Imagine wood pulp as a sponge where the 'glue' holding it together is lignin. Usually, factories burn this glue for cheap heat because it's hard to extract without using harsh acids. This technology acts like a gentle filter that pulls out high-quality glue without the chemicals, turning waste into a valuable raw material.
Pulp mills currently burn lignin as a low-grade fuel because existing recovery methods are too chemically intensive. This wastes a massive global resource and creates bottlenecks in the recovery boiler.
A patented, sulfuric acid-free lignin recovery system and a pilot-scale demonstration process for producing chemically modifiable lignin.
If you are a pulp mill operator dealing with recovery boiler bottlenecks and high chemical make-up costs — this project developed a sulfuric acid-free recovery system that debottlenecks the process and eliminates sodium sulphate dumping.
If you are a plywood manufacturer dealing with a reliance on petroleum-based glues — this project developed a high-quality lignin product that can be used as a phenolic resin for manufacturing.
If you are a chemical company dealing with the need for sustainable, modifiable feedstocks — this project developed a scalable lignin recovery process that provides a chemically modifiable biomaterial.
The project aims to design a full-scale plant with a capacity of 50,000 tons per year based on pilot results.
It reduces costs of chemical make-up by eliminating sodium sulphate dumping and helps debottleneck the recovery boiler.
Yes, the project description explicitly mentions that the technology is patented.
The system is designed to fit any kraft pulp mill and can be integrated into production systems without disrupting chemical balance or productivity.
The project period runs from 2023-09-01 to 2026-02-28, covering pilot scale demonstration and the design of the full-scale plant.
The project is led by a single Finnish SME, LignEasy Oy, indicating a lean, agile structure focused on rapid commercialization. With a 100% industry ratio and a total EU contribution of EUR 2,031,050, the project is heavily geared toward industrial application rather than academic research, utilizing external pilot sites like RISE in Sweden for validation.
Contact LignEasy Oy via their partnership page for integration inquiries.
Contact us to match your pulp mill with LignEasy's recovery technology.
