Flemish scientists have been successful in producing bio-based chemical building blocks that can be used in the production of plastics on a large scale. In what the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) describes as a global first, wood residues were used in the production process. The scientists’ research focused on lignin. This is a substance that found in all trees.
Lignin enables trees to stand upright. It is abundant across the world and currently it has no real commercial use. During the production of paper, for example, Lignin is released. However, it is usually just incinerated and not used for any other purpose. Despite this lignin contains a wealth of rich chemical structures.
VITO scientist Kelly Servaes told the press agency Belga that “Lignin contains similar aromatic structures to those we currently extract from petroleum”.
The problem is that lignin has a very complex structure. This makes it difficult to extract aromatic molecules from it. It had been done previously in laboratories, but never on a large scale. VITO scientists have now succeeded in doing this at a pilot production facility set up in Mol (Antwerp Province) lignin was broken down into bio-aromatics over a 72-hour period. The scientists say that this has never happened before.
The bio-aromatics form an alternative to aromatics that are currently still extracted from petroleum. They could, for example, be used in the production of coatings, composite materials, adhesives and resins. These are all chemical-based products that currently are still made from fossil-based raw materials. Using bio-aromatics would make us less dependent on fossil-based raw materials and would be far more sustainable.
The next step is to move from a pilot project to industrial-scale production. The ambition is to achieve this within the next 2 to 3 years.