I-Corps: Polymer-grafted Lignin Surfactants as Agrochemical Adjuvants

木质素是一种植物来源的生物聚合物，是造纸和纤维素乙醇生产的主要副产品。虽然每年产生1亿吨，但只有一小部分得到了技术应用。在植物中，木质素作为纤维素纤维之间的粘合剂，因此它具有天然的界面功能。芝加哥大学沃什伯恩实验室开发了一种基于木质素核心接枝水溶性聚合物来制备高性能表面活性剂的策略。I-Corps团队将专注于探索这些木质素表面活性剂在输送农业除草剂方面的应用。许多除草剂在水中的溶解度很低，在田间使用的化学品范围很广。然而，这些化学物质中的许多都是有毒的，并在环境中持续存在。除了基于可再生资源，基于木质素的表面活性剂具有生物相容性和可生物降解性，使其成为农业应用中潜在的高影响化学技术。I-Corps团队正在探索将该技术作为农用化学品输送的佐剂的应用。从性能的角度来看，降低表面张力、低溶液粘度和对常见除草剂芳香族化合物的强大亲和力相结合，使其成为一种有吸引力的候选除草剂，其固有的天然生物降解性和无毒性可以解决当前一代农业表面活性剂面临的许多问题。然而，农用化学助剂代表着一类复杂的化学品，至关重要的是采访生产其他助剂的化学公司、直接向农民销售的配方公司和最终用户的专家，以更好地了解他们的需求。此外，还将进行初步的中试生产，以准备用于现场试验的千克材料，并评估偶联效率和硫酸盐木质素来源等变量对最终产品性能的影响。

Lignin is a plant-derived biopolymer that is the main byproduct of paper and cellulosic ethanol production. While 100 million tons are generated annually, only a small fraction finds technological application. In plants, lignin acts as a binder between cellulose fibers, so it has natural interfacial functionality. The Washburn Lab at CMU has developed a strategy for preparing high-performance surfactants based on a lignin core grafted with water-soluble polymers. The I-Corps team will be focused on exploring applications of these lignin surfactants in delivering herbicides used in agriculture. Many herbicides have low solubility in water, and a broad range of chemicals is used to apply them in the field. However, many of these chemicals are toxic and persistent in the environment. In addition to being based on a renewable resource, lignin-based surfactants are biocompatible and biodegradable, making them a potentially high-impact chemical technology in agricultural applications.This I-Corps team is exploring applications of this technology as an adjuvant for the delivery of agrochemicals. The combination of reducing surface tension, low solution viscosity, and strong affinity for aromatic compounds that are common herbicides make these an attractive candidate from a performance perspective, and the intrinsic natural biodegradability and lack of toxicity could address many of issues facing the current generation of surfactants used in agriculture. However, agrochemical adjuvants represent a complex class of chemicals, and it will be critical to interview experts in chemical companies that make other adjuvants, formulations companies that sell directly to farmers, and end-users to understand better their needs. In addition, preliminary pilot-scale manufacturing will be performed to prepare kilogram quantities of materials for field tests and to assess variables such as coupling efficiency and kraft lignin source on the properties of the final product.