Aromatics from lignin

Lignin is highly aromatic but it is usually only combusted to recover the heat. In the proposed project, we will develop a highly effective process to convert lignin in sawdust to a sulphur and oxygen free aromatic mixture. This mixture is suitable as a raw material for production of pure aromatic chemicals with high value, or for blending in gasoline or jet fuel. The lignin will first be isolated by the organosolv process, then depolymerized by fast pyrolysis and finally deoxygenated by a novel catalyst in the form of ultrathin defect free ZSM-5 crystals.

Partners

Chemical Technology group at LTU (Prof. Jonas Hedlund), RISE ETC, SLU