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

木质素是一种植物衍生的生物聚合物，是造纸和纤维素乙醇生产的主要副产物。虽然每年产生1亿吨，但只有一小部分得到技术应用。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。CMU的Washburn实验室开发了一种基于木质素芯接枝水溶性聚合物的高性能表面活性剂的制备策略。I-Corps团队将专注于探索这些木质素表面活性剂在农业除草剂输送中的应用。许多除草剂在水中的溶解度很低，因此在田间施用时要使用多种化学品。然而，这些化学物质中有许多是有毒的，并且在环境中具有持久性。除了基于可再生资源外，木质素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。这个I-Corps团队正在探索这项技术的应用，作为农用化学品输送的辅助剂。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亲和力的结合，使其从性能角度来看是一个有吸引力的候选者，其固有的天然生物降解性和无毒性可以解决当前农业中使用的表面活性剂面临的许多问题。然而，农用助剂代表了一类复杂的化学品，因此，与生产其他助剂的化学公司、直接向农民销售配方的公司和最终用户的专家面谈，以更好地了解他们的需求，将是至关重要的。此外，将进行初步的中试规模生产，为现场试验准备公斤数量的材料，并评估耦合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.