Understanding the thermal and dielectric response of organosolv and modified kraft lignin as a carbon fibre precursor

Abstract

Understanding the thermal behaviour of lignin is crucial in order to realise its valorisation as an engineering polymer.

Hydrothermal base catalysed treatment of Kraft lignin - time dependent analysis and a techno-economic evaluation for carbon fibre applications

“…The glass transition temperatures (T g ) for the KL, LMW, HMW samples were found to be 147, 121 and 169°C respectively. As expected T g of the HMW fraction is higher due to it being comprised of larger MW lignin fractions, resulting in a lower free volume (Culebras et al, 2018). For the pH 2 and pH 10 precipitated solids after HBCD, where t ret = 8, 16, and 24 min, a clear glass transition cannot be determined.…”

Bio‐derived Carbon Nanofibres from Lignin as High‐Performance Li‐Ion Anode Materials

“…However,o ne of the main problemsa ssociated with graphite is its low energyd ensity,w ith its theoretical capacity of just 372 mAh g À1 .F or this reason, many studies have been focused on finding new carbon-based materials for use as anodesi n LIBs. [23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Lignin is the most abundant aromatic biopolymer on the planet. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] However,t heir high cost and limitedp roduction throughput make their integration into industrial production difficult compared with traditional graphite.…”

“…[12][13][14][15][16][17][18] However,t heir high cost and limitedp roduction throughput make their integration into industrial production difficult compared with traditional graphite. [25] However,i ts low molecular weight causess erious processing issues during electrospinningb ecause its low viscosity requires the addition of petroleum-based polymers such as PANo rh igh-molecular-weight polyethyleneo xide. [1,9,10,[19][20][21] However, the vast majority of carbon fibres are produced by using polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as ap recursorm aterial.…”

“…[22] Lignin is considered av iable sustainable alternative to PANa sac arbon fibre precursor. [23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Lignin is the most abundant aromatic biopolymer on the planet. It is amorphous andi sp resenti nt he cell wall of plants.…”

“…[30,31] The aromatic molecular structure of lignin generated by the condensation of the three different monolignols (coniferyl alcohol, sinapyl alcohol and p-coumaryl alcohol) renders it ideal for carbon fibre production. [25] However,i ts low molecular weight causess erious processing issues during electrospinningb ecause its low viscosity requires the addition of petroleum-based polymers such as PANo rh igh-molecular-weight polyethyleneo xide. [32][33][34][35][36] In the presents tudy,w eh ave developed fully sustainable CNFs with differing tailoredm icrostructures by using lignin blended with two biobased polymers, at hermoplastic elastomer polyurethane (TPU) and polylactic acid (PLA).…”