Black liquor is a by-product of the paper mill Kraft process that deserves more valorization than its present use as low-grade fuel. In this work, we present an original approach allowing the preparation of macroporous interconnected monolithic materials using as-received black liquor as main raw material. The process involves the formulation of an oil-in-water medium internal phase emulsion as soft templating porosity medium. The oil (internal phase) used is castor oil, whereas the continuous phase is constituted of black liquor containing a hydrophilic surfactant and epichlorohydrin as lignin crosslinking agent. Due to the high viscosity of the system, a specially designed emulsifying device was employed. The proper choices of the surfactant and emulsification conditions allow obtaining cellular biopolymers with almost monodisperse, interconnected void structure and satisfactory mechanical properties. These innovative results are promising for the future development of fully bio-based emulsion-derived materials. V C 2013Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci.

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Interconnected porous monolithic materials can be directly obtained from non‐templating methods by reacting raw Kraft black liquor with epichlorohydrin either in the presence or not of surfactant, whereas extracted lignin leads to non‐porous materials. In the presence of a surfactant, micelles organization takes place and porosity of 40–60% can be achieved. Without surfactant, chemically induced phase separation occurs, giving materials with agglomerated nodules morphology. Carbonization followed by activation with CO2 yield monolithic micro/mesoporous carbons with surface area of 300 m2 g−1. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41215.