fineness and deformation of PPS fiber, and strengthen the competitiveness
  of PPS fiber products in the international market.
  

8.
Polyaryl fiber

Polyaryl fibers were first developed
by scientists from Eastman Kodak (the business was later acquired by DuPont and Celanese), CBO Carborundum, and Celanese 。 In 1976, Jackson of Eastman Kodak reported that heat-induced liquid crystal polyaryl (trade name X7G) can be copolymerized from PET and acetylated parabenic acid, but the fiber spun from X7G®® has lower strength, modulus and less practical value; Subsequently, CBO cooperated with Japan's Sumitomo Chemical Company to develop Ekonol® fiber, which has a strength of 4.
1GPa and a modulus of 134GPa, reaching the level of high-performance fiber, but it is in the laboratory research stage and has not been reported
industrialization.
Due to the constraints of polymerization raw materials, formula design, polymerization equipment, spinning equipment, heat treatment equipment and other aspects, the real industrialization is the Vectran® fiber
jointly developed by Celanese and Kuraray of Japan.
In 1990, Kuraray Saijo Plant began producing Vectran fiber products, and in April 2005, Kuraray acquired the high-performance fiber business of Celanese Advanced Materials, becoming the world's only manufacturer
of Vectran®® fiber.
In 2007, with the rapid growth of market demand, Kuraray expanded the capacity of its production plant in Saijo City, increasing the production capacity from 600 tons to 1000 tons
.
In 2008, Kuraray launched a new variety of solution-dyed Vectran®HT at the North American Nonwovens and Nonwovens Exhibition (Techtextil North America), which has blue, green, orange red and other colors, and its UV resistance, color fastness and strength are good, and fine denier products
are also introduced.
In order to meet the growing market demand, Kuraray expanded its production capacity from 1000t to 2000t in 2017-2018, and plans to further expand production, which is expected to increase to 3000t per year in 2022
.

9.
PBO fiber

Based on the needs of cutting-edge scientific and technological fields such as space development and military equipment, in the sixties and seventies of the 20th century, the Wright-Patterson Laboratory of the US Air Force began basic research on aromatic heterocyclic polymers, seeking processing and preparation methods
for high-strength, heat-resistant high-performance polymers.
During the same period, Wolf and others at the Stanford University Research Institute (SRI) carried out scientific research in this field and designed PBO polymers
.
However, due to the limitation of monomer preparation technology, the molecular weight of the synthesized polymer is low, and the excellent performance of PBO cannot be shown
.
In the mid-80s of the 20th century, Dow Chemical Company in the United States obtained the patented technology and continued to carry out research to explore new monomer synthesis routes and technical routes
.
In 1991, Dow and Toyobo began to cooperate in the development of PBO fibers
.
In 1994, Toyobo invested 3 billion yen to build a 400t/a PBO monomer and a 180t/a spinning line
.
In the spring of 1995, Toyobo obtained authorization from Dow to start PBO pilot and production research, and obtained small batches of PBO fiber products, and in October 1998, the 200t/a plant was officially put into production, and the trade name of PBO fiber was determined to be ZYLON
.
Subsequently, the production capacity of PBO fiber reached 380t in 2000, 500t in 2003, 1000t in 2008, and 2000t/a
in recent years.
At present, the production of PBO fiber in the world is monopolized by Toyobo, and most of the literature and patents are owned
by Toyobo.
Its fiber products are mainly used in the United States weapons and equipment, aerospace industry, space resources development and other cutting-edge science and technology fields, fiber production process is strictly confidential, related products to China to implement a ban on sales
.

10.
Silicon carbide fiber

The development of continuous SiC fibers using the precursor conversion method can be divided into three generations:

• The typical representatives of the first generation are Nippon Carbon's Nicalon NL202 fiber and Japan's Ube Industries' Tyranno LoxM fiber, which remains stable at 1000 °C in the air, but because the fiber contains more oxygen and free carbon, a significant decomposition reaction will occur above 1000 °C in the air or above 1200 °C in an inert atmosphere and accompanied by rapid growth of crystals.
  This results in a sharp decrease in the strength of the fiber, which severely limits its application
  in ceramic matrix composites.
  

  
  

• In response to the problem of the first generation of continuous SiC fiber, Japan, the United States and other countries have adopted different technical routes to develop the second generation of SiC fiber with low oxygen content, typical representative is the use of electron beam irradiation method by Japan Carbon Company to replace the original Hi-Nicalon fiber prepared after the air non-melting treatment and Japan Ube Industries Tyranno ZE fiber, this low oxygen content fiber can remain stable in the air at 1300 °C or in an inert atmosphere at 1600 °C
  。

  
  

• Subsequently, on this basis, the content of impurity oxygen and free carbon in the fiber is further reduced, the carbon-silicon ratio is close to the stoichiometric ratio, and the structure is also changed from the original β-SiC microcrystalline state and medium crystallization to high crystalline state, so as to develop the third generation of continuous SiC fiber
  that can withstand higher temperatures.
  Typical representatives are the Hi-Nicalon S fiber of Japan Carbon Company, the Tyranno SA fiber of Ube Industries Corporation of Japan, and the Sylramic fiber
  of COI Ceramics of the United States.
  

Although they are the same third-generation SiC fibers, their preparation methods and properties are different
.
Hi-Nicalon S fiber is based on electron beam irradiation crosslinking, and Nippon Carbon further removes the surplus carbon of Hi-Nicalon fiber by hydrodecarburizing during the fiber firing process, so as to achieve a composition of near-stoichiometric ratio
.
Tyranno SA fiber is the composition and structure of polycarbon silane reacting with aluminum acetylacetonate to obtain polyaluminum carbosilane by reacting polycarbosilane with aluminum acetylacetonate, thereby introducing aluminum as a sintering aid in the precursor, using carb-thermal reduction reaction to remove excess carbon and oxygen at the same time, and finally densifying at high temperature sintering to achieve a high crystalline near-stoichiometric ratio composition and structure
.
Sylramic fiber is introduced into polycarbosilane to obtain polytitanium-carbosilane, and then the sintering additive B element is introduced in the fiber firing process, and high crystallization near-stoichiometry ratio is also achieved by high-temperature sintering densification
.
The fibers are now produced by ATK-COI Ceramics, which has prepared Sylramic-iBN fibers with a BN layer on the surface by further heating the fibers in nitrogen
.
Compared to Sylramic SiC fiber, Sylramic-iBN SiC fiber has larger grains, better creep resistance and higher oxidation resistance
.
The third generation of SiC fibers, especially SiC fibers with high crystalline near-stoichiometric ratio, are closer to pure SiC bulk materials
in composition, structure and temperature resistance due to higher preparation temperature and larger grain size.
In the development process of continuous SiC fiber from the first, second to third generation, there are the following basic characteristics:

• The element composition of the fiber gradually approached the stoichiometric ratio of SiC, and the content of impurity oxygen and free carbon decreased significantly.
  
• The microstructure of the fiber gradually forms a perfect β-SiC crystal or even a high crystalline state from amorphous and microcrystalline state.
  
• The temperature resistance of fibers has been significantly improved, and with the continuous optimization of composition and structure, the density and modulus of fibers have gradually
  increased.
  

  
  

11.
Basalt fibers

At present, the global production of basalt fiber is 30~40kt, and the annual output of foreign countries is less than 10kt, mainly produced by Ukraine and Russia, among which Kamenny VEK company in Russia is more mature, and has been able to achieve stable fiber formation of 1200-hole leakage plate, in addition to Sudaglass company, Ivotsteklo company and other production of basalt fiber, the process technology is more mature
。 In addition, Ukraine's Technobasalt, Uzh (Toyota) company, and Austrian Asamer company also rely on Soviet technology to establish production lines
in Ukraine.
Constrained by factors such as cost performance, the production capacity of each company is not high, ranging from
300~2000t according to the actual situation.
There are also reports of production of basalt fibers in the Americas and Africa, such as in 2016, the Russian company Sudaglass established a branch in Ohio, USA, and in 2019, the American company Mafic began to produce basalt fibers in Shelby, North Carolina, but considering the local technology maturity and other factors, the production capacity is unstable, and the basalt fibers in the region are still mainly purchased from Asia and Europe after processing
.
Ukraine and Russia rely on the Soviet Union's basalt fiber melting technology
.
This technology is mainly based on top combustion shallow melting, the melting efficiency is low, using platinum guide tube technology, the glass liquid obtained by this technology is of high quality, but the equipment maintenance is more complicated
.
Due to the early start, wide application and advanced technology of foreign composite material research, the functionalization and differentiated varieties of basalt fibers have also been led by foreign countries, and China is in the stage of following, such as automobile insulation, sound insulation, wind turbine blade enhancement and other aspects
.
The production capacity of foreign basalt fiber production enterprises is shown in Table 5
.

Table 5 Production capacity of foreign basalt fiber manufacturers in 2020

Note: The data in this table is from market research

Two

Domestic development status of high-performance fiber industry

With the support of national policies and the strong support of relevant ministries and commissions, through the implementation of various scientific and technological projects, special capacity building and the establishment of national innovation research institutions, China's high-performance fiber after decades of development, basic research, technology and industry have made great progress, has established a complete high-performance fiber preparation, research and development, engineering practice and industrialization system, and constantly made breakthroughs, greatly shortened the gap with developed countries, and has now become the country with the widest coverage of high-performance fiber production varieties in the world
。 The following is an introduction
to the domestic development status of major high-performance fibers.

1.
Carbon fiber

The research and development of polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber in China has a history
of more than 60 years.
In the early 60s of the 20th century, Jilin Institute of Applied Chemistry first began to study the production technology and process of polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber, and completed the continuous pilot plant
for carbon fiber production in the early 70s.
Since then, Donghua University, Shanghai Synthetic Fiber Research Institute, Shanxi Coal Chemical Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences and other scientific research and universities have also carried out the research and development of polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber
.
After intensive technical research during the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" to the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the performance of domestic T300-grade carbon fiber has basically reached the international level, and the application in the aerospace field has gradually matured; Dry spray wet T700 grade carbon fiber has achieved thousand-ton production, but it is mainly in the civilian field, and the application in the aviation field is in the initial stage
.
At present, China is still in the expansion stage of the first generation of advanced composite materials with T300 and T700 as the main reinforcement, the engineering application of T800 grade carbon fiber is still in the development stage, and foreign aerospace and other fields have applied the second generation of advanced composite materials
with T800 grade carbon fiber as the main reinforcement on a large scale.
In the field of carbon fiber, China is in a running position
.
Domestic carbon fiber precursors have formed three production process systems: dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), dimethylacetamide (DMAc), and sodium thiocyanate (NaSCN), and the dry spray wet spinning and wet spinning technology are gradually improved, and the production efficiency is further improved; The core technology of carbon fiber continues to make breakthroughs, on the basis of realizing the industrialization of T300 grade carbon fiber, it has successively realized the industrial production of T700 grade, T800 grade, and industrial large tow carbon fiber above 24K, at the same time, M40J, M55J and other high-strength and high-mode carbon fiber have also broken through key technologies and are in the engineering stage
.
However, compared with Toray Japan, China's dimethyl sulfoxide series products have not yet covered the same series of carbon fiber varieties
of Toray Japan.
The industrial production technology of T1000 grade and above higher performance carbon fiber has not completely broken through, and cannot effectively meet the needs of
aerospace, national defense and other fields.
China's carbon fiber manufacturers include Zhongfu Shenying, Guangwei Group, Hengshen Co.
, Ltd.
, Jilin Jinggong, Shanghai Petrochemical, Zhongjian Technology and other enterprises, but due to the lack of systematic in-depth research and development of basic scientific problems and laws, core technologies and key equipment, product performance and production stability are far from
international leading enterprises.
High-precision metering pumps, corrosion-resistant spinnerets, ultra-high temperature graphitization furnaces and other equipment still rely on imports
.
The capacity information of domestic carbon fiber manufacturers in 2020 is shown in Table 6
.

Table 6 Capacity information of domestic carbon fiber manufacturers in 2020

2.
Para-aramid

The annual consumption of para-aramid in China is about 1.
1kt, of which the amount of optical fiber is nearly 6000t, the amount of protective materials is about 1000t, the amount of automobile field (hose, brake pads, etc.
) is about 2500t, and the amount of other industrial use is about 1500t, but 80% of the products still need to rely on imports
.
With the rapid development of China's transportation, optical fiber communication, high-speed railway, aviation reinforcement, lightweight automotive radial tire cord cloth and brake pads and other fields and protection applications, the demand for para-aramid will show a more vigorous situation, and it is expected that the domestic demand for para-aramid will reach 30kt
in 2025.
In 2019, the development of the domestic para-aramid industry was stable and improving, and the output increased slightly, but the domestic market was still in short supply, and the overall market gap was large, and the product price increased by about 20% compared with 2018
.
China's early para-aramid production enterprises mainly include Zhonglan Chenguang, Suzhou Zhaoda, Yantai Taihe and Yizheng Chemical Fiber
.
Since 2017, Sinochem International Group began to put into the production of para-aramid, with the technical support of Donghua University, the Suzhou Zhaoda para-aramid production line was moved to Yangzhou, and Sinochem High Performance Fiber Materials Co.
, Ltd.
was established as a joint venture with it, and the construction of its second-phase project 5kt/a production line began in 2019, and the construction was successful at the end of 2020, with a total production capacity of 5.
5kt/a
。 Yantai Taihe New Materials Co.
, Ltd.
will expand its 3kt/a para-aramid production line in Ningxia in 2020, superimposed on Yantai 1.
5kt/a, and currently has a total of 4.
5kt/a para-aramid production capacity, in addition, Taihe New Materials is undergoing technological transformation projects, which is expected to further increase production capacity by 1.
5kt/a
.
In 2020, Taihe New Material acquired Minstar and raised funds to build an industrialization project
of high-performance aramid paper-based materials with an annual output of 3kt.
The production capacity of major para-aramid production enterprises in China in recent years is shown
in Table 7.

Table 7 Production capacity of major para-aramid production enterprises in China (KT)

3.
Meta-aramid

In 2017, the domestic meta-aramid production was about 8.
5kt, the net import volume was about 1.
1kt, and the apparent consumption exceeded 9.
6kt
.
Due to the overall slump in the downstream market of meta-aramid, and the fierce competition in the field of filter materials, the price of products is low, in addition, the price of meta-aramid raw materials has risen sharply, and the dual factors have led to greater pressure on enterprises
.
In this market environment, some companies (including Guangdong Caiyan and Hangzhou Jiulong) have successively shut down their meta-aramid production lines, resulting in an increase
in the concentration of the domestic meta-aramid industry.
At present, the domestic meta-aramid production enterprises are mainly Yantai Taihe New Materials Co.
, Ltd.
and Chaomesi New Materials Co.
, Ltd.
(formerly Saint Ou Aramid Co.
, Ltd.
), with production capacities of 7kt/a and 5kt/a
respectively.
In 2018, due to the tight supply of DuPont fiber and the tight supply of aramid raw materials due to the US military's redressing, the meta-aramid market was in short supply, and fiber prices increased
.
In 2019, the domestic meta-aramid production achieved a large increase, and the products were still mainly filter materials and protective materials, and the proportion of high-end products in China was still low
.
The overall operation of the industry is stable, and the products are gradually developing towards differentiation, functionalization and fashion, and expanding the application
in high-end fields.
At present, domestic meta-aramid manufacturers and the military have cooperated in the production of combat sets, and the large personnel base and high-frequency battle losses of the military and armed police have opened up the meta-aramid production digestion channel, which also provides a huge market space
for it.
Driven by market demand, Tahe New Materials announced the addition of a 4kt/a meta-aramid production line, which was put into operation in August 2021, and the company's meta-aramid production capacity reached 10,000 tons
.

4.
Aramid III

Aramid III production line was first built by Zhonglan Chenguang Chemical Research Institute Co.
, Ltd.
in 2009, starting the production of Staramid F-368 and F-358 series products, the performance is comparable to Russian Armos, the production capacity is 50t/a, which solves the problem of "whether there is or not" localization of heterocyclic aramid in China and fills the domestic gap
.
After 2013, Zhonglan Chenguang began to devote itself to the research and development of the production technology of the second generation of aramid III.
, and obtained kilogram-level fiber samples in early 2015 with excellent
mechanical properties.
After that, the design of the spinning component was further optimized, and the spinning of a single spinning position of 200~300tex tow was realized, and the performance level was consistent with that of 75~100tex tow, that is, the density of stranded tow was increased by 3 times
.
At present, the tensile strength of domestic aramid III reaches 5.
0GPa, the elastic modulus reaches 130~160GPa, the performance ranks first in domestic batch production of organic fibers, reaches the level of Russian Rusar batch products, has been batch stable production and used in the military field, solves the urgent need for national defense, is of great significance
.
In addition to Zhonglan Chenguang, Guangdong Caiyan Co.
, Ltd.
, Sichuan Huiteng Technology Co.
, Ltd.
and 46 institutes of the Sixth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Industry have successively carried out the research and development of
heterocyclic aramid.
In 2008, the national "Ninth Five-Year Plan" key scientific and technological research project of heterocyclic aramid and the special project of M-3 monomer development of the core raw material of heterocyclic aramid undertaken by Guangdong Caiyan passed the acceptance
of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
In 2010, Sichuan Huiteng independently developed and produced the trade name "Fusset" heterocyclic aramid through the national authority testing, and further developed heterocyclic aramid composite plate profiles and molding component products, now has 50t/a aramid III.
and 100t/a aramid III.
advanced composite production capacity
。 The 46 institutes of the Sixth Academy of Aerospace Science and Industry of China began to study F-12 heterocyclic aramid in the 1990s, through the continuous optimization and improvement of the polymerization-spinning-post-treatment fiber process, the research was successful in 1999, and then 3t/a pilot, 5t/a amplification and 20t/a industrialization and product application technology were carried out in turn, and the first in China to design and develop a variety of specifications of F12 fiber and its fabrics, its performance reached the international advanced level, the production capacity reached 50t/a, and recently prepared to expand the F-12 production capacity to 100t/ a, to meet the needs of
China's aerospace and high-end strategic weapons.

5.
UHMEPE fiber

With the application and development of UHMWPE fiber in military products, civilian products, especially various types of cables and home textiles with a wide range of quantities, the domestic demand for UHMWPE fiber has steadily increased, and the fiber production capacity has gradually expanded
.
In 2010, there were more than 20 UHMWPE fiber manufacturers in China, with a total production capacity of 17kt/a, and by 2015, it developed to more than 30, with a total production capacity of 26.
6kt/a
.
However, among the more than 30 UHMWPE fiber production enterprises, there are only 8 enterprises with an annual output of 1,000 tons, and most of them have a production capacity of only about 300t/a, with single products and high production costs
.
In 2016, Jiangsu Jiujiu purchased the patent of Donghua University and began to build UHMWPE fiber production line, becoming the first domestic UHMWPE fiber production scale of 10,000 tons, and its fiber products were put into the market after triggering the domestic UHMWPE fiber price war
.
After that, some enterprises with backward technology and technology gradually withdrew from the UHMWPE fiber market, and some enterprises rebuilt the fiber production line by restructuring or absorbing funds, while a number of new enterprises invested in the UHMWPE fiber industry
.
At present, the UHMWPE fiber production capacity of Jiujiujiu Company has reached 16kt/a
.
In addition, Shandong Ruyi Group announced in 2018 that it will invest in the construction of UHMWPE fiber production line with a capacity of 10kt/a; Zhejiang Yiju and Jiangsu Lingyu also began to invest in the UHMWPE fiber industry after 2018, with an estimated production capacity of more than
3kt/a.
After the production lines of these enterprises are completed, the production capacity of UHMWPE fiber in China will exceed 60kt/a, accounting for 3/4
of the global production capacity.
The competitiveness of domestic UHMWPE fiber and products in the international market has also been continuously improved, and the export volume of foreign trade has gradually increased from 50% to more than 70%.

At present, there are more than 20 domestic UHMWPE fiber production enterprises, of which the production enterprises with a capacity of more than 1,000 tons are shown in Table 8
.

Table 8 Summary of production capacity of major domestic UHMWPE fiber manufacturers

6.
Polyamide fiber

In recent years, China's polyimide fiber industry has developed rapidly, and relevant scientific research institutions have also begun to pay attention to the research and development
of polyimide and its fibers.
In the 60s of the 20th century, China was first piloted by the Shanghai Synthetic Fiber Research Institute to pilot the production of small quantities of polyimide fibers, mainly used for anti-radiation coating of cables, radiation-resistant ropes, etc.
, and finally did not realize the large-scale development
of polyimide fibers.
In the 70s of the 20th century, based on the unique comprehensive properties of polyimide fibers and the development needs of special fields, the research work
of polyimide fibers was resumed.
At present, domestic polyimide fiber manufacturers mainly include Changchun Gaoqi Polyimide Material Co.
, Ltd.
, Jiangsu Aoshen New Material Co.
, Ltd.
and Jiangsu Xiannuo New Material Technology Co.
, Ltd.

They adopt different production processes to form the commercial production of high-temperature resistant and high-strength high-model polyimide fiber, which plays an important role in environmental protection, aerospace, cutting-edge weapons and equipment and personal protection, and also makes China's high-performance polyimide fiber production technology in the forefront of the world
.
Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, is one of the earliest engaged in polyimide research, developed a unique polyimide synthesis route with Chinese characteristics, and obtained dozens of patents
including US and European patents.
In 2008, with the support of the Science and Technology Department of Jilin Province, the institute carried out the research work of "heat-resistant polyimide fiber", a major project of Jilin Provincial Science and Technology Development Plan, and successively broke through the key process technology bottlenecks
such as the preparation of polyamide acid spinning solution and the imimideation technology of polyamide acid primary fiber.
The developed polyimide continuous spinning technology has independent intellectual property rights, mature technology, and has an industrialization technology foundation, and the technical indicators of polyimide fibers produced meet or exceed the technical indicators specified in the contract, and the comprehensive performance is better than that of commercial P84 fibers
.
In 2011, Jiangsu Aoshen and Donghua University independently developed polyimide fiber
.
They proposed and established a new principle and method of "reaction spinning" for the first time in the world, and around the innovative idea of "reaction spinning" in the dry spinning process, they conquered a series of key technologies such as spinning slurry synthesis, fiber dry forming and post-treatment, and complete sets of equipment, built the world's first dry spinning heat-resistant polyimide fiber 1kt/a production line, and produced SuplonTM staple fiber, filament yarn and chopped fiber and other products
。 The relevant achievements won the first prize of scientific and technological progress of the Textile Industry Federation and the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, and after expert appraisal, it was unanimously agreed that the whole reached the international advanced level, of which the "reaction spinning" technology was at the international leading level
.
After nearly ten years of development, Jiangsu Aoshen has formed a 3kt/a polyimide fiber production capacity, and its products are widely used in high temperature filtration, special protection, national defense industry, information and communication and other fields
.
Founded in 2013, Jiangsu Xiannuo is a high-tech enterprise focusing on the research and development, production and sales of high-performance polyimide fiber and its downstream products, and has built the world's first high-strength and high-modulus polyimide fiber production line with an annual output of 30t and 100t, and its technology comes from Beijing University of Chemical Technology
.
The integrated continuous reaction spinning process proposed by the company can obtain high-strength and high-modulus polyimide fibers
from the continuous reaction of solidification, drafting and thermal imination of polyamide acid spinning solution.
This technology breaks through the bottleneck of the preparation of high-strength and high-modulus polyimide fibers, and has completely independent intellectual property rights, of which 3 core patents have been authorized by the United States, reaching the international leading level
.

7.
.
PPS fiber

Domestic polyphenylene sulfide resin manufacturers mainly include Zhejiang Xinhecheng, Chongqing Jushi, Inner Mongolia Panxun and Zhuhai Changxian
.
In October 2020, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China issued a policy to implement anti-dumping measures in the form of a deposit for PPS imported from the United States, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, significantly increasing the price of imported products, promoting the cost performance of domestic enterprises, and providing a foundation
for the rapid development of China's PPS resin industry.
Zhejiang Xinhecheng and Chongqing Jushi account for 9.
6% and 6.
4% of global production respectively, and are expected to expand into the top five PPS
production capacity enterprises in the world in the future.
However, due to the fact that the application field of PPS fiber industry has not been fully developed, the demand is much lower than the application
of PPS resin in the electronic and electrical field.
Therefore, Chongqing Jushi Company mainly focuses on the research of PPS injection molding raw materials, and the research on fiber-grade slice products is less and the product is single
.
At present, only Zhejiang Xinhecheng has a fiber-grade resin production line with a capacity of 5kt/a, producing a variety of batches of meltblown grade and staple fiber grade chips, but it lacks filament grade and modified grade spinning chips, and the quality of fiber products is lower than the international level
.
In China, only Zhejiang Xinhecheng and Sichuan Anfei Polymer Material Technology Co.
, Ltd.
can realize the continuous production of PPS staple fiber, with production capacities of 5kt/a and 3kt/a respectively; Jiangsu Ruitai Technology Co.
, Ltd.
, Sichuan Deyang Technology Co.
, Ltd.
and other staple fiber manufacturers have suspended production and business
for various reasons.
In 2016, Suzhou Jinquan New Materials Co.
, Ltd.
and Donghua University jointly undertook the transformation project of scientific and technological achievements in Jiangsu Province, realized the modification research of PPS staple fiber, and built a flexible production line of 3kt/a, which significantly improved the flame retardancy, service temperature and life of PPS fiber, and improved the competitiveness of PPS staple fiber in the international market, but due to the shortage of fiber-grade resin raw materials, it could not be sustainably produced
。 In summary, the polymerization production technology of domestic PPS resin has a certain accumulation, under the dual support of national policies and market demand, the industrial scale has gradually expanded, and the market share has increased significantly, but there are still problems such as low production technology level, fewer product categories, lack of filament grade and meltblown grade products, and high-end products lower than the international advanced level; In the fiber industry, the production capacity of high-end fiber-grade chips is insufficient, the market application field is narrow, the competition environment of the low-end product market is bad, and the high-end application market is seriously lacking
.
Although there is still more than 50% of the market vacancy in the field of high-temperature soot filter bags, with the optimization and upgrading of electrostatic precipitation technology and the market impact of new high-performance fibers, the PPS fiber market is saturated and it is urgent to expand the application field
.
In terms of industrial clusters, based on the fierce market competition and the difficulty of fiber production process, the fierce price competition of conventional products, low profits, and high entry thresholds, most small and medium-sized enterprises are forced to transform and develop, it is difficult to achieve the industrial cluster effect, and the high-quality development of domestic PPS is slow
.

8.
Polyaryl fiber

Domestic polyaryl fiber large-scale production enterprises only Ningbo Hygrana New Material Technology Co.
, Ltd.
, through cooperation with Donghua University, the introduction of polyaryl fiber spinning technology, has achieved high-performance polyaryl fiber annual output of 50~100t production scale, the strength of the polyaryl fiber produced is greater than 22cN/dtex, the modulus is greater than 500cN/dtex, the limit oxygen index is 28%, the dry-wet strength ratio is 100%, and the long-term use temperature is greater than 150 °C.
It is mainly supplied to enterprises in the field of downstream high-performance fabric weaving
.
The company plans to further expand its production capacity to 100~200t/a during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period to meet the increasing demand
for polyaryl fiber in the domestic market in the fields of high-strength cables and airship skins.

9.
PBO fiber

In the 80s of the 20th century, East China University of Science and Technology took the lead in the research of PBO monomer and polymer, and the tensile strength of the prepared fiber was only 1.
20GPa, the modulus was 10GPa, and the performance was far from reaching the level
of Kevlar fiber.
Since the synthesis of PBO monomer 4,6-diaminoresorcinol hydrochloride (DAR) is completely dependent on imports and expensive, PBO-related research is restricted, and the research on PBO fiber has been interrupted
several times.
In order to fill this gap, the state has included PBO high-performance fiber as a key material in the 863 national plan for support
.
In this context, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Harbin Institute of Technology, etc.
have conducted special research on the synthesis of DAR monomers.
Harbin Institute of Technology, East China University of Science and Technology, Donghua University, etc.
have carried out research on PBO polymerization and fiber preparation, and many other research institutions have studied the application of PBO and reinforcing materials
.
After two or three decades of development, domestic universities and research institutes have made certain progress
in the synthesis and spinning of PBO polymers.
Donghua University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have been conducting research on PBO polymerization and fiber forming since 1999, successively conquering monomer synthesis and purification technology, designing and manufacturing special agitators suitable for high-viscosity polymerization systems, inventing the PBO reaction extrusion-liquid crystal spinning integrated process, successfully building a tonn-scale PBO fiber test line for the first time in China, and completing the project identification in 2005, and the characteristic viscosity of the prepared PBO polymer is more than 25dL/g.
The strength reached 4.
16GPa, the modulus reached 139GPa; after that, the expansion test continued, the original scale was perfected and expanded, a 5t scale PBO polymerization and spinning pilot line was built, and the project identification was completed in 2008, and the strength of the PBO fiber was stable above 4.
95GPa, close to the level
of Toyo textile fiber products in Japan 。 Around 2016, the purity of DAR monomer synthesized by Harbin Institute of Technology using trichlorobenzene as raw material reached more than 99.
5%, and the polymerization and spinning of PBO was carried out by using this monomer, and the tensile strength of the spun PBO fiber reached 5.
0GPa and the modulus reached 240GPa
.

In terms of PBO fiber industrialization, China has also made important progress in recent years, and several PBO fiber manufacturers have been put into operation
.
During the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, Zhonglan Chenguang Chemical Co.
, Ltd.
built a PBO fiber military pilot line with a capacity of 2t/a, and its fiber strength has reached more than 5.
2GPa, and is expanding it to a production capacity
of 20t/a 。 In January 2018, Chengdu Xinchen New Material Technology Co.
, Ltd.
invested about 500 million yuan to build a high-performance PBO fiber production line with an output of 380t/a, which is currently the largest production line in China; In August 2018, the high-performance PBO special fiber project of Jiangsu Zhonghui Special Fiber New Materials Co.
, Ltd.
was successfully trial-produced, and the first phase of the project has a production capacity of 50t/a; In the same year, Zhongke Jinqi New Material Technology Co.
, Ltd.
invested 145 million yuan to build a 150t/a PBO production line
.
In recent years, Shandong Non-metallic Materials Research Institute has jointly promoted the industrialization of PBO fiber with Donghua University due to military demand, and built a 100-ton PBO fiber production line
in Jinan, Shandong Province in 2021.
On the whole, China is still in the early stage of PBO fiber industrialization, and there are few products on the market, which need to be further developed
.

10.
Silicon carbide fiber

In order to break the strict seal of SiC fiber technology and products in developed countries such as the United States and Japan, the National University of Defense Technology has taken the lead in carrying out research on the preparation of continuous SiC fiber in China since 1980, independently developed and established the first continuous SiC fiber production test line in China, and obtained products and technologies
with independent intellectual property rights in precursor synthesis, spinning, non-melting and firing 。 The performance of the first and second generation of KD type continuous SiC fibers is at the leading domestic and international advanced level, and has been used by many research and application departments in the fields of domestic aviation and aerospace, and has successively won the first prize of military scientific and technological progress (2014), the first prize of Hunan Province Technological Invention Award (2014), and the second prize of National Science and Technology Progress Award (2015).

。 For the development of the third generation SiC fiber, KD-S type third generation continuous SiC fiber with a stoichiometric ratio was prepared by hydrodecarburization and pre-burning, and the performance was comparable to that of Japanese Hi-Nicalon S fiber that also adopted the hydrodecarburization process.
In 2016, the high-temperature sintering densification technology of SiC fiber was conquered, and a continuous SiC fiber with high crystalline near-stoichiometric ratio was successfully prepared for the first time in China, namely KD-SA type third-generation SiC fiber, which is comparable
to the foreign third-generation SiC fiber Tyranno SA in terms of composition and structure, high temperature resistance and creep resistance.
At present, the fiber has been produced in small batches and provided to application departments, filling the domestic gap, making China the third country
in the world that can prepare a high crystalline near-stoichiometric ratio continuous SiC fiber.

Xiamen University has entered the research field of preparing continuous SiC fibers since 2002, using electron beam irradiation crosslinking to obtain the second generation of continuous SiC fibers with low oxygen content, and using the method of electron beam irradiation and then hydrogenation and decarburization to prepare the third generation of continuous SiC fibers similar to Japanese Hi-Nicalon S fibers, and the composition, structure and properties of the fibers are comparable
to the corresponding second and third generation continuous SiC fibers in Japan 。 Since 2015, the Ningbo Institute of Materials of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has carried out the development
of third-generation SiC fibers similar to Japanese Hi-Nicalon S fibers in response to the application needs of the nuclear industry.
In addition, the Institute of Process Studies of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has also carried out relevant research on zirconium-containing complex SiC fibers and Central South University has also carried out relevant studies
on beryllium-containing SiC fibers.

In terms of industrialization, in 2005, Suzhou Saifei Group Co.
, Ltd.
connected with the National University of Defense Technology to transform the results, and in 2010, it realized the industrialization
of continuous SiC fiber for the first time in China.
In 2016, Ningbo Zhongxing New Materials Co.
, Ltd.
signed a cooperation agreement with the National University of Defense Technology to carry out the industrialization of the second generation of continuous SiC fiber, and has built a polycarbosilane precursor production line with a capacity of 40t/a and a second-generation continuous SiC fiber production line (Shincolon-II.
)
with a capacity of 10t/a.
In 2019, the company signed a cooperation agreement with the Institute of Process Studies of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to convert the second generation of continuous complex SiC fiber (Sericafila Z) and the third generation of continuous complex SiC fiber (Sericafila ZB).

Since its establishment in 2015, Fujian Asia New Material Co.
, Ltd.
has cooperated with Xiamen University to build the second-generation SiC fiber and third-generation SiC fiber industrialization production lines
with a capacity of 10t/a.
In 2018, the silicon carbide fiber division of Hunan Boxiang New Materials Co.
, Ltd.
(now Hunan Zerui New Materials Co.
, Ltd.
) built a beryllium-containing silicon carbide fiber production line with independent intellectual property rights with a production
capacity of 10t/a through the transformation of scientific and technological achievements of Central South University.

11.
Basalt fibers

In 2002, the Ministry of Science and Technology included "basalt continuous fiber and its composite materials" in the "863 Plan" to strengthen the development and promotion of gas-electric fusion and all-electric furnace production technology with independent intellectual property rights, so that basalt fiber has developed
rapidly.
However, at present, China's basalt fibers generally follow the low-end route, focusing on the reinforcement materials
of short-cut basalt fibers for concrete.
In 2006, China's first basalt fiber production line was developed
by Shanghai Russian Golden Basalt Fiber Co.
, Ltd.
At present, there are about ten enterprises in China engaged in the production of basalt fiber, with a total production capacity of more than 100kt, and many enterprises have 10,000-ton production lines, including Jilin Tongxin, Henan Dengfeng Power Plant Group, Sichuan Fiberglass Group, Sichuan Qianyi, Guizhou Shixin, etc.
, but the actual output of most enterprises is hundreds to thousands of tons
.
The actual total output of basalt fiber in China is 20~30kt, the specifications are mostly between 10~20μm, and the price per ton is 12,000~20,000 yuan, which is mainly used in cement concrete, asphalt concrete, vehicle traffic, high-temperature filter bags and thermal insulation
felts.
Domestic basalt fiber production enterprises are still in the stage of low-price homogenization competition, and how to improve the performance of basalt fiber still needs to be further explored
.
The large tow drawing technology of 1200 holes and above is still unstable, and it is necessary to overcome technical problems
from various aspects such as raw materials, melting and fiber forming processes.
Only by solving the large tow drawing technology can we improve the quality stability of basalt fiber, truly give full play to the characteristics of high strength and high modulus of basalt fiber, broaden its application range, and break through the bottleneck
of basalt fiber development.
Table 9 summarizes the production situation and characteristics
of the main basalt fiber manufacturers in China.

Table 9 Production and characteristics of major basalt fiber manufacturers in China

Three

The main tasks and main problems in the development of China's high-performance fiber industry

China's high-performance fiber development started not late, but due to the capital investment, raw materials, equipment, talents and other complex reasons progress has been relatively slow, in the past 10 years although great progress has been made, but in terms of product performance stability, production cost, scale and application level with Japan, the United States and other developed countries still have a significant gap, the main common scientific problems are high-performance fiber short-range, long-range and macrostructure (ie molecular chain distribution, system purity, condensed matter structure, Fiber surface structure) caused by insufficient spinnability, physicochemical properties and batch stability
.
The main problems are summarized as follows:

• There is still a generation difference in high-end fibers, and the ability of independent guarantee needs to be strengthened
  .
  The second generation of advanced composite materials with T800 grade carbon fiber as the main reinforcement has been applied on a large scale in the field of foreign aerospace, while China is still in the stage of expanding the application of the first generation of advanced composite materials and the assessment and verification
  of the second generation of advanced composite materials 。 High-strength and high-modulus, ultra-high-modulus carbon fiber, differentiated para-aramid (ultra-high strength, ultra-high model, medium-modulus, high-bonding, fatigue-resistant, etc.
  ), high-strength and creep-free UHMWPE fiber, high-performance heterocyclic aramid III.
  production technology has not yet broken through, does not have independent guarantee capabilities, in the high-performance inorganic fiber and other fields, there are also problems such as
  lack of high-end products and poor quality consistency.
  

  
  

• The technical maturity of the high-performance fiber industry is not enough, and large-scale high-end equipment and complete sets of processes have not completely broken through
  .
  The high-performance fiber industry is a long-process fine industry with a high degree of coupling between production technology and equipment, and China has not fully mastered the large-scale complete set of production process technology
  .
  At this stage, domestic carbon fiber production is still dominated by small tow products of 12K and below, and the industrial production technology of large tow and low-cost carbon fiber has not yet made a comprehensive breakthrough, while foreign countries have begun to integrate the low-cost production technology of large tow with the high-quality production technology of small tow to continuously improve product quality and reduce production costs
  .
  There are still gaps in product performance and stability, production efficiency, industrial scale, and application fields of para-aramid, meta-aramid, heterocyclic aramid III
  .
  UHMWPE fiber single line production capacity is low, high investment cost, low production efficiency, high energy consumption, large-scale low-cost production is still difficult to achieve
  .
  PPS fiber and polyaryl fiber lack a complete set of 1,000-ton industrialization technology and equipment
  .
  In addition, the design and manufacturing capacity of industrialized complete sets of high-performance fiber equipment is insufficient, there is a lack of design/simulation engineers, the design/simulation software relies on imports, and there is a significant gap between basic industrial technology (such as mechanical processing), precision equipment (such as metering pumps, spinnerets), and the quality of equipment raw materials (such as high-strength steel, corrosion-resistant steel materials, etc.
  ) and foreign countries, resulting in insufficient precision, efficiency and service life of domestic independent equipment, poor equipment operation stability and high failure rate.
  It restricts the stability and improvement of the performance of China's high-performance fiber products and the control of production costs
  .
  

  
  

• The investment in basic research is insufficient, some key scientific problems have not yet been explored, and there is a lack of momentum
  for innovation and development of cutting-edge products.
  Under the support of national policies and the traction of major tasks, China's high-performance fibers carry out research work with reference to and imitation of foreign products, focusing on product development, focusing on solving major national needs and urgent needs for application
  .
  The research and development of universities and research institutions usually relies on model products, the deep relationship between composition-structure-process-performance of high-performance fiber materials has not been fully mastered, and the necessary basic scientific mechanisms and theories have not been clearly revealed, resulting in the lack of theoretical support and insufficient independent innovation ability in the face of new application needs
  .
  Enterprises are tired of blind expansion of production, investment in research and development funds are seriously insufficient, such as carbon fiber currently domestic industrializable products only a few grades, while Japan's Toray has nearly 20 product models
  .
  

  
  

• A sound industrial system has not yet been formed, and there are still low-level duplication and disorderly competition
  .
  At present, China's high-performance fiber industry system is still incomplete, and key equipment and supporting materials, important raw materials, product standards and testing and evaluation links are weak
  .
  The overall scale of application in aerospace, national defense and other fields is small, it is difficult to drive the development and improvement of the whole industrial chain of high-performance fibers and composite materials, and it has not yet achieved large-scale application
  in the industrial fields represented by automobiles, pressure vessels, rail transit, etc.
  Stimulated by multiple factors such as national policy support and investment impulse in the high-tech field, there is still a low-level duplication of investment chaos that is divorced from the actual situation of the industry, and the level of projects is uneven, which not only causes a large number of national and social resources to be occupied and wasted, but also is not conducive to the formation of industry competitiveness and sustainable industrial ecology
  .
  

In view of the above problems, the main tasks facing the development and upgrading of China's high-performance fiber industry are as follows:

1.
Carbon fiber

Break through the key technologies of high-strength medium-mold, high-strength high-mold, high-strength high-mold and high-extension carbon fiber engineering preparation, and achieve a tensile strength of high-strength medium-mold carbon fiber ≥ 7GPa; High strength and high modulus carbon fiber tensile modulus≥ 650GPa; The tensile strength of high-strength, high-mold and high-extension carbon fiber ≥5.
7GPa, the tensile modulus ≥ 370GPa, and the elongation at break ≥ 1.
5%, which meets the independent guarantee needs of carbon fiber and its composite materials for high-end equipment; The structural transformation mechanism of bio-based carbon fiber oxidation and carbonization process was studied, and the key technology of continuous preparation of bio-based carbon fiber was broken.
Breakthrough in supporting materials such as spinning oil and sizing agent for carbon fiber, breakthrough in disruptive preparation technologies such as new spinning and pre-oxidation carbonization, to achieve the stabilization and low cost of domestic carbon fiber, and support the large-scale application of
domestic carbon fiber.

2.
Organic high-performance fibers

Break through the key technologies of industrial preparation of high-performance organic fibers such as aramid, differentiated polyimide and UHMWPE, polyaryl fiber, PPS fiber, etc.
, and realize the stable application
in major national equipment 。 Develop serialized and functional para-aramid to meet the needs of differentiated application fields, focus on improving the scale of the industrial chain, form economies of scale, and enhance international competitiveness; Break through new processes and technologies to improve the production efficiency of meta-aramid, further reduce product prices, broaden application fields, promote product upgrading, and actively develop differentiated products of meta-aramid to meet the application requirements of high-end fields; Develop a new generation of high-strength, high-modulus, high-compound, low-cost heterocyclic aramid; Develop temperature-resistant and creep-resistant UHMWPE fibers, improve the engineering preparation technology of medium and high strength UHMWPE, and solve the problems of high energy consumption and high cost in the production process; Optimize the polyaryl fiber polymerization spinning process to achieve stable and high-quality product production of 1,000 tons and complete equipment research and development; Develop high-performance PPS fiber technology, improve the quality of PPS staple fiber slicing, break through the key preparation process and integrated equipment technology of PPS filament grade slicing, and expand the application field of PPS fiber and its composite materials; Carry out research on high-purity DAR monomer preparation technology, improve product quality stability, improve PBO fiber production scale, and develop PBO special complete sets of equipment to improve the operation stability of equipment under acidic, high viscosity and high pressure conditions, and ensure the stability
of the whole process of PBO production.

3.
Inorganic high-performance fibers

Breakthrough in the engineering and stable preparation technology of high-end basalt fiber, silicon carbide, alumina, silicon boron nitrogen and other fibers and their precursors, breakthrough in large tow drawing process technology, and realize the batch application of inorganic high-performance fibers; Form a series of inorganic high-performance fibers and their composite product libraries to realize the engineering application
of inorganic high-performance fiber matrix composites in aerospace engines and other major equipment.

Four

Countermeasures and suggestions to promote the development of China's high-performance fiber industry

High-performance fiber is the main development direction of the global fiber industry, and the global fiber production has increased at an average annual rate of 3% in the past 10 years, while the high-performance fiber has grown
at a rate of nearly 30%.
At the same time, the production countries of high-performance fibers have expanded from a few developed countries to more than ten countries and regions
, including China, Turkey, South Korea and so on.
However, the global production of high-performance fibers is still highly concentrated in Japan, the United States, Europe a small number of enterprises, most of these companies have been in the stage of large-scale development of high-performance fibers, on the one hand, they actively invest to expand the market share of their products, on the other hand, in the main products have been relatively mature and completed series production under the premise, the focus of research and development to continuously improve the core technology and product quality and performance, through technical reserves to further widen the gap with competitors, maintain their monopoly
position in the industry 。 At present, high-performance fibers are developing
in the direction of advanced manufacturing technology, low cost, high material performance, structural and functional integration and application expansion.

In order to promote the further development of China's high-performance fiber industry and improve its international competitiveness, it is recommended that:

• Strengthen top-level design and strengthen the leading role
  of the government.
  At present, facing the rapid changes in the international environment, relevant ministries and industry associations should take the lead in planning a new path for the development of China's high-performance fiber industry, ensure the steady development of the industry, prevent the growth of homogeneous production capacity too fast, avoid the old road of conventional fiber development, and affect the future sustainable development
  of the industry.
  Support scientific and technological research and development and demonstration application, adhere to long-term investment, encourage iterative and stable development, promote the research and development and large-scale application of innovative products, and drive industrial upgrading
  with high-performance fiber material technological progress.
  

  
  

• Strengthen R&D innovation and deepen the combination of
  production, education and research.
  Increase independent innovation, pay attention to collaborative innovation, build a technological innovation system with enterprises as the main body, market-oriented, and the combination of production, education and research, enhance endogenous power, and promote the high-quality development
  of the industry.
  Increase efforts to solve the common problems that restrict the high-quality development of the industry, focus on the problem of short boards, strengthen the research and development of high-quality raw and auxiliary materials, key equipment and parts, enhance the independent controllability of the industrial chain and supply chain, master the deep-seated relationship between high-performance fiber composition-structure-process-performance, and comprehensively improve the ability
  of independent innovation.
  

  
  

• Expand production scale and develop low-cost process technology
  .
  While focusing on product performance and developing high value-added products, we also focus on the development of various molding process technologies to further reduce costs and strengthen profitability
  .
  Production costs determine market capacity and applications, accelerate the development of low-cost technologies, and help expand the scope of
  applications.
  Expanding the scale of production and improving the production capacity of a single line can further improve production efficiency and reduce production costs, thereby enhancing the market competitiveness
  of products.
  

  
  

• In response to market demand, increase the development of
  application technology.
  Through "downstream" to drive "upstream", form a series of products with independent intellectual property rights, strengthen communication and cooperation with supporting industries, actively integrate into the research and development work of downstream customers from the design end of finished products, and efficiently maximize the excellent performance of high-performance fibers in application scenarios, and truly achieve accurate matching
  of their performance with downstream applications.
  

  
  

• Establish a monitoring system to grasp industry trends
  .
  Improve the statistics of the high-performance fiber industry, focus on industry data research, strengthen industry management and guidance, plan development, formulate and improve industry access conditions, release product guidance catalogs, avoid blind development and low-level duplicate construction, encourage and promote collaborative linkage and in-depth communication between manufacturers, and guide the benign development
  of high-performance fiber industry.
  

  
  

• Strengthen the construction of standards and promote participation in international competition
  .
  Focus on the construction of national standards and industry standards for high-performance fibers, including carbon fiber, aramid fiber, polyimide fiber, polyaryl ester fiber, polyphenylene sulfide fiber, UHMWPE fiber, etc.
  and their various downstream products, in order to standardize domestic high-performance fiber products, promote products to enter the international market, and participate in international competition
  .
  

Five

Facing the major strategic needs of the country in 2035, high-performance fiber industry technology prediction and strategic layout

China has established a relatively complete domestic high-performance fiber preparation technology research and development, engineering practice and industrial system, product quality continues to improve, production, education and research pattern has initially formed, effectively alleviating the urgent demand
for domestic high-performance fiber in the national economy and national defense construction.
However, the basic theoretical research of China's high-performance fibers and their composite materials is still relatively weak, the industrialization and development of high-end and high-quality products is insufficient, some key scientific and technological issues have not been completely broken, the industry's independent innovation ability is not strong, and some varieties are still subject to developed countries
.
Facing the major strategic needs of the country in 2035, China's high-performance fiber industry technology should carry out the following layout:

• Strengthen research
  on key scientific and technical issues of high-performance fibers.
  High-performance fiber is a highly complex product, with a strong dependence on basic research, high correlation between the production process, the performance of high-performance fiber comes from its unique microstructure, to ensure that its microstructure is realized in production, it is necessary to have a very clear understanding of its formation process, and have precise control
  of the external conditions that affect its formation.
  Therefore, in-depth research on relevant common basic science problems is the key to
  solving the problems encountered in the development process, establishing a production system with independent intellectual property rights, and realizing industrialized and stable production.
  However, at present, domestic enterprises lack the correct understanding and clear understanding of relevant basic scientific issues, and need to increase efforts to condense common scientific problems, layout forward-looking research, and develop high-quality high-performance fibers
  with stable performance.
  

  
  

• Key technologies for the industrialization of high-performance fibers are integrated
  with the system development of complete sets of equipment.
  The high-performance fiber industry has high technical difficulty, large professional span, complex system engineering and high degree of integrated innovation, and has engineering and technical characteristics
  such as high requirements for equipment quality and control accuracy and strict requirements for production management 。 It is necessary to strengthen the interdisciplinary and multi-professional integration and back-to-back connection, accelerate the engineering research of high-performance fibers and their composite materials with high added value and low cost, including the research and development and industrialization of organic high-performance fiber-grade special resins, the development of new solvents, additives, extractants, etc.
  , the development of new spinning and post-treatment and other continuous engineering complete sets of technologies and key equipment, etc.
  , to improve high-level industrialization system integration, project management and process integration
  .
  

  
  

• High-performance fiber performance, quality improvement, variety serialization, functional research and development
  .
  The world's main high-performance fibers have entered the stage of comprehensive update of technology and technology, production efficiency continues to improve, costs continue to decline, new products are obviously personalized, to improve and serialize the production of various models and specifications of products, focusing on expanding new varieties and application fields
  .
  On the one hand, break through the industrialization of foreign monopoly high-end products, on the other hand, improve the market competitiveness of products and expand the application field
  of fiber by reducing fiber manufacturing costs.
  Strengthen the multi-field market application development of high-performance fiber products, vigorously develop collaborative design, manufacturing and service with downstream composite material enterprises, support the development of upstream industries through downstream stable applications, and expand the width and depth
  of the upstream and downstream industrial chain of the overall industry.
  

  
  

• Corresponding standards and evaluation systems
  from raw materials to fibers.
  Aiming at the international advanced level, based on independent technology, improve the standard system, technical specifications, testing methods and certification mechanism
  of high-performance fiber new materials.
  Accelerate the formulation of standards for the whole industry chain of products, encourage industry, academia, research and application to jointly develop important technical standards, actively participate in the formulation of international standards, and accelerate the transformation
  of foreign advanced standards into domestic standards.
  

  
  

• Strengthen research
  on composite technology matching high-performance fibers.
  High-performance fibers and their composite materials are not only related to national strategic security, closely related to national defense industry and aerospace construction, but also an important basic material industry for implementing the national "dual carbon" strategy, and an important support
  for the development of wind power, photovoltaic, lightweight transportation, hydrogen energy vehicles, etc.
  It is necessary to strengthen the research of high-performance fiber supporting equipment and composite material technology, develop new technologies such as high-efficiency weaving and high-efficiency molding of composite materials, build three-dimensional textile structures and composite surface interface structures, and drive the development and upgrading
  of high-performance fiber materials industry.
  

Source: Composites

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