Diffusion and damage during delignification of wood biomass (D4mass)

Delignification is a crucial process in the pulp industry that separates lignin and cellulose, the two biobased raw materials with enormous potential. During this process, the removal of lignin through diffusion is coupled with the accumulation of damage in cell walls, causing cracks and changing the trajectory of diffusion. However, a mechanistic understanding and a quantitative account of these phenomena is still lacking. The project aims to develop a predictive model that accurately describes the kinetics of delignification at a wood chip level, based on a mechanistic understanding of the coupled diffusion and damage phenomena.