Hemicellulose Products

What is Lignin?

Lignin is one of the most abundant organic polymers found in the cell walls of plants and it is composed of many of the same compounds found in petroleum. Lignin is more frequently found as a by-product of the pulping industry which is primarily focused on cellulose extraction.

From our green production process, we are able to break down plant material and extract sulphur free lignin (SFL). SFLs are more closely related to native lignin unlike its counterparts, lignosulfonates and kraft lignin. Our lignin can be functionalized for use in the cosmetics & skin care industry, as it has UV filtering, antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Our ability to customize particle size, porosity and purity, makes it suitable for a range of cosmetics applications – as microbeads in facial cleansers to utilization in sunscreens and hair care products. Additionally, our lignin can be used in the production of bio-based chemicals, biofuels, substitute for black carbon in the tire industry and as an additive in bioplastics.

Lignin Application/industries?

The versatility of lignin and the fact that it is composed of similar chemical compounds to those found in petroleum, makes it an excellent candidate for the replacement of fossil fuels and thus the production of materials such as carbon fibre, lignin-based carbon quantum dots, biosensors and thermoplastics. In addition, lignin can be further processed to produce chemicals such as UV filters, vanillin, BTX, dispersants, surfactants, binders (e.g. in animal feed), adhesives etc.

Our Focus

Lignin has a variety of applications, but Lignorganic focuses on using lignin to replace chemicals and materials that currently have a significant negative impact on our environment. Our current emphasis is on the use of lignin in the personal care and cosmetics industry, bioplastics and animal nutrition market.