The oxidation of lignin model compounds was studied in conventional solvents in parallel with oxidations in ionic liquid solvents. Catalyst systems were investigated in ionic liquid solvents to determine how reaction rates and the selectivity for benzylic carbon oxidation were affected. Oxidation rates were often lower in ionic liquids than in conventional solvents ‒ as indicated by lower conversion in a standard reaction time ‒ likely due, at least in part, to the higher viscosity of ionic liquids. Mechano chemical treatment of Indulin AT kraft lignin by ball milling with KOH and toluene produced significant carbonyl functionality, among other changes. The chemical reactivity of the lignin was increased, resulting in greater lignin degradation from porphyrin oxidation followed by Baeyer-Villiger oxidation. The mechanochemical treatment produced a level of lignin oxidation that was similar to that produced by porphyrin-catalyzed oxidation. Combining mechanochemical treatment with porphyrin oxidation produced a synergistic positive effect on the depolymerization of lignin, as demonstrated by a significantly higher yield of monomers. The methyl ester of vanillic acid was obtained as the main monomeric product (after methylation), along with a small amount of methyl 5-carbomethoxyvanillate.

Lignin, the second most abundant biopolymer on earth, is potentially a replaceable source for bulky fuels and chemical feedstocks. There have been numerous reports on methods for the oxidative cleavage of β-O-4 linkages but relatively few reports of how those methods affect other linkages that are present in lignin. We investigated how the β-1 and β-5 linkages respond under oxidative conditions proposed for lignin deconstruction based on their effect on β-O-4 linkages. Mechanochemical treatment of lignin can greatly improve the yield of monomer products and we applied a mechanochemical approach, using powerful ring-and-puck milling to promote lignin degradation. Along with similar production of monomers in a much shorter period than what we observed in previous ball-milling process, much more unexpected reactions were taking place during the current mechanochemical process. Lignin is a promising feedstock for epoxy resins since lignin-derived aromatic monomers usually bear hydroxyl and carboxyl groups. We are working on utilizing these mono-aromatic compounds and highly-functionalized-lignin as precursors for preparation of epoxy thermosets. We are interested in investigating the properties of thermosets by utilizing the actual isolated monomer streams from raw lignin. We expect to observe attractive thermal and mechanical properties from these lignin-derived epoxy thermosets compare to that of the commercialized but currently limited-used BPA-based epoxy resins.

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Demetrio Jackson dos Santos / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Nanociências e Materiais Avançados, 2016. / Poliuretanos (PU) são materiais poliméricos vastamente utilizados como matriz de compósitos. Um desafio em sua produção, no entanto, reside em sua dependência de matérias primas derivadas do petróleo. Esse trabalho tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de um poliuretano proveniente de fontes renováveis que apresente características semelhantes às de poliuretanos tradicionais desenvolvidos a partir de fontes não renováveis. Para isso, diferentes composições de PU foram sintetizadas e analisadas, combinando difenilmetano diisocianato (MDI) a diferentes porcentagens de lignina Kraft e óleo de mamona modificado e não modificado. A primeira etapa consistiu na seleção da matriz com base em ensaios mecânicos, espectroscopia de absorção no espectro do infravermelho (FTIR), análise termogravimétrica (TGA) e análise dinâmico mecânica (DMA). Os resultados obtidos indicaram que a lignina aumentou a temperatura de transição vítrea e resistência a tração do poliuretano, especialmente para as amostras preparadas com óleo de mamona modificado (300 mg KOH/g), o qual apresentou um aumento de resistência à ruptura em tração de 8,2 MPa (sem lignina) para 23,5 MPa (30% de lignina). Posteriormente, a matriz selecionada foi aplicada na obtenção de compósito estrutural reforçado com diferentes frações volumétricas de microfibras ramificadas de polipropileno. Propriedades do compósito foram investigadas por ensaios uniaxiais de tração, impacto Izod e microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV). Os resultados obtidos mostraram o decréscimo das propriedades mecânicas com adição das microfibras, possivelmente devido à baixa adesão entre matriz e reforço, como indicado pelas imagens obtidas por MEV. / Polyurethanes (PU) are polymeric materials largely applied as composite matrix. A challenge in its production, however, relies on the dependency of petroleum-based materials for its synthesis. The present study focuses on the development of a biobased polyurethane obtained from renewable resources that presents characteristics comparable to petroleum-based PUs, aiming its application as a matrix for composite materials. Therefore, different compositions of green polyurethane-type materials were prepared by combining diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) to different amounts of Kraft lignin and castor oil (modified and unmodified). Firstly, the polymeric matrix was selected based on results obtained from mechanical analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetryc analysis and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The obtained results indicate that the addition of lignin enhances the glass transition temperature and ultimate stress, especially for those prepared from modified castor oil (300 mg KOH/g), which had an improvement from 8.2 MPa (lignin free) to 23.5 MPa (30% lignin). The selected matrix was then applied in a structural composite reinforced with different fiber volume content of ramified polypropylene microfibers. The composite was analyzed by mechanical tests (uniaxial tensile and Izod impact) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show the decrease of mechanical properties with the addition of polypropylene reinforcements, possibly due to the low adhesion between matrix and reinforcement, as verified through SEM images.

Kolmaterial, såsom kolfibrer och kolskum, används som värmeisolatorer i applikationer vid höga temperaturer. För närvarande härleds dessa material från fossilbaserade källor, vilket tyder på ett behov av att hitta alternativa kandidater baserade på förnybara källor. Detta examensarbete undersökte möjligheten att använda kraftlignin som ett förnyelsebart startmaterial för framställning av kolskum med värmeisoleringsegenskaper. Två kraftligniner av barrträd med olika molekylvikter och ett kraftlignin av lövträd användes. De tre kraftligninerna karboniserades vid 1000°C efter att ha blandats i olika förhållanden och kombinationer (formuleringen av råmaterialet). Formuleringen av råmaterialet påverkade densiteten och porositeten hos de erhållna materialen, vilket i sin tur ledde till skillnader i kompressionsstyrkan och värmeledningsförmågan hos de erhållna kolskummen. Kolskummen hade olika värmeledningsförmåga (0,11-0,35 W/mK), porositet (80,55-97,53%) och densitet (0,08-0,42 g/cm3). För skummet med den högsta densiteten uppskattades krossstyrkan till cirka 10,03 MPa vilket är jämförbart med kommersiellt använda kolskum för högtemperaturisolerande applikationer. Kolskummens värmeledningsförmåga var inom omfånget för kommersiellt använda kolskum för högtemperaturapplikationer. Detta arbete visar möjligheten att tillverka kolskum från 100% kraftlignin som har liknande egenskaper som kommersiellt tillgängliga termiska isoleringsmaterial för högtemperaturapplikationer. / Carbon materials, such as carbon fibres and carbon foams, are used as thermal insulators in high-temperature applications. At present, these materials are derived from fossil-based sources, which suggests a need of finding alternatives candidates based on renewables. This thesis work investigated the possibility of using kraft lignin as a renewable starting material for the preparation of carbon foams with thermal insulation properties. Two softwood kraft lignins with different molecular weights and a hardwood kraft lignin were used. The three kraft lignins were carbonized at 1000°C after being mixed in different ratios and combinations (precursor formulation). The precursor formulation affected the density and porosity of the obtained materials, which in turn led to differences in compression strength and thermal conductivity of the carbon foams derived. The obtained carbon foams had different thermal conductivities (0.11-0.35 W/mK), porosity (80.55-97.53%) and density (0.08-0.42 g/cm3). For the foam with the highest density, the crushing strength was estimated to approximately 10.03 MPa which is comparable to commercially used carbon foams for high-temperature insulating applications. The thermal conductivity of the prepared carbon foams was in the range of commercially used carbon foams for high-temperature applications. This work demonstrates the possibility of preparing carbon foams from 100% kraft lignin which has properties similar of commercially available insulating materials for high-temperature applications.

Submitted by OTAVIO AUGUSTO TITTON DIAS (otaviotd@gmail.com) on 2017-02-07T12:19:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Otávio [rev. 06.02.17] - arquivamento.pdf: 3569255 bytes, checksum: d063af8c0f50bdd6bd8ea5a53186f094 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by LUIZA DE MENEZES ROMANETTO (luizamenezes@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2017-02-13T15:49:14Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 dias_oat_me_bot.pdf: 3569255 bytes, checksum: d063af8c0f50bdd6bd8ea5a53186f094 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-13T15:49:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dias_oat_me_bot.pdf: 3569255 bytes, checksum: d063af8c0f50bdd6bd8ea5a53186f094 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-12 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / As preocupações ambientais e o esgotamento dos combustíveis fósseis resultaram em um interesse crescente em materiais ambientalmente amigáveis, à base de polímeros naturais. Esforços estão sendo feitos para introduzir a lignina em compostos plásticos, tais como polipropileno, com o objetivo de produzir materiais com boas características mecânicas e, ao mesmo tempo, ambientalmente amigáveis. A lignina é uma matéria-prima amplamente disponível na natureza, que contém alta densidade de compostos aromáticos, os quais são atualmente, em sua maioria, derivados do petróleo. No entanto, grande parte da lignina é utilizada para geração de energia e pode ser um potencial agente poluidor se não destinada de forma adequada. Desse modo, é importante encontrar uma maneira econômica de converter esse polímero natural em materiais de alto valor agregado, como compósitos com alto desempenho mecânico e térmico. Neste estudo, compósitos de polipropileno e de lignina kraft de pinus (LKI) e de bagaço de cana (LBC) foram submetidos à extrusão, e os corpos de prova foram produzidos pelo processo de injeção. Os materiais produzidos foram analisados quanto às propriedades mecânicas, térmicas (TGA, DSC, HDT), química (FTIR), reológica (índice de fluidez) e morfológica (MEV). Os objetivos desta pesquisa foram desenvolver novos compósitos de polipropileno contendo lignina e proporcionar propriedades mecânicas comparáveis aos polipropilenos comerciais, além de obter compósito com alto grau de afinidade entre a lignina e o polipropileno. Os resultados mostraram que a incorporação de lignina na matriz de polipropileno originou, de maneira geral, compósitos com propriedades adequadas para vários segmentos industriais, especialmente aqueles em que características mecânicas e térmicas são cruciais, tais como a substituição de plásticos de engenharia e polipropileno com cargas minerais. / Environmental concerns and the depletion of fossil fuels resulted in a growing interest in environmentally friendly materials based on natural polymers. Efforts are being made to introduce the lignin in plastic composites such as polypropylene, in order to produce materials with good mechanical characteristics and at the same time environmentally friendly. Lignin is a biopolymer widely available which contains high density of aromatic compounds. Nowadays, the aromatic compounds are almost exclusively derived from petroleum. However, the lignin is used mainly to generate energy and can be a pollution potential if not properly treated. Lignin, however, can improve the performance of composites. Moreover, it is important to find an economical way to convert lignin into high value-added materials. In this study, blends of polypropylene, pine kraft lignin (LKI) and sugar cane bagasse lignin (LBC) were subjected to extrusion and the specimens were produced by injection process. The materials produced were analyzed for their mechanical, thermal (TGA, DSC, HDT), chemical (FTIR), rheological (melt flow index) and morphological (SEM) properties. The objective of this research was to develop new lignin-based polypropylene composite with mechanical properties comparable to commercial polypropylene. The results showed that the incorporation of lignin in polypropylene matrix resulted in composites, in general, with properties suitable for various industrial segments, especially those in which mechanical and thermal properties are crucial, such as the replacement of engineering plastics and polypropylene mineral filled.

Carbon fiber is a lightweight, versatile material with many current and potential applications. To be able to expand the market for carbon fiber composites in other areas than special applications the production costs must be reduced. One way of accomplishing this could be to use a less expensive raw material where lignin is a good example as it can be provided at lower cost, is renewable and abundantly available compared to commercially used raw materials today. So far, the mechanical properties of lignin-based carbon fibers are inferior relative to commercial carbon fibers. For lignin-based carbon fibers to enter the commercial market more research is necessary to gain knowledge of the conversion of lignin to carbon fiber. The LightFibre project investigates the possibilities to produce carbon fibers based on a mixture of softwood kraft lignin and cellulose. The kraft lignin is isolated from black liquor in the kraft/sulfate process with the LignoBoost process. This master thesis project was conducted within in the LightFibre project and evaluated whether metal ions generally present in kraft lignin had an influence on the final carbon fiber quality in terms of mechanical properties and morphology. The mechanical properties were determined with tensile testing, the morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the relative abundance of studied elements with electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The influence of the chosen metal ions was tested by impregnation of dry-jet wet spun prefibers based on 70 wt.% softwood kraft lignin and 30 wt.% dissolving pulp cellulose. The fibers were impregnated in room temperature with solutions containing Na2SO4, K2SO4, MgSO4, FeSO4 and Al2(SO4)3 salts where the cations were the focus in these trials. The concentrations used for impregnation were 0.2 and 1M of the cations. The obtained mechanical properties of the carbon fibers of the samples impregnated with different metal ions did not deviate significantly from the reference which had a tensile strength of 870 MPa and tensile modulus of 68 GPa. The analysis of morphology with SEM showed no defects or damage of any of the fibers. Therefore, it was concluded that the impregnated metal ions: K+, Na+, Al3+, Mg2+ and Fe2+ at the obtained levels in the fibers cause no effects on the fibers during the stabilization and carbonization that affects the mechanical performance of final carbon fiber.  The amount of potassium in one of the samples was estimated to 0.1 wt.%. From the results of this study it may be suggested that the general recommendation of <0.1 wt.% ash in lignin can be exceeded, for dry-jet wet-spun kraft lignin/cellulose-based carbon fibers.

No description available.

Lignin, en av huvudkomponenterna i lignocellulosabiomassa, utgör en stor mängd av sidoströmen från massaindustrin. Lignin är aromatiska makromolekyler som förekommer i rikliga mängder i naturen och uppvisar unika antioxidant-, uv-skyddande, anti-ultravioletta, antikorrosiva och antimikrobiella egenskaper, etc. Ligninbaserade produkter är ännu inte kommersialiserade eftersom de är begränsade av den kemiska heterogeniteten hos lignin som separerats från olika råvaror och producerats i olika industriella processer. Istället förbränns lignin vanligtvis för värme- och elproduktion efter extraktion. Tillvägagångssätt för att bevara värdefulla egenskaper hos lignin och samtidigt övervinna begränsningar har blivit heta ämnen. I detta projekt genomfördes kemiska modifieringar av kraftlignin från olika naturliga råvaror, gran och eukalyptus, där fenolgrupperna ersattes av alkylgrupper med olika kedjelängder (kolnummer 1, 6 och 12). De kemiska strukturerna och de termiska egenskaperna hos kraftlignin studerades med en kombination av analytiska metoder. Egenskaperna hos två typer av tekniska kraftligniner och dess derivat undersöktes även för jämförelse. Resultaten visade att kemiskt modifierat lignin kan vara ett lovande råmaterial för förädlade produkter som till exempel ligninbaserade nanopartiklar. / Lignin, one of the major components in lignocellulose biomass, makes up a large amount of sidestream from the pulp industry. As an abundant feedstock of bio- originated aromatic macromolecules, lignin shows unique antioxidant, UV-protective, anticorrosive, and antimicrobial properties, etc. However, limited by the chemical heterogeneity of lignin separated from different bioresources and industrial procedures as well as its recalcitrance as macromolecules, lignin-based products are not yet commercialized, while lignin is commonly burnt for heat or power generation after extraction. Approaches of preserving valuable properties of lignin meanwhile overcoming limitations have become heated topics. In this project, chemical modifications of kraft lignin from different natural bio-origins, spruce and eucalyptus, were conducted, with alkyl groups of various chain lengths (carbon numbers 1, 6 and 12) substituting the phenolic groups. A combination of analytical methods for characterizing the chemical structures and thermal properties of kraft lignin and chemically modified kraft lignin were studied. Meanwhile, the characteristics of two kinds of technical kraft lignin and their derivatives were investigated for comparison. Results highlighted that chemically modified lignin could be a promising material to serve as a feedstock for value-added products such as lignin-based nanoparticles.

No description available.

Med den ökande trenden av process slutning inom massabruken, så har det indikerats att återvinningen av tvättvätska från de olika tvättsteg troligen resulterar i negativa effekter. Närvaron av olika komponenter kan påverka upplösningen av lignin genom att främja dess återdeponering på massan, och därmed påverka senare steg inom bruket. Denna studie fokuserade på effekten av tvättvätskes sammansättningen, pH och magnesiumjoners innehållet på ligninåterfästningen till fibrerna under brunmassatvätt. Projektets syfte var att finna nya relevanta insikter för dagens verksamheter. För den experimentella proceduren blandades massa- och vätskaprover erhållna från ett barrveds-sulfatmassabruk, relevanta lösningsmodifikationer genomfördes, och dessa placerades i ett vattenbad vid 90 °C. Därefter tvättades och separerades den resulterande blandningen. Kappatal och ISO-ljusstyrka användes för massakaraktärisering, samt UV-VISspektroskopi för tvättvätskor. En ytterligare procedur med alkalisk urlakning utfördes på massan för att identifiera den relativt svaga liginbindningen. Resultaten indikerade att högre ligninhalt och konduktivitet, lägre pH och högre MgSO4 koncentration i tvättvätskor ökar lignininnehållet i massan. Under proceduren identifierades en möjlig konkurrens mellan borttagningen av lignin från fibrerna och återfällningen. Genom att uföra studier på olika bruksvätskor, så påverkades flera variabler systemet samtidigt, vilket förhindrade identifikationen av den dominerande variabeln som potentiellt kunde justeras för att minska återdeponeringen. Det observerades dock att en tillsatts av NaOH i tvättvätskor kunde reducera lignininnehållet i massan, medans däremot en ökning av MgSO4 kunde ha negativa effekter. / With the growing tendency of process closure within pulp mills, recycling liquors into different washing stages was observed to result in likely negative effects. The presence of different components may affect lignin dissolution, by promoting its redeposition onto pulp therefore affecting later stages in the mill. The present study focused on the effect of washing liquor composition, pH, and magnesium ions content on lignin reattachment to fibres during brown stock washing. This project’s motivation was to provide new insights relevant for today’s operations. For the experimental procedure, pulp and liquor samples obtained from a softwood kraft pulp mill were mixed, relevant solution modifications were performed, and these were set inside a water bath at 90 °C. Then, the resulting mixture was washed and separated. Kappa number and ISO brightness were employed for pulp characterization, and UV-VIS spectroscopy for washing liquors. An additional procedure of alkaline leaching was performed on pulp to identify relatively weak lignin attachment. Obtained results indicated that higher lignin content and conductivity, lower pH and higher MgSO4 concentration in washing liquors increase the lignin content in pulp. A competition between lignin removal from fibres and reattachment was identified to be possibly occurring during the procedure. By performing studies on different mill liquors, multiple variables affected the system simultaneously, which hinders the identification of the dominant variable to be potentially adjusted for reducing the redeposition. However, it was seen that adding NaOH in washing liquors could reduce lignin content in the pulp, whereas an increase in MgSO4 could present negative effects.