2.1 From Tree to Tool: Making the Lignin You Need
- Maxim Galkin
- Researcher,
- Karl Hedin Bio Innovation / Uppsala University
- Co-author(s): Johan Gising
- Supervisor (PhD-students/postdocs):
- Renewable materials with competitive properties to fossil-derived counterparts are essential for reducing environmental impact and enabling a sustainable transition in materials production. Lignocellulosic biomass, abundantly available as industrial side streams, represents a key resource for future biorefineries, with lignin being one of the most promising yet underutilized components. Moving lignin beyond its traditional role as a low-value fuel is critical for improving both the economics and functionality of biobased production systems. Industrial lignin remains difficult to implement in material applications due to its structural heterogeneity, limited chemical reactivity, and poor compatibility with polymers and other matrices, often leading to phase separation and compromised performance. Conventional strategies rely on post-modification, compatibilizers, or extensive fractionation, which increase cost and process complexity. In this talk, we present a phenol-assisted fractionation (PAF) strategy that enables structural design of lignin directly during biomass fractionation, when the polymer is still chemically intact and highly reactive. This approach suppresses undesired condensation reactions while simultaneously introducing functional groups in a single processing step, yielding lignin with controlled structure and application-relevant functionality. The tailored lignins demonstrates strong potential as platform materials rather than a by-product. Application examples include improved compatibility in polymer composites, enhanced electrochemical performance in secondary battery systems, and tailored carbonization behavior enabling the production of graphite-like carbons and high-performance sorbents for water purification. Additional opportunities include UV-active additives for coatings and sunscreen formulations. Overall, this work highlights how designing lignin at the source enables scalable, high-value biobased materials with properties competitive to fossil-derived alternatives.
- Time of presentation: 9.00