New material could benefit environment by enhancing performance of advanced gas separation membranes
Tokyo:
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has created
the world’s first porous carbon fiber with a nanosized continuous pore structure. Using this
fiber as a support layer could lighten advanced membranes used in greenhouse gas separation
and hydrogen production and make them more compact, thereby enhancing performance.
The company will keep pushing ahead with R&D for this new material to foster carbon recycling,
collaborating with other entities in developing applications to sustainably tap hydrogen energy
and shrink environmental footprints.
Absorption- and adsorption-based facilities conventionally separate carbon dioxide, biogas,
hydrogen, and other gases. The issue with such setups, however, is that they are large and
consume a lot of energy, resulting in heavy carbon dioxide emissions. Gas separation
methods employing membranes have thus attracted considerable attention. But despite
ongoing research, no membranes have yet combined satisfactory gas separation
performance and durability.
Toray’s new material is chemically stable because it comprises carbon, and offers outstanding
gas permeability. The material employs thin, flexible fibers, so when it is used to support gas
membranes a module can house many of them. Modules can thus be compact and light.
Such support makes it possible to combine a range of gas separation layers.
Toray looks to contribute to the swift commercialization of advanced separation membranes
that are vital to materializing eco-friendly natural gas and biogas purification and hydrogen
production.
Toray innovated its new material by combining its outstanding polymer technology with its
market share-leading carbon fiber technologies and water treatment and other separation
membrane technologies.
Harnessing its polymer technology enabled the company to create a porous carbon fiber
with uniformly continuous pores and carbon. It is possible to set nano- through micro-level
pore sizes for porous structures. Another possibility is to create a hollow fiber-shaped porous
carbon fiber in the center of a fiber.
Prospective applications leveraging the excellent adsorption of Toray’s new material include
electrode materials and catalyst carriers (base substances for fixing other substances) in
high-performance batteries.
―2/2－
Toray will open its R&D Innovation Center for the Future in December this year. The new
facility will serve as a global headquarters for strategic innovations by engaging with
academic institutions and key partners from diverse fields. The company will collaborate with
several partners in efforts leveraging its new material in a drive to commercialize more
advanced gas separation membranes.
Under the Toray Group Sustainability Vision, the company looks to keep developing
technologies that help materialize low-carbon economies by 2050 by contributing to
resolutions of environmental, resources, and energy issues.
Hollow porous carbon fiber and internal porous structure
Image of porous Carbon Fiber with Continuous Pore Structure
About Toray
Toray is a leading global company in innovative technologies and advanced materials.
Since its foundation in 1926, the Company has contributed to society through the
creation of new value and addressed global challenges by delivering high value-added
products including fibers and textiles, resins and films, and carbon fiber composite
materials. It operates in 26 countries and regions with about 48,000 employees
worldwide.
For more information, please visit our website at www.toray.com.
Tokyo:
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has created
the world’s first porous carbon fiber with a nanosized continuous pore structure. Using this
fiber as a support layer could lighten advanced membranes used in greenhouse gas separation
and hydrogen production and make them more compact, thereby enhancing performance.
The company will keep pushing ahead with R&D for this new material to foster carbon recycling,
collaborating with other entities in developing applications to sustainably tap hydrogen energy
and shrink environmental footprints.
Absorption- and adsorption-based facilities conventionally separate carbon dioxide, biogas,
hydrogen, and other gases. The issue with such setups, however, is that they are large and
consume a lot of energy, resulting in heavy carbon dioxide emissions. Gas separation
methods employing membranes have thus attracted considerable attention. But despite
ongoing research, no membranes have yet combined satisfactory gas separation
performance and durability.
Toray’s new material is chemically stable because it comprises carbon, and offers outstanding
gas permeability. The material employs thin, flexible fibers, so when it is used to support gas
membranes a module can house many of them. Modules can thus be compact and light.
Such support makes it possible to combine a range of gas separation layers.
Toray looks to contribute to the swift commercialization of advanced separation membranes
that are vital to materializing eco-friendly natural gas and biogas purification and hydrogen
production.
Toray innovated its new material by combining its outstanding polymer technology with its
market share-leading carbon fiber technologies and water treatment and other separation
membrane technologies.
Harnessing its polymer technology enabled the company to create a porous carbon fiber
with uniformly continuous pores and carbon. It is possible to set nano- through micro-level
pore sizes for porous structures. Another possibility is to create a hollow fiber-shaped porous
carbon fiber in the center of a fiber.
Prospective applications leveraging the excellent adsorption of Toray’s new material include
electrode materials and catalyst carriers (base substances for fixing other substances) in
high-performance batteries.
―2/2－
Toray will open its R&D Innovation Center for the Future in December this year. The new
facility will serve as a global headquarters for strategic innovations by engaging with
academic institutions and key partners from diverse fields. The company will collaborate with
several partners in efforts leveraging its new material in a drive to commercialize more
advanced gas separation membranes.
Under the Toray Group Sustainability Vision, the company looks to keep developing
technologies that help materialize low-carbon economies by 2050 by contributing to
resolutions of environmental, resources, and energy issues.
Hollow porous carbon fiber and internal porous structure
Image of porous Carbon Fiber with Continuous Pore Structure
About Toray
Toray is a leading global company in innovative technologies and advanced materials.
Since its foundation in 1926, the Company has contributed to society through the
creation of new value and addressed global challenges by delivering high value-added
products including fibers and textiles, resins and films, and carbon fiber composite
materials. It operates in 26 countries and regions with about 48,000 employees
worldwide.
For more information, please visit our website at www.toray.com.
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