The BUCKYPAPER pilot line operated by Tecnalia is located in San Sebastian in Spain. The pilot line integrates filtration, washing and drying/packaging modules for the manufacture of continuous flexible sheets based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). These sheets, also known as “buckypapers”, are randomly oriented self-supporting MWCNT structures, that are lightweight, flexible, highly conductive and offer multifunctionality for a wide range of industrial sectors.
The process uses dynamic vacuum filtration of aqueous based MWCNTs dispersions to produce sheets up to 100m long and 300mm wide. Depending on the required material characteristics, buckypapers can be manufactured in the range of 20-60 gsm.
It is important to note that whilst the current product range is based on MWCNTs, the pilot line is also capable of filtering other materials (nano, macro) as long as the material is capable of being dispersed in water.