Teknologian Tutkimuskeskus Vtt Oy

Andritz Oy

Tarja Tamminen

Tiina Liitiä

Anna Kalliola

Jarmo Ropponen

Outi Poukka

Taina Ohra-Aho

Pauliina Sjögård

Lauri Pehu-Lehtonen

Tapio Vehmas

Eva-Lena Hult

Katja Salmenkivi

Kristiina Poppius-Levlin

Stina Grönqvist

Sami Alakurtti

Miikka Ruuskanen

Klaus Niemelä

Tiina Liitia

Tiina LiitiÄ

According to an example aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of removing volatile compounds from a lignin-containing material, the method comprising: providing a material comprising lignin and volatile compounds; treating the material by a distillation method in order to vaporize at least a part of the volatile compounds.

Method of removing volatile compounds from a lignin-containing material, use of a distillation method, and a lignin-containing material

The present invention relates to a process for the extraction of valuable components from a tannin-rich bark raw-material, by carrying out an alkaline cooking step, followed by acid precipitation to separate the valuable components from the remaining bark pulp. The invention also relates to the use of said process on a bark side stream of a chemical pulping plant, whereby the liquor remaining after the extraction of the present process is returned to a stream of the wood pulping process, typically to a black liquor stream, while the spent pulp can be processed further, e.g. by bleaching to give dissolved pulp.

Extraction of valuable components from bark

In this study, commercially available softwood lignin was esterified with tall oil fatty acid (TOFA) and tested as barrier material in fiber-based packaging material. The modified lignin samples were applied with a bar coater forming an even coating on the paperboard substrate. A significant decrease in WVTR and OTR value was observed for paperboard coated with the modified lignin as well as pure TOFA used as a reference. In contrast to the TOFA coating, the modified lignin coatings exhibited a high and stable contact angle. The coating material did not affect the tensile strength of the paperboard. According to the results, the demonstration of the conversion of lignin into a value added product has been shown. Furthermore, the novel coating material shows promising properties for the development as sustainable barrier material in fiber-based packaging material to replace oil-placed barriers.

Functionalized lignin and method of producing the same

The present invention concerns a process for oxidizing lignin at alkaline conditions. This oxidized lignin can be used as a dispersant in various end-products, for example as a renewable plasticizer in cement-containing products, such as concrete, where the ability of the oxidized lignin to endure alkaline conditions is an advantage. Further, the invention concerns a concrete mixture containing aggregate, cement, water and a plasticizer formed of oxidized lignin, and a process for producing such a concrete mixture. The oxidized lignin can be manufactured using a process, where the lignin starting material is reacted with an oxidizing agent in solution in alkaline conditions.

Use of oxidized lignin as a dispersant

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Espoo, Finland

Tarja Tamminen