Recipient Organization
MICHIGAN STATE UNIV
(N/A)
EAST LANSING,MI 48824
Performing Department
Forestry
Non Technical Summary
Lignin valorization is becoming one of the major goals of pulp and paper and bioethanol producers. Lignin that is isolatedthrough these processes is mainly burned to provide energy for the manufacturing line at its lowest value. Creating value-addedopportunities for this underutilized product (lignin) would significantly improve the economic value of forest products andagricultural residues. Additionally, many polymeric industries are keen to find ways to replace petrochemical feedstocks, withrenewable raw materials, if proven to be cost-effective with superior or similar performance. With lignin available in largequantities as a result of bioethanol production, and the move to a paperless society, the pulp and paper industry wasencouraged to start isolating lignin form black liquor, rather than burning it. This created a fantastic opportunity for scientists todevelop lignin-based bioproducts. However, extensive research is needed to prove to polymeric industry that lignin cansubstitute petrochemicals in many applications, to achieve a similar performance to commercially available products made withpetrochemicals. Not only should newly developed lignin-based bioproducts have comparable performance with fossil fuel-basedproducts, but they should also be able to be used in the same manufacturing line with minimal or no changes. The aim of thisproposed work is to develop lignin-based resins (polyurethanes, epoxy and phenolic) that can be used in the formulation ofadhesives, coatings, elastomers and foams. Replacing phenol, polyol and bisphenol-A in the formulation of phenolic,polyurethane and epoxy resins, respectively, with lignin will result in products that are cheaper, while creating new opportunitiesto use a natural polymer that is largely treated as waste and reducing the consumption of non-renewable fossil-fuel rawmaterials.
Animal Health Component
30%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
30%
Developmental
50%
Goals / Objectives
The main objectives of the proposed project are:1. Formulate sustainable lignin-based resins for adhesive, coating, elastomer and foam applications,2. Determine lignin properties which effect the performance of developed lignin-based bioproducts the most (Chemometricmodelling)3. Demonstrate that developed lignin-based bioproducts have superior or similar performance as of benchmark productsmade from petrochemicals.
Project Methods
Lignin samples from different feed stocks (hardwoods, softwoods and agricultural plants) and isolation processes will becompletely characterized by measuring their physical, chemical and thermal properties. Measuring properties of lignin sampleswill help us to select appropriate lignin needed for each resin formulation. After choosing the most suitable lignins, we will formulate different resins such as phenolic, PU and Epoxy. For instance, inphenolic resin formulation, lignin will be mixed with formaldehyde under alkaline condition to formulate phenolic resin foradhesive application. For polyurethane resin, lignin will be mixed with isocyanate to formulate polyurethane resin. Since there isa wide variety of isocyanates available in the market, we will need to find a suitable isocyanate suitable for each intended finalapplication (adhesives, coatings, rigid or flexible foams). The property of formulated resins like viscosity, pH, contact angle,gelation time, storage stability, solid-content, and glass transition temperature (Tg) will be determined. Based on the analysisresults, the property of developed resins will be adjusted to match the industry and standard requirements for each specificapplication. Additionally, depending on the manufacturing processes and required performance by industry, we need to optimizethe formulation of developed resins to meet those standards. One example would be the development of lignin-based adhesive for engineered wood products. For instance, the dataobtained from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis will be used to adjust the curing characteristic of formulatedresins and adhesives. If the curing temperature is high, then we will use different additives or change the resin formulation inway that developed resin can be cured at exact temperature, pressure and time that is specified as press parameters forproduction of engineered wood panels by industry. Furthermore, the formulated adhesive will be used to prepare small scaleplywood, particle board or oriented strand board (OSB) samples. The mechanical properties of bio-based panels like tensile,flexural and impact strength will be determined as a measure of quality of formulated adhesive. The results of this study willopen-up a great opportunity for lignin manufacturers and wood panel producers to add value by using a green adhesive.