Home

UPM enters the biochemicals business by investing in a biorefinery at Leuna, Germany. The refinery will focus on producing wood-based biochemicals including bio-monoetyhlene glycol (MEG) and lignin-based functional fillers. In addition, the biorefinery will produce bio-monopropylene glycol (BioMPG) and industrial ...
Continue Reading →

Frost & Sullivan has awarded MetGen with the 2019 European Technology Innovation Awards for its enzyme technologies. The award goes to MetGen's METNIN™ and ENZINE® .  METNIN™ facilitates complete lignin valorisation while  ENZINE®  can be used to improve any enzyme during ...
Continue Reading →

CH-Bioforce, a Lignin Club member, has released a new article emphasizing the increasing focus from the industry towards renewable and biodegradable raw materials. The company with their fractionation technology produces dissolving pulp, polymeric hemicellulose and sulphur-free lignin from biomass close to their natural ...
Continue Reading →

Borregaard's Dustex, binder for road and soil dust control, has received  U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Biobased Product Label, with 100% biobased content. Borregaard's Dustex replaces oil-based alternatives for dust suppression and reduces the need for watering by up to ...
Continue Reading →

Stora Enso is investing EUR 10 million to build a pilot facility that will produce lignin-based carbon materials. The company is producing lignin at their Sunila Mill undee the brand name Lineo™ which is used as a renewable alternative for ...
Continue Reading →

Segezha Group (part of Sistema JSFC), plans to install a drier for the production of dry lignosulphonate at Sokolsky PPM PJSC in Vologda Region. The design process of the new industrial facility is in its last stages. The equipment is expected ...
Continue Reading →

Yanfeng Automotive Interiors (YFAI) and Prisma Renewable Composites announced that the companies have signed an agreement that gives YFAI exclusive use of Prisma's lignin-based material to develop automotive interiors. Prisma's  BioLAN is based on lignin and it is a sustainable ...
Continue Reading →

European Union’s Horizon 2020 SME programme has granted significant funding to CH-Bioforce for further development of the company's sulphur-free biomass fractionation technology. The project has been allocated a total budget of over €3 million and will run from March 2019 to February 2021 ...
Continue Reading →

Attis Industries has partnered with Iowa State University to develop carbon fibers from its melt-flowable lignin. The funded research program will focus on laboratory and pilot testing of Attis's lignin aiming to meet the industry standard carbon fiber requirements in ...
Continue Reading →

A research consortium in Japan, headed by  Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI) is developing lignin based applications; hybrid films, flexible electronic devices, gasket materials and carbon fiber. Miyagi Kasei Co, a consortium member has teamed up with Mitsuoka Motor ...
Continue Reading →

Fortum is launching a significant development project, aiming to produce high-value added products from agriculture residues and woody biomass. The 2-year project is supported by Business Finland fro 14.4 million-euros. During this time span, Fortum and its partners will conduct ...
Continue Reading →

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, have developed a 3D printing material based on lignin which is a renewable feedstock. Researchers at ORNL combined a a melt-stable hardwood lignin with low-melting nylon and carbon fiber. Combining the lignin with nylon ...
Continue Reading →

Domtar recently made an investment in Prisma Renewable Composites as a step forward in lignin development and commercializing lignin-based applications. Prisma Renewable Composites produces advanced materials from lignin and other natural resources.With this investment Domtar aims to help commercialize lignin-based ...
Continue Reading →

Biorizon co-initiator VITO and partners have recently launched the EFRO LignoValue Pilot project for the production of bio-aromatics from lignin/wood. The € 4.3 million project is expected to be functioning by Q1 2021. The LignoValue Pilot with capacity of ± 200 ...
Continue Reading →

Preem, RenFuel and Rottneros are in collaboration assessing the construction of one of it's kind lignin plant for biofuels, at the pulp mill in Vallvik, Söderhamn. The plant is expected to be completed in 2021, producing 25,000-30,000 tonnes of lignin ...
Continue Reading →

MetGen, industrial enzyme solution provider, announced their participation to  partially publicly funded EU Flagship project SWEETWOODS. SWEETWOODS is a 43-million-euro joint pilot project and it has recently been granted 21 million euros in funding from EU's Horizon 2020 programme’s Bio-Based Industries ...
Continue Reading →

Sweetwater Energy and AS Graanul Invest will build a commercial scale biorefinery that will produce clean cellulosic sugars and highly pure lignin from 50,000 tons of local hardwood each year. The plant will utilise Sweetwater's Sunburst pretreatment technology which uses ...
Continue Reading →

Domtar's Biomaterials team in collaboration with United States Department of Agriculture's Forest Products Laboratory have developed a way to produce graphene from lignin. Graphene, made up of a single layer of graphite, is remarkably strong and light. A sheet of ...
Continue Reading →

Domtar's research team developed lignin pellets and lignin-polymer compound pellets in collaboration with National Research Council Canada (CNC). They have recently installed a demonstration plant in Ontorio to further develop lignin pellets as a bioalternative to plastic and chemicals as ...
Continue Reading →

British Columbia's BC Innovation Council has awarded $300,000 for the development of lignin-based filaments through their fourth Ignite Awards. The grant went to Darrel Fry from Advanced BioCarbon 3D and Jason Taylor from Selkirk College. They will be developing biodegradable 3D ...
Continue Reading →

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Bremen have developed lignin-based binder to be used in paint primer formulations. So far, the focus has been producing lignin monomeric starting materials that has the same ...
Continue Reading →

Domtar has been operating a commercial-scale lignin separation plant at its Plymouth, North Carolina mill and the  mill produces BioChoice lignin which can used in variety of applications such as adhesives, dispersants and fuel additives. Domtar has now been exploring ...
Continue Reading →

Stora Enso has launched Lineo, a lignin product,  as renewable replacement for oil-based phenolic materials. They have been producing kraft lignin at industrial scale at their Sunila pulp mill in Finland since 2015 with 50 000 tonnes per year capacity ...
Continue Reading →

Resolute Forest Products plant in Thunder Bay together with FP Innovations is going to be home to a $21-million project to extract bio-chemicals from wood that could potentially replace petroleum-based chemicals found in everyday products such as plastics and insulation. The ...
Continue Reading →

Meridian Waste Solutions Inc., recently announced the award of  $3 million grant from USDA to support the commercialization of  patented and patent-pending lignin conversion and refining technologies owned by Attis Innovations Inc, Meridian's subsidiary. Attis' AST-Organosolv process uses the technology developed ...
Continue Reading →

The Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) reports that through BioLi2.0 project they have successfully extracted and upgraded lignin into a product that can be mixed with current fossil based fuels. The team managed to mix lignin up to 30 percent with ...
Continue Reading →

Sweetwater Energy has created a biomass conversion technology, producing pure form of lignin that works as a raw material for high-quality activated carbons. This native-lignin can be carbonized and activated to produce high-end powdered activated carbons for municipal potable water ...
Continue Reading →

UPM Biochemicals moves forward with biochemicals business by evaluating the potential of building a biorefinery in the Chemical Park Frankfurt-Höchst in Germany. The new biorefinery would combine novel technologies with wood coming from sustainably managed forests in Central Europe. UPM ...
Continue Reading →

Borregaard and Borg Havn will be building a modern, sustainable lignin warehouse in Øra, Norway. The press release states that, according to pre-project studies, the warehouse will be 17,000 square meters in size. The new centralized warehouse will make the logistics more ...
Continue Reading →

FPInnovations, who developed LignoForce SystemTM that facilitates recovery of lignin from biomass and biomass processing operations, has been successful in replacing commercial PF resin up to 20% with lignin extracted from black liquor. This achievement is expected to catalyze market ...
Continue Reading →

Hexion Inc. completed the expansion of the R&D center at it's forest products complex in Edmonton, Alberta. The R&D center will be focusing on the development of next generation resin chemistry for panel production which complements company's existing EcoBind™ resin technology ...
Continue Reading →

We are pleased to announce our joint workshop with CEFIC (The European Chemical Industry Council) on Lignin Ecosystem. In the event, we will have presentations from our Lignin Club members and panel discussions on overcoming the barriers of lignin commercialization ...
Continue Reading →

Researchers in Washington State University, led by Birgitte Ahring, Ph.D., has reported that they have produced an automobile-grade carbon fiber containing 20 to 30 percent lignin. Currently carbon fiber found in cars and planes are made from polyarylonitrile (PAN), an expensive and nonrenewable ...
Continue Reading →

Sweetwater Energy,Inc., a renewable bio-products producer based in Rochester NY, has signed a licensing and joint technology development agreement with the Finnish company MetGen Oy.  The collaboration is expected to open doors in developing high value lignin-based products ranging from ...
Continue Reading →

A joint research by Mojgan Nejad from Michigan State University, proves that phenol in phenolic adhesive formulation can be fully replaced by lignin. Up till Nejad's research only up to 50 percent partial replacement with lignin was possible. Nejad's research ...
Continue Reading →

Enerlab, an insulation manufacturer based in St-Mathieu de Beloeil, Que, has received federal funding for it's lignin project aiming to replace petroleum based raw materials. Enerlab plans to produce insulating and structural panels with lignin coming from pulp and paper processes ...
Continue Reading →

On June 01,2017 Federal Government announced support for Canadian forest sector including market and product diversification and forestry-based indigenous communities. FPInnovations, a non profit R&D institute that supports Canadian forest sector, previously received funding by the Federal Government for innovative ...
Continue Reading →

A recent article published in  the journal of American Chemical Society presents synthesis of new lignin based copolymers, lignin-PCLLA. Stated copolymers were blended with polyesters and converted into ultrafine nanofibers which could improve the mechanical properties of nanofibers. Good antioxidant activity ...
Continue Reading →

Researchers at Texas A&M AgriLife have succeeded in making good quality carbon fibres from lignin. Carbon fibres are not a new application for lignin research, but the challenge has been to produce adequate quality carbon fibres for demanding end-use applications ...
Continue Reading →

Montisera, one of our Lignin Club members, was awarded the Most Promising Growth Company of the Finnish Bioeconomy at Kasvu Open 2017. Kasvu Open gathers growth professionals, investors and other partners together into one solid network, where growth companies have an opportunity ...
Continue Reading →

Borregaard is investing NOK 500 million (~54 MEUR) in upgrading and specialising their 160 000 t/a lignosulphonate production at Sarpsborg site in Norway. The investment includes new drying capacity, liquid storage tanks and improvements in logistics, infrastructure and energy solutions ...
Continue Reading →

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed a novel technology, LigniOx, to convert lignin water-soluble by means of oxygen oxidation. VTT's water-soluble lignin has proven to work particularly well as a concrete plasticiser, outperforming commercial lignosulphonate-based plasticisers. VTT continues ...
Continue Reading →

Sappi Biotech, the world's largest producer of lignosulphonates and a Lignin Club member, has appointed CellMark as the non-exclusive sales agent for Sappi's Hansa lignin products. The Hansa lignin product family includes different types of lignosulphonates produced in liquid and ...
Continue Reading →

Meridian Waste Solutions, Meridian Innovations and Advanced Lignin Biocomposites signed an agreement in early April to form a Joint Venture to develop Advanced Lignin's technology portfolio. The initial focus of the JV will be to produce high performance yet low ...
Continue Reading →

Mondi recently hosted the closing event of a four year R&D project Flippr (Future Lignin and Pulp Processing Research), which aimed to identify future business areas for the companies in the fields of lignin and modern fibre utilization. The project ...
Continue Reading →

MetGen, a Finnish SME designing and marketing novel enzymatic solutions, has added new enzymes to their MetZyme Ligno product family. According to MetGen, MetZyme Ligno enzymes enable lignin valorisation towards a much wider range of drop-in solutions in e.g. coatings, plasticizers, ...
Continue Reading →

Welcome to the official website of the Lignin Ecosystem project! The Lignin ecosystem accelerates lignin market creation and empowers the success of end-user applications. The project is coordinated by Pöyry Management Consulting and funded by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation, ...
Continue Reading →

Lignin Club members Stora Enso, Metsä Fibre, UPM and Pöyry are highlighted in Reuters' recent article on Nordic pulp makers and their activities in bioproducts. Stora Enso has signed its first order of lignin with a glue manufacturer, Metsä Fibre ...
Continue Reading →

Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT is working on the sulphur-free isolation of lignin and cellulose using an acid-catalysed process called Organosolv. They have a project called “Optimisation of an Organosolv pulping process – grass and hardwood/fractionation of lignin and ...
Continue Reading →

One of the Lignin Club members, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, has developed a technology known as "CatLignin" to produce reactive lignin to be used as a replacement for toxic phenol compounds in wood adhesives that are widely used ...
Continue Reading →

The 7th Nordic Wood Biorefinery conference in Stockholm later this month features a full afternoon of lignin presentations and discussions from renowned lignin experts including Pöyry's Dr. Petri Vasara as well as Dr. Tiina Liitiä and Dr. Hanne Wikberg from ...
Continue Reading →

Researchers from McMaster University found that sunscreen containing just one per cent of organosolv lignin had double the lotion’s original sun protection factor, or SPF. This interesting study is published in the ACS journal of Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. Continue to original ...
Continue Reading →

Borregaard received funding from the Research Council of Norway for two different research projects related to lignin utilisation. The WOCA project aims to develop bio-based binders for the metallurgical industry, while the Ligno 2G project aims to modify lignin for ...
Continue Reading →