| dc.description.abstract | By far, several commercial projects for production of lignin-based chemicals started
operations around the world. For instance, the LignoBoost process was installed by Domtar
in 2013 in the United States, and in 2015 by Stora Enso in Finland. Lather, in 2016, the
LignoForce system came into operation at West Fraser in Canada. These commercial
initiatives show that lignin has proven its potential as an alternative to petroleum, to reduce
emissions and generate a new stream of revenue in the forestry sector. Lignin deems to be
a suitable feedstock for energy generation or value-added bioproducts as substitutes to
petroleum-based products. However, lignin’s characteristics (specifically large molecular
weights and low reactivity) limit its direct use as chemicals to substitute petroleum-derived
chemicals.
More than 30 years of research towards lignin modification have shown that
depolymerization is one of the promising routes to achieve its high-value applications in
chemicals. A novel depolymerization process using low-pressure and low-temperature has
been developed by Dr. Xu’s group – from the laboratory-scale production of
depolymerized lignin (DL) to value-added applications of DL for bio-based materials
(patent pending). In this process, kraft lignin (KL) is depolymerized using sodium
hydroxide as catalyst and ethylene glycol as solvent. The depolymerized kraft lignin (DKL)
products have suitable characteristics, such as high hydroxyl a moderately low weightaverage
molecular weight, for synthesis of biopolymers. The DKL can substitute up to 75%
phenol in the manufacture of phenol-formaldehyde resins (PF) and up to 50% in the
formulation of polyurethane (PU) foams. The next logical step is to assess the feasibility
of this technology. Therefore, the general purpose of this research is to develop a technoeconomic
analysis and a supply chain (SC) design to identify the most promising technical
and economic aspects of commercial production and long-term feasibility of bio-based
value-added chemicals and materials from KL. | en_US |
