Production of value-added products from hydrolysis lignin

拟议的CRD项目将支持湖首大学的Pedram Fatehi博士和FPInnovations的袁志润博士之间的研究合作。最近，FPInnvations开发了一种将化学热机械制浆（CTMP）工艺转化为基于CTMP的生物炼制工艺的工艺。在这个过程中，单体糖是从木质材料的纤维素中产生的，这些纤维素可以转化为丁醇。该过程的另一种产物是未水解的生物质（称为水解木质素或h -木质素），它由60-65%的木质素和35-40%的多糖组成。目前，h -木质素还没有工业应用。虽然通过开发这种新的基于ctmp的生物精炼厂生产单体糖的动机很高，但h -木质素的利用是这种新开发的基于ctmp的生物精炼厂的一个挑战。为了充分利用木质材料，并使这项新技术在经济上可行，h -木质素应进一步加工转化为增值产品。该研究合作的主要目标是通过接枝和共聚生产阳离子和阴离子水解木质素，并研究改性木质素作为尾矿池和废水系统絮凝剂的潜在应用。该团队将广泛使用FPInnovations在QC克莱尔角的试点工厂生产的各种硬木水解木质素样品作为本研究的原材料。在这个研究项目中，研究了多种不同的途径，从水解木质素中生产絮凝剂，木质素是基于ctmp的生物炼制过程的产物。FPInnovations将通过获得详细的数据和已开发技术的知识，从这项研究计划中受益。FPInnovations可以将这些技术应用于加拿大的任何CTMP过程，以将其转化为生物精炼厂。水解木质素生产各种增值木质素产品将促进以CTMP为基础的生物精炼厂的发展，这将增加传统CTMP工艺的经济效益，特别是有助于加拿大的整体经济。

The proposed CRD project will support a research collaboration between Dr. Pedram Fatehi of Lakehead University and Dr. Zhirun Yuan of FPInnovations. Recently, FPInnvations developed a process to convert a chemithermomechanical pulping (CTMP) process to a CTMP-based biorefinery. In this process, monomeric sugars are produced from cellulose of woody materials that can be converted to buthanol. Another product of this process is unhydrolyzed biomass (called hydrolysis lignin, or H-lignin), which consists of 60-65% lignin and 35-40% polysaccharides. Currently, H-lignin has no industrial application. Although the incentive for producing monomeric sugars via developing this new CTMP-based biorefinery is high, the utilization of the H-lignin is a challenge of this newly developed CTMP-based biorefinery. To fully utilize woody materials and to make this new technology economically feasible, H-lignin should be further processed and converted to value-added products. The main objectives of this research collaboration are to produce cationic and anionic hydrolysis lignin via grafting and copolymerization and to investigate the potential applications of the modified lignins as flocculants for tailing ponds and wastewater systems. The team will extensively use various hardwood hydrolysis lignin samples produced at FPInnovations' pilot facilites in Pointe Claire, QC, as the raw materials of this research. In this research project, various alternative pathways are examined to produce flocculants from hydrolysis lignin that is generated as the product of the CTMP-based biorefinery process. FPInnovations will benefit from this research program via obtaining the detailed data and knowledge of the developed technologies. These technologies could be adapted by FPInnovations to any CTMP process across Canada in its effort to convert it to a biorefinery. The production of various value-added lignin products from hydrolysis lignin will facilitate the development of the CTMP-based biorefinery, which will increase the financial benefits of traditional CTMP processes in particular and help the overall economy of Canada.