Our renewable raw material
Lignin is what holds all woody plants together! A complex phenolic network in the lignocellulosic cell wall that gives trees and cereals their toughness. Lignin can be considered a natural high performance additive, working as:
Mechanical reinforcement.
UV-Protection.
Antioxidation properties.
Flame retardant.
At LignoPure we want to use the unique lignin features to develop groundbreaking materials and product solutions, inspired by the nature of this fantastic biopolymer! The best part is:
- It does not compete with food crops.
- It is actually a side product or waste from existing industrial processes.
Renewable source
From industrial residues
Non edible biomass
Sustainability and innovation
Lignin can be extracted in multiple ways from the cell wall matrix – generally biorefineries break down the lignocellulosic complex into its basic constituents cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin and further processes them.
Basically, lignin can either be extracted to produce cellulose fibers in a pulp mill, yielding a low molecular weight, probably soluble and meltable lignin. Or the cellulose and hemicellulose are degraded to fermentable sugars (e.g. for ethanol-production), giving a macromolecular, highly resistant lignin.
Every biorefinery process is unique – and so are the lignins they produce. Diverging not only in their chemical and physical properties but also in price and availability.
But no worries!
Based on our knowhow and the versatility of our transformation technology, LignoPure scouts, selects and tailors exactly the right lignin for your innovative application.