Kraft lignin as feedstock for chemical products: The effects of membrane filtration

The use of technical lignins as feedstock for chemical products will require improvements in purity, molecular mass distribution, and thermal behavior. Therefore, industrial black liquors from kraft pulping of softwood (spruce/pine) and hardwood (birch and Eucalyptus globulus) have been subjected to fractionation according to molecular mass by ceramic membranes. After acidification and isolation of the lignin fractions, a variety of analytical methods have been applied to help understand their structure – property relationships. From all types of lignin, the chemical and polymeric properties of fractions isolated from the membrane permeates were more homogeneous. This demonstrates that technical kraft lignins, irrespective of origin, may constitute an interesting feedstock for products, such as carbon fibers, adhesives, and phenol-based polymers.