Ligno2G: 2nd Generation Performance Chemicals from Lignin

Polymers are versatile macromolecules used as functional additives in a wide range of applications where they play important roles as binders, dispersants, complexing aids, etc. In high value technical applications, such as batteries and resource extraction, specific properties are required from these polymers to give the desired performance. Even though the polymer is added at very low dose, they have an out-sized impact on the product or process in which they are used. For example, very small amounts of specialized polymer are used in batteries, but without it the batteries would have such short lifetimes as to make their use impractical. Today, performance polymers are produced mainly from petroleum-based chemical ingredients. This is a non-sustainable feedstock, and the polymers are often persistent and even toxic to the environment. The goal of Ligno2G was to deliver sustainable alternatives to these petroleum-based performance polymers using the second most abundant polymer in nature: lignin. Lignin is a highly complex and versatile material that can yield many different functions and forms. This makes it ideal as a feedstock for producing the highly diversified requirements of performance polymers. To harness such a complex natural feedstock, the goals of Ligno2G required the development new chemical modification and characterization technologies to transform the lignin raw material into high performance polymers. Advanced testing techniques and methods also needed to be developed and implemented at the lab and pilot scale to prove the performance of the new lignin-based prototypes in the specific target markets. During the course of Ligno2G, five different lignin modification strategies were explored. This yielded three new lignin modification platforms that were used both separately and in combination to tune the performance of the lignin polymer for use in specific applications. Six new methods for characterizing the chemical structure and performance of the new prototypes were developed and implemented to facilitate product development. Using the new modification platforms, 13 new prototype lignin-based performance polymers were developed in the lab and at pilot scale. The new lignin modification platforms have now been implemented in the biorefinery to produce commercial quantities of prototypes for customers to conduct full-scale trials. Several customers have since received 100-1000KG samples of the new lignin-based biopolymers to conduct trials in a very wide variety of important applications. For example, new lignin-based Li-ion battery additives have been developed that promise to both improve the performance of Li-ion batteries and make them more sustainable. New environmentally friendly lignin-based polymers have been developed that can replace toxic petrochemicals in the production of fossil fuels, and customers around the world are in the process of testing these in their oil wells. Lignin-based performance polymers developed in Ligno2G are also being tested as manufacturing additives in factories that produce renewable energy equipment. New lignin-based polymers developed in Ligno2G are even being tested in farms as performance additives for crop protection. In this way, Ligno2G has been a great success, supercharging the development of green lignin-based high-performance additives in crucial global markets. Ligno2G was conducted in partnership with NTNU through support of a dedicated post doc. Ligno2G also facilitated collaborations with leading testing laboratories in Europe, the US and China. Some of the new discoveries made at NTNU and Borregaard in Ligno2G have been published, resulting so far in 8 peer-reviewed academic papers.

Ligno2G has had four main effects: 1. New scientific competence in lignin chemistry and characterization. This allows for deliberate modification of lignin molecular structure and properties; a prerequisite for performance chemical design. 2. Deepened knowledge in key performance chemicals application areas ranging from batteries to agriculture. This allows Borregaard to better understand the needs of key industries and markets. 3. Development of new lignin-based products, with the first commercial batches already produced. This will have an impact on industries such as batteries, mining, oilfield and agriculture by offering high-performing sustainable alternatives to established petrochemical additives. 4. New international working relationships have been forged, allowing learnings from the project to be disseminated globally in various markets. The post doc appointee at NTNU supported by Ligno2G has also been hired as a full-time staff scientist at Borregaard.

The Ligno2G project aims to develop a new platform for modification of lignins to create highly functionalized biopolymers for specialty applications, where lignin do not meet the strict performance criteria today. The outcome of the innovation will be new, green lignin based alternatives to synthetic polymers within high value specialty applications such as agriculture, dyestuff, batteries and oil-well. A wide range of different modification technologies will be screened and further developed. Development will be done in lab scale and the most promising technologies will then be scaled up to pilot and full scale. Due to the high complexity of the lignin polymer, a significant part of the project will involve development of analytical techniques for characterization of the modifications. Further, elucidation of the relationship between structure, properties and performance in the selected applications will be target for research. Together with selected partners, Uni Padova, IFE, Jinkeli and NTNU, the new modified products will be tested in the relevant applications. Sampling potential customers with prototypes to be tested in their processes will further give a confirmation of the performance in the applications.