Recently, a research team from Beijing Forestry University made an important breakthrough in the field of alkali lignin modification and purification technology, innovatively adopting a green modification process using a low eutectic solvent (DES), successfully solving industry pain points such as strong structural rigidity, low activity, and insufficient utilization rate of industrial alkali lignin, providing a brand-new technical path for refined and high-value applications of alkali lignan.
It is understood that industrial crude alkali lignans have issues of dense molecular structure, poor reactivity, and high impurity content. For a long time, they have only been used as low-end additives and fuel incineration, resulting in inefficient utilization of large amounts of biomass resources and low conversion rates for high value-added products. To address this industry challenge, the research team developed a new biodegradable low eutectic solvent blended from ethylenediamine and choline chloride at a 4:1 molar ratio. By precisely controlling reaction temperature, duration, and system moisture content, it enables flexible deconstruction and activation of alkali lignin molecular structures.
This green process does not require strong acid or alkali catalysis, is low-carbon and environmentally friendly throughout, and has no secondary pollution. It can effectively strip impurity components from alkali lignin, optimize molecular functional group structures, and greatly enhance its reactivity and processing performance. Modified alkali lignans can be widely used in high-end bio-based adhesives, functional fillers, biopharmaceutical intermediates, eco-friendly coatings, and other advanced fields, completely overcoming the limitations of traditional low-end applications of alkali lignan.
Compared to traditional high-temperature cracking and chemical modification processes, this technology offers advantages such as low cost, scalability, and green pollution-free design, making it suitable for industrial mass production scenarios. Currently, the related technologies have completed laboratory validation and pilot testing, and will proceed with pilot testing and industrialization. Industry experts say that this technological breakthrough effectively connects the entire chain of pulping by-product alkali lignin from crude product to modification to high-end application, significantly improving the comprehensive utilization rate of agricultural and forestry biomass resources and helping the paper industry achieve transformation and upgrading toward solid waste resource utilization and green production.