InnoRenew CoE researchers from the Wood Modification research group — Dr Veerapandian Ponnuchamy, Dr Oihana Gordobil, Dr René Herrera Díaz, Dr Anna Sandak and Dr Jakub Sandak — published “Fractionation of lignin using organic solvents: A combined experimental and theoretical study” in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules.

According to the authors, although industrial lignin is refined to produce homogenous fractions for high-value applications, the polymer–solvent interaction is not fully understood. In this article, they present their results that show solvents with higher polarity exhibit higher solubility yield compared to moderate and low polarity solvents.

Researchers from the same group — Dr Oihana Gordobil, Dr René Herrera Díaz, Faksawat Poohphajai, Dr Anna Sandak and Dr Jakub Sandak — published “Impact of drying process on kraft lignin: lignin-water interaction mechanism study by 2D NIR correlation spectroscopy” in the Journal of Materials Research and Technology.

The article highlights kraft lignin’s potential for transformation into chemicals and biomaterials; however, this abundant by-product of the pulp and paper industry is complex and not fully understood. In this work, the authors show their investigation of the effect of drying temperature on kraft lignin properties.