The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to enable the development of alternatives to petrochemicals can be economically produced. The core technology is a process for the conversion of lignin to value-added, sustainable chemical products with a focus on high-performance materials. The commercialization of this technology will potentially result in a significant reduction in the environmental impact of plastic production. The development will also unlock a new and sustainable revenue stream for the pulp & paper industry, enabling new organic growth as the paper market continues to shrink. Additionally, value-added products from lignin will potentially allow the biorefining industry to be cost-competitive with petrochemicals as the market for chemical alternatives grows.
This I-Corps project is centered around converting lignin, the structural component of woody biomass, into cost-competitive, value-added chemicals and materials via catalytic depolymerization. Lignin is currently considered a waste stream by the pulp & paper and biorefining industries, with more than 98% of the 70 million tons separated annually being burned for energy recovery. Other low-value uses for lignin include fillers for concrete, asphalt, and tire rubber, and moderate-value applications include polymer composites and chemicals from pyrolysis. The depolymerization technology at the core of this proposal breaks down lignin to yield platform chemicals, with the key advantage over other technologies being the product selectivity. The chemical products have wide-ranging applications in adhesives, coatings, and many other polymers applications and are often performance-advantaged with respect to thermal and mechanical properties and other materials characteristics.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
