Flemish breakthrough in production bio-based alternative to fossil-based chemicals
Flemish scientists have succeeded in producing on a large scale, from wood residues, bio-based chemical building blocks that can be used in the production of plastics. According to VITO, the Flemish Institute for Technological Research, this is a world first.
The research focuses on lignin. This is a substance found in all trees and other woody structures. Lignin enables trees to stand upright and is abundant worldwide. At present, it has no real commercial use. It is released, for example, during paper production and is usually simply incinerated.
Nevertheless, lignin naturally contains a wealth of rich chemical structures, explained scientists Kelly Servaes and Karolien Vanbroekhoven of VITO. “They contain similar aromatic structures to those we currently extract from petroleum,” said Servaes.
The problem is that lignin has a very complex structure. This makes it difficult to extract such aromatic molecules from lignin. It has been achieved before in laboratories, but never on a large scale.
The VITO scientists have now succeeded in doing just that. In a pilot plant in Mol – a sort of small factory – lignin was cracked into bio-aromatics over a 72-hour period. “That has never happened before,” the scientists emphasised.
These bio-aromatics are an alternative to aromatics that are currently still extracted from petroleum. They can be used in the production of, for example, all kinds of coatings, composite materials, adhesives and resins: chemical products that are currently still made from fossil-based raw materials. This would make us less dependent on fossil-based raw materials and is far more sustainable.
The next step is to move from a pilot project to industrial production. The ambition is to achieve this within two to three years.
#FlandersNewsService | Illustration © PHOTO JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP
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