According to an example aspect of the present invention, there is provided a composition comprising colloidal lignin particles and an epoxy compound.

The present invention discloses a composition that may be extruded and/or injection moulded, comprising a chemically modified softwood lignin and a polyester selected from PBS (PolyButylene Succinate), PBAT (PolyButylene Adipate Terephthalate) and PCL (PolyCaproLactone) or mixtures thereof. The chemically modified softwood lignin constitutes 10 to 25 weight-% of the total weight of the composition.

Processes for manufacturing novolacs and resoles from lignin are disclosed. A phenol-aldehyde-lignin dispersion is formed which can then be used to make either a novolac or a resole, depending upon the catalysts used.

This disclosure describes processes for using a single cellulosic feedstock or a combination of two or more different cellulosic feedstocks with a starch component to produce a fermented product. The process includes separating the components of the cellulosic feedstocks with fractionation, pretreating a component with wet fractionation with chemicals, hydrolysis and fermenta-tion of the pretreated feedstock(s) to produce cellulosic biofuel. The process may include combining the cellulosic feedstock(s) with other components to a cook and/or a fermentation process, distilling and dehydrating the combined components to produce the biofuel. The process may also include producing a whole stillage stream from the feedstock(s) and mechanically processing the whole stillage stream to produce a high-value protein animal feed.

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for producing a soluble carbohydrate containing fraction (10), in which lignocellulose material (3) formed by treating plant based raw material (1) is conducted into a separation stage (4). The method comprises at least one solid-liquid separation stage (4) for separating a soluble carbohydrate containing fraction (10) and/or a washing filtrate (12) from lignocellulose material (3), and at least a part of the soluble carbohydrate containing fraction (10) and/or the washing filtrate (12) is recirculated to the lignocellulose material (3) for increasing concentration of the soluble carbohydrate containing fraction, and solids (11) and at least a part of the soluble carbohydrate containing fraction (10) are supplied out from the separation stage. Further, the invention relates to the soluble carbohydrate containing fraction and the solid fraction, and their uses.

The present invention is directed to production of granular carbon, prepared from lignin. The process comprises the steps of providing agglomerated lignin, heating the agglomerated lignin to obtain thermally stabilized lignin and subjecting the thermally stabilized agglomerated lignin to heat treatment to obtain granular carbon.

Provided are cost-effective methods and systems for producing a low molecular weight reactive lignin from a lignocellulosic biomass. The process is rapid and the reactive lignin is easily separated from carbohydrates and other components of the biomass at low cost. This clean lignin product has a very low molecular weight, good hydroxyl content, and low ash and sulfur, making it valuable to many applications.

It is disclosed purifies industrial lignin, performs Mannich reaction on purified industrial lignin, aldehyde and amino acid, simultaneously dopes nitrogen and sulfur elements into lignin, and performs high-temperature activation to obtain the carbonized amino acid modified lignin in accordance with a principle of green chemistry; a porous carbon material is prepared from the carbonized amino acid modified lignin by means of a two-step activation method, and an electrochemical workstation is applied to investigate electrochemical performance of the carbonized amino acid modified lignin as a supercapacitor; layered porous carbon having high specific surface area is prepared, the layered porous carbon has high specific heat capacity and stable cycle performance without attenuation when the supercapacitor is prepared from the layered porous carbon, and the method used has a wide application prospect in the aspect of preparing a porous carbon material for the supercapacitor.

Aromatic alcohol-lignin-aldehyde resins and process for making and using same. In some examples, a process for making a resin can include heating a first mixture that includes a lignin, an aromatic alcohol, and a base compound to produce a second mixture that can include an activated lignin, the aromatic alcohol, and the base compound. The second mixture can be heated with an aldehyde to produce a third mixture that can include an aromatic alcohol-lignin-aldehyde resin and unreacted free aldehyde. In some examples, an aromatic alcohol-lignin-aldehyde resin can be or include a co-polymer of an activated lignin, an aromatic alcohol, and an aldehyde. A weight ratio of the activated lignin to the aromatic alcohol can be about 20:80 to about 95:5.

There is provided a novel ionic composite material that can be molded into various shapes using lignin sulfonic acid as one of raw materials thereof, and having flexibility and elasticity, to significantly improve the strength and toughness and impart complete biodegradability thereto. It was found that a combination of ε-polylysine (ε-PL) which is a cationic polymer that is produced by microorganisms and lignin sulfonic acid exhibits excellent strength and toughness. In addition, ε-PL used in this technology is a biodegradable polymer that is completely degraded by microorganisms and the like in the environment. Since lignin sulfonic acid is also a biodegradable polymer, it is thought that a complex in which ε-PL and lignin sulfonic acid are mixed in this technology will exhibit complete biodegradability, and more applications thereof can be expected when utilizing the strength, durability, and biodegradability thereof in addition to the improved strength and toughness.