Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019).

This Engage application aims at establishing a research partnership between Domtar Inc. and Dr. Ye atx000D
Concordia University to develop lignin-polyethylene composite materials. Lignin is the second most abundantx000D
biopolymer after cellulose. Industrial lignin is produced as a by-product of pulping mills and bio-refineries andx000D
the majority of lignin is burned as a low value fuel in the recovery boilers. Given its natural abundance and lowx000D
cost, lignin is a key platform material for the development of new value-added, bio-based products fromx000D
existing pulp and paper manufacturing sites and their forest based supply chains. Numerous potentialx000D
value-added applications and valorization technologies for this material have been identified but few if anyx000D
have been commercialized to date. Domtar, as a world leader in the development and commercialization ofx000D
isolated kraft lignin manufacture and marketing, has made good progress on converting crude lignin powderx000D
into dried lignin pellets by extrusion and has used them to make lignin-thermoplastic compound materials.x000D
However there are still several challenges that need to be addressed, including optimization of the existingx000D
lignin extrusion process, de-odoring of the composites, and the performance properties of the lignin-basedx000D
composite pellets, in order for the large-scale commercial production. This Engage project is aimed atx000D
addressing Domtar's specific challenges through our collaborative research efforts. The success of this researchx000D
is expected to expand the utilization of lignin, leading to high-value products having the potential forx000D
commercial exploitation.