The market of fibers with high mechanic performances

Fibers with high performances are of great interest, but in some ways, their use is still restricted. Costs and technological difficulties are on the basis of this restriction.

However, numbers concerning main fibers with high performances are growing. It’s not a high growth but it’s constant.

From recent statistics (Chemical Daily) concerning the main groups of fibers with high performances come out what follows:

World production (tons) of fibers with high mechanical performances
Year
Para aramid
Carbon
Polythene
Polyarilate
PBO
Total
1996
28600
9600
1300
300
0
39800
1997
29400
11800
1500
300
0
43000
1998
30400
12800
1700
300
0
45200
1999
31600
13300
1800
300
100
47100

World capacity (tons) of fibers with high mechanical performances (1999)
Fiber capacity (tons)
Northern America
EU
Japan
Others
Total
Para Aramid
21.000
16.000
3.900
0
40.900
Carbon
10.100
1.950
16.600
1.750
30.400
Polythene
1.000
1.500
410
0
2.910
Polyarilate
0
0
400
0
400
PBO
0
0
180
0
180
HT-PVA
0
0
300
0
300
Total
32.100
19.450
21.790
1.750
75.090

World capacity (tons) of fibers with high mechanical performances (1999)
Fiber
Capacity
Para Aramid
40.900
Carbon
30.400
Polythene
2.910
Polyarilate
400
PBO
180
HT-PVA
300

Analyzing the facts we can see what follows:

  • Para aramidic fibers and carbon ones together represented 95,2% of total in 1996 whereas today they represent 94,9%. Other fibers occupy then a marginal place.
  • Para aramidic fibers grew of 10,5% in 1996-1999, whereas carbon ones of 38,5%, like polythene fibers.
  • All in all fibers grew of 18,8%
  • America alone represents 42,8% of the current capacity, Japan 29,0% , UE  25,8%. This shows the narrow relationship between the level of industry on the whole and the production of this kind of fibers.
  • With reference to carbon fibers, Japan is in a commanding position, having 54,6% in opposition to 33,2% of America.

We can tell that the success of specific fibers is bound, beside the very good characteristics typical of fiber, to other factors, such as the easiness of the textile transformation and most of all the capacity of answering a real and precise request of the market.

In the last analysis only some of the fibers proposed to the market surpass the first threshold and go by to the real industrial phase.

Even the most important fibers such as para aramidic  and carbon ones, that are known and used since a long time, reach still modest quantities.

The importance of the market must consider the prices these fibers are sold at, that are 20-50 times higher than those of the conventional man-made fibers.

The incidence on the entire capacity of chemical fibers is of 0,2-0,3%, that can reach 5-10%.

This article is published on NF New Fibres, see the contents.