Lignin Chemistry and Applications

Jin Huang, Shiyu Fu, Lin Gan

• Publisher: Elsevier
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780128139639
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Materials Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Lignin Chemistry and Application systematically discusses the structure, physical and chemical modification of lignin, along with its application in the field of chemicals and materials. It presents the history of lignin chemistry and lignin-modified materials, describes recent progresses, applications and studies, and prospects the development direction of high value applications of lignin in the field of material science. In addition to covering the basic theories and technologies relating to the research and application of lignin in polymer chemistry and materials science, the book also summarizes the latest applications in rubber, engineering plastics, adhesives, films and hydrogels.

• Systematically discusses the structure, physical and chemical modification of lignin and its application in materials
• Presents the latest research results in the field of lignin
• Indicates the development direction of high value applications of lignin in a range of fields, including petrochemicals, household applications, medicine, agriculture, and more

Chapter 1

Introduction

Abstract

Lignin, the second-most abundant natural polymer in plantae (after cellulose), and often coheres with cellulose and hemicellulose, forming the main supporting structure of plants. The global increment per year of lignin via biosynthesis has been estimated to be 6 × 10¹⁴ t [1]. Unfortunately, the complex structure of lignin makes it difficult to be understood and used. Lignin, however, is regarded as a wonderful biomass chemical raw material and receives much attention in the field of materials. This is because of its various functional groups, renewability, degradability, nontoxicity, and low cost (lignin could be produced as a byproduct in paper industry) [2–5]. Lignin recently has been used in phenol-formaldehyde resin, polyurethane, epoxy resin, and ion exchange resin [4, 6–8]. Lignin, as a filler, also has been used to modify many kinds of rubbers, polyolefin, polyester, polyether, starch, protein, and other fossil fuel-based or biomass materials [2, 9–19]. These uses have led to many successful researches and development projects for engineering plastics, adhesives, foam materials, membranes, nanofibers, hydrogels, and other new materials with great potential. Modified-materials based on film-like and nanofibrous lignin could be used as precursors to prepare carbon membranes and carbon fibers. Meanwhile, lignin and its derivates also could be used as surfactants or flocculants for oil exploitation, asphalt emulsification, dilution of oil-drilling muds, wastewater treatment, dispersion of coal water mixture or dye, water reduction or aid-grinding for concrete, controlled release of fertilizers and pesticides, antiviral, anticancer, and drug-carrying. Although research and development based on lignin have made rapid progress, there are few actual large-scale applications of lignin, not only because of its complex multilevel structure, but also because of the lack in systematic theoretic support for its chemical modification and material-development

Keywords

Lignin; Fossil; Oil-drilling; Sulfite; Hibbert ketone; Phenylpropane

Outline

• 1.1 Developing History of Lignin Chemistry
• 1.2 Development of Lignin-Modified Materials and Chemical Agents
• 1.3 Prospects for High-Value Use of Lignin in the Field of Materials
• References

Lignin, the second-most abundant natural polymer in plantae (second to cellulose), and often coheres with cellulose and hemicellulose, forming the main supporting structure of plants. The global increment per year of lignin via biosynthesis has been estimated to be 6 × 10¹⁴ t [1]. Unfortunately, the complex structure of lignin makes it difficult to understand and use. Lignin, however, is regarded as a wonderful biomass chemical raw material and receives much attention in the field of materials. This is because of its varied functional group, renewability, degradability, nontoxicity, and low cost (lignin could be produced as a byproduct in paper industry) [2–5]. Lignin recently has been used in phenol-formaldehyde resin, polyurethane, epoxy resin, and ion exchange resin [4, 6–8]. Lignin, as a filler, also has been used to modify many kinds of rubbers, polyolefin, polyester, polyether, starch, protein, and other fossil fuel-based or biomass materials [2, 9–19]. These uses have led to many successful research and development projects for engineering plastics, adhesives, foam materials, membranes, nanofibers, hydrogels, and other new materials with great potential. Modified-materials based on film-like and nanofibrous lignin could be used as precursors to prepare carbon membranes and carbon fibers. Meanwhile, lignin and its derivates also could be used as surfactants or flocculants for oil exploitation, asphalt emulsification, dilution of oil-drilling muds, wastewater treatment, dispersion of coal water mixture or dye, water reduction or aid-grinding for concrete, controlled release of fertilizers and pesticides, antiviral, anticancer, and drug-carrying. Although research and development based on lignin have made rapid progress, there are few actual large-scale applications of lignin, not only because of its complex multilevel structure, but also because of the lack in systematic theoretic support for its chemical modification and material-development. The breakthrough in compositing and processing of lignin-based materials, therefore, still is badly needed. Under the global concern for comprehensive use of biomass sources (to replace fossil fuel-based mass materials), the research and development of new materials based on lignin are facing opportunities and challenges. Improving understanding about the structure and properties of lignin and its modified materials are conducive to increasing the application value of lignin in the field of materials, along with exploring new methods for developing high-value application based on lignin.

1.1 Developing History of Lignin Chemistry

Until now, because of the complex structure of lignin, we have known only its basic units and their connecting pattern, then deduced the structural model. Many scientists have contributed in the long history from finding lignin and determining its basic structure [20, 21]. Table 1.1 lists the scientists awarded Anselme Payen prize (the indicative prize in the field of natural polymers) or ISWFPC (International Seminar for Wood, Fiber, and Pulp Chemistry) outstanding achievement prize and greatly contributed to lignin chemistry or materials.

Table 1.1

Scientists awarded Anselme Payen prize or ISWFPC outstanding achievement prize

Prize	Year	Name	Workplace
Anselme Payen Prize	1972	Conrad Schuerch	SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
	1973	D.A.I. Goring	McGill University
	1979	Kyosti V. Sarkanen	University of Washington
	1980	Olof Samuelson Chalmers	University of Technology
	1982	Erich Adler	Chalmers University of Technology
	1987	Takayoshi Higuchi	Kyoto University
	1990	Junzo Nakano	University of Tokyo
	1992	Josef Geier	Royal Institute of Technology
	1995	Josef Gratzl	North Carolina State University
	1997	Joseph L.McCarthy	University of Washington
	2000	Wolfgang G.Glasser	Virginia Tech
	2013	John Ralph	University of Wisconsin-Madison
ISWFPC outstanding achievement prize	1997	Joseph McCarthy	University of Washington
	1999	Akira Sakakibara	Hokkaido University
	2001	David Goring	McGill University
	2003	Gosta Bruno Knut Lundquist	Helsinki University Chalmers University
	2005	Joseph Girer	Royal University of Technology
	2007	Hou-min Chang	North University of University
	2009	Goren Gellestedt	Royal University of Technology
	2011	Jiaxing Chen	South China University of Technology

As early as 1830, Anselm Penn, a French biologist and chemist, found that the carbon content in part of matter delivered from wood in the alternatively wood-treating process with nitric acid and base was higher than that in cellulose. Penn raised for the first time a claim that wood consisted of cellulose and another material [20]. He also believed that this material must embed in cellulose, and named it an incrusting material. Franz Ferdinand Schulze named this material with high carbon content as lignin in 1857 [22]. In 1866, Benjamin Chew Tilghman developed sulfite process (SP), and aroused keen interest in chemical reaction in pulping process in which lignin was main object of study. Subsequently, Julius Erdman discovered that those dissolved noncellulose components consisted of aromatic compounds in 1868 [23], which was confirmed in 1874 by Benjamin Chew Tiemann, who proved coniferin and coniferyl alcohol could be delivered from wood [4]. Ludwig Bamberger found methoxy groups (

OCH₃) in wood [24], but because cellulose contained no methoxy group, it must belong to lignin. Methoxy then became an important group with which to characterize lignin. A Swedish scientist, Peter Klason, found the sulfonate product reacted from conifer...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Editors’ Biographies
• Foreword
• Preface
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Structure and Characteristics of Lignin
• Chapter 3: Chemical Modification of Lignin
• Chapter 4: Lignin Chemicals and Their Applications
• Chapter 5: Lignin-Modified Thermoplastic Materials
• Chapter 6: Lignin-Modified Thermosetting Materials
• Chapter 7: Lignin-Modified Materials and Their Applications
• Chapter 8: Structure, Characterization, and Performance Evaluation of Lignin-Modified Materials
• Index