Webinar-Review: Unlocking Lignin
What do you think still stands in the way of lignin valorisation?
This was the question our CLIB-Webinar “Unlocking Lignin: Turning an Unloved Feedstock into Market Solutions” on 07 May was aiming to answer. Our five speakers were joined by over 180 participants, many of whom had submitted their answers to this question beforehand, laying groundwork for our discussion.
This webinar was hosted by the two EU projects COUNTLESS and LIGNOFUN, both focusing on the production of lignin-derived bio-aromatics and their utilisation in a range of product applications. Speakers from both consortia presented their activities in the projects and their work on lignin valorisation. The two thematic sections focused on
- lignin as a feedstock
- suitable processes to optimally depolymerise lignin into functional building blocks
First, Ydna Questell-Santiago from Bloom Biorenewables and Per Tomani from RISE LignoCity presented how lignin differs in structure and functionalities depending on the source and how this can be used to an advantage. Lignin is a highly abundant by-product of the pulp industry, and there are already plenty of alternative uses beyond its current primary application as an energy source. Lignin from either hard- or softwood biomass comes with species-specific complexity. The needed scale-up of processing facilities is already on the way and new processes are being developed with the rest of the value chain in mind.
The second part of the webinar was focussing on depolymerisation technologies. Here two partners of LIGNOFUN Toni Grönroos from METGEN and Vicente Lopez from CENER showcased the depolymerization processes, METNIN™ and OHRIGINS™, utilised in the LIGNOFUN project. The presenters made clear that both technologies – one chemo-enzymatic and one chemo-catalytic – offer a controlled depolymerisation followed by effective separation of specific molecular weight fractions.
Kelly Servaes, the coordinator of the COUNTLESS project and manager of VITO’s LignoValue Pilot presented their achievements in transferring the continuous catalytic dehydrogenation of lignin from lab to industrially relevant pilot scale. A 72-hour continuous run yielded enough depolymerised lignin for downstream processing and application development at larger scale.
While several questions to the presenters could already been answered during the joint Q&A, the audience was certainly not idle during the discussion about the submitted challenges of lignin valorisation. The CLIB-Team had previously categorised the 230 submitted challenges into several categories and picked the highest ranked challenges for the discussion.
- Supply & Feedstock Availability
- Structure & Chemistry of Lignin
- Processing, Fractionation & Separation
- Consistency, Standardisation & Quality
Our speakers emphasised that the availability of lignin – mainly from the Kraft process, but also from woody biomass – is not the bottleneck. However, refining it into useful chemicals is a main cost driver. There was a consensus that the demand for bio-based aromatics is present and increasing. Our experts emphasized that the complexity and heterogeneity of lignin is not necessarily a problem but can be seen as an opportunity. While the standardisation of lignin-derived building blocks could deliver a uniform product, it is very challenging to implement such as one-for-all process. The more realistic opportunity might lie in a deeper understanding of the individual lignin structures and to use these functionalities for those applications they are best suited for. By not just selling lignin, but a functional product, we can move towards making money from this sustainable biogenic resource.
We thank all speakers that supported the webinar and are looking forward to continuing the discussion in our future events.
See our events page for upcoming opportunities to engage.
