LiBan - Lignin-Based Performance Chemicals

Growing population and continued industrialization increases the strain on aquatic ecosystems. In addition to supporting life, water is essential across many industries, with some sectors requiring enormous quantities, such as agriculture, resource extraction, and sanitation. These water intensive industries use a plethora of chemicals to boost efficiency, but the traditional fossil-based chemistry has adverse effects on the aquatic environment, such as accumulation of microplastics and heavy metals, greenhouse and eutrophic emissions, and the discharge of toxic and persistent substances. The aim of Liban was to develop new sustainable alternative chemicals for water intensive industries using lignin as a raw material, reducing impact on aquatic ecosystems while transitioning to a more circular feedstock. Lignin is an abundant biopolymer found in all plants, and millions of tons are produced yearly in the pulp & paper industry. Only a small fraction of lignin produced is utilized for chemicals, with the majority burned for energy. Lignin is complex and versatile, but technologies that allow economic conversion to optimized high value chemicals are lacking. To harness such a complex natural feedstock, Liban developed new chemical conversion and characterization technologies that allow precise engineering of lignin biopolymer structure and function. New advanced analytical methods were developed to image the lignin polymer backbone, which is necessary for controlling chemical structure at the molecular level. New chemical technologies were developed to convert the lignin into a variety of highly optimized products for use in niches in water intensive sectors, such as micronutrient complexants for agriculture, scale inhibitors for industrial water processes, and even additives for dishwasher detergent tablets. The Liban prototypes were tested in end user applications using industry standard methods implemented at Borregaard laboratories, and further assessed at world-leading research institutes and international collaborators as the project prepared for commercialization. In total, 10 new lignin conversion methods were developed, yielding 16 new product prototypes for markets spanning agriculture, mining, oilfield, and sanitation. Two of the new lignin conversion technologies developed in Liban require a purpose-built first-of-a-kind factory for scale-up, for which Borregaard will invest 100 million NOK to build in 2024. Commercial field trials are underway around the globe to assess the performance of Liban prototypes in a wide range of water intensive industrial niches, such as replacing microplastics in seed coatings, replacing synthetic complexants for agricultural micronutrients, replacing toxic triazines for hydrogen sulfide scavenging in industrial water systems, and replacing fossil-based polymers in detergents. Liban has already achieved first commercial sales: a new lignin-based product designed to eliminate the need for toxic heavy metals in oil well drilling in 2023. Liban established a new application area for Borregaard, providing the first lignin prototypes that replace synthetic polymers in homecare products.. Liban supported the Norwegian scientific research community in developing ambitious eco-friendly forestry-based chemical technologies for the global market. Building competence in lignin chemistry unlocks value in home-grown Norwegian wood, which is processed into sustainable chemicals at the Borregaard biorefinery in Sarpsborg. Liban established several scientific breakthroughs in lignin chemistry and applications, triggering Borregaard to invest in new production facilities in Norway, which will create jobs. The work was primarily executed by Borregaard R&D and technical sales team with support from a post doc at the University of Stavanger. Internationally, Liban has introduced lignin-based chemicals to a range of new markets, spreading knowledge of this important bioresource and opening new business opportunities. Results have been disseminated and published in 11 technical papers and conference presentations, as well as 3 patent applications. Liban has provided a significant advancement in applied lignin science, helping to broaden the research community actively engaged in developing new technology from this important renewable, home-grown resource.

The primary outcome of Liban was new competence in the chemistry of lignin and its conversion to specialty chemicals for use in water intensive industries. In the context of the partnership, Liban brought new expertise of lignin chemistry to the University of Stavanger, and new knowledge of water-intensive industrial applications to Borregaard. Borregaard has deepened understanding of applications in markets such as agriculture and water treatment processes, as well as establishing competence in new business areas such cleaning chemicals. Outside of the project partnership, Liban supported collaborations with international research institutions, such as the agriculture research department at the University of Padova (Italy) and the world-leading homecare detergent institutes. Liban prototype samples have been tested by companies around the world, disseminating knowledge of lignin-based chemistry. Liban impacts society by facilitating the transition towards more sustainable chemistry and enabling more environmentally friendly practices in water intensive industries. For example, Liban products reduce the need for heavy metals in oil/geothermal well drilling, replace toxic triazines for scavenging poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas in industrial water processes, and replace microplastics and other non-biodegradable chemicals in agriculture. In the long term, Liban directly impacts several UN Sustainable Development Goals: replacing toxic fossil based chemicals in water intensive industries improves aquatic ecosystems (SDG-14) and provides cleaner water (SDG-7); utilizing lignin produced in the pulp and paper industry instead of burning it promotes more responsible consumption and production (SDG-12); and the lower carbon footprint of Liban products compared to fossil chemicals benefits the climate (SDG-13).

In recent years, water intensive industries - such as agriculture, fossil fuel extraction, and mining - have come under particular pressure to improve the sustainability of their operations, driving them to seek sustainable green chemical alternatives for use in their processes. However, there is currently lacking tailor-made chemical solutions that can compete with established petrochemical additives on a cost-performance metric, and meet the high volumes that are required in water-intensive processes. The work outlined in LiBan addresses this problem by developing new green high-performance chemicals for water-intensive industries based on a uniquely abundant and versatile raw material: lignin. The dominance of petrochemical performance additives in water-intensive industries has been established through an enormous and sustained R&D effort that addressed two main challenges: (1) how to economically produce diverse structure and functionality from petroleum, and; (2) how to use this to optimize performance in specific industrial applications. Lacking is an equivalent R&D effort to meet these two key challenges for developing performance additives using sustainable feed-stocks such as lignin. LiBan aims to directly address this innovation-gap between sustainable and petroleum-based performance additives by understanding: (1) how to modify lignin to produce new diverse structures and functionality, and; (2) how optimize performance in targeted water-intensive applications. The project will include a collaboration with University of Stavanger. LiBan directly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by developing sustainable products with improved environmental footprint.