New ceramic materials derived from biogenic raw materials

Scientists around the globe are challenged by increasing environmental problems such as limited resources of conventional materials and waste management. Those problems force the scientific community to took for new ways to obtain materials and energy from renewable sources. Part of this concept is the development of methods to convert biological substances into high quality materials for commercial products. Nature itself provides us with solutions to the problem of designing inorganic materials with desirable features. Generally, biogenic fibres are characterised by a high carbon content (40 to 50%) and a defined and hierarchic structure, which gives them strength and flexibility. Based on this information we developed a new structure and technological concept for composites containing carbon fibres derived from biogenic fibres. We demonstrate that our new carbon and SiC-C-Si composites could substitute conventional materials. Moreover, their production offers economical and ecological advantages.