Systems and processes for producing short
carbon fibers from an
asphaltene-rich feedstock are disclosed. The
asphaltene-rich feedstock are melted, filtered, and / or degassed before
spinning into fibers. The molten feed may be spun using
melt blowing or centrifugal
spinning, to form random mats of discontinuous green fibers. These random mats of discontinuous fibers are suitable for transporting and
processing using low-cost, standard bulk solids handling methods. In the methods discussed herein, the green fibers are first exposed within a reactor to a gas containing
nitrogen dioxide (NO2) which infuses the fibers, thereby adding
nitrogen oxide functional groups to the green fibers. The infused fibers are heated during which the infused fibers undergo oxidation leading to stabilization at low temperatures, allowing low
softening point
asphaltene-rich feeds to be successfully stabilized. The stabilized fibers are further heated in a substantially
oxygen-free environment to carbonize the fibers to produce a random mat, discontinuous carbon
fiber product. The produced random
fiber material is suitable for blending into polymers or other matrices to produce random short carbon
fiber reinforced products.