By Li Shuai

Assistant Professor Li Shuai received a $300,000, three-year National Science Foundation grant for studying “synthesis of completely biobased lignin-formaldehyde resins with catalytically activated lignin products.”

The proposed project aims to develop a chemical process to convert lignin to a more valuable material called lignin-formaldehyde (LF) resin. Completely biobased LF resins can replace petroleum-derived phenol-formaldehyde resins, which are a common material used in myriad industrial products, such as countertops, coatings, adhesives, billiard balls, etc. Lignin contains phenolic units that make it a potential renewable substitute for phenol in the synthesis of the resins. However, lignin itself has limited reactivity towards formaldehyde due to the lack of free phenolic hydroxyls and ortho positions.

 

To overcome this problem, a new catalytic process is proposed to enhance the reactivity of lignin products through the depolymerization of lignin polymers to release phenolic hydroxyls and the removal of methoxyls to free the ortho positions. The proposed research may lead to the development of technologies that add value to lignin from biomass waste streams and can have positive impacts on the environment and on rural economies.