Xiao Zhang, professor in WSU’s Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, who led the work said, “This method allows us to extract lignin from plant material in its native form and at a high yield. We were able to demonstrate to industry that it is possible to make color-neutral and odorless lignin, and we can make quite a bit of the material to begin evaluating its applications.
The material is usually separated during papermaking and biorefining, but these processes often contaminate and significantly alter lignin’s chemical and physical properties, decreasing its value. So most lignin is either burned to produce fuel and electricity or used in low-value products, such as for cement additives or as a binder in animal feed.
In their work, the researchers used a solvent to separate the lignin from wheat straw and were able to preserve and control its key properties, producing a more uniform molecule with a consistent molecular weight that makes it more useful for industry. The lignin extracted was light-colored, which is more like the lignin that exists in nature.
WSU’s Office of Commercialization has filed a provisional patent and will assist the researchers for the scale-up and eventual commercialization of this technology. To make it more viable for industry applications, the research team is working to decrease the lengthy processing time and the amount of purification chemicals needed.
Source: News Formal (newsformal.com)