Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Esterified Lignin in Various Polymer Blends
Lignin is an abundant polymeric renewable material and thus a promising candidate for incorporation in various commercial thermoplastic polymers. One challenge is to increase the dispersibility of amphiphilic lignin in lipophilic thermoplastic polymers We altered Kraft lignin using widely available...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Molecules |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/11/3219 |
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| author | Alexander Orebom Davide Di Francesco Patrick Shakari Joseph S. M. Samec Clara Pierrou |
| author_facet | Alexander Orebom Davide Di Francesco Patrick Shakari Joseph S. M. Samec Clara Pierrou |
| author_sort | Alexander Orebom |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lignin is an abundant polymeric renewable material and thus a promising candidate for incorporation in various commercial thermoplastic polymers. One challenge is to increase the dispersibility of amphiphilic lignin in lipophilic thermoplastic polymers We altered Kraft lignin using widely available and renewable fatty acids, such as oleic acid, yielding more than 8 kg of lignin ester as a light brown powder. SEC showed a molecular weight of 5.8 kDa with a PDI = 3.80, while the T<sub>g</sub> of the lignin ester was concluded to 70 °C. Furthermore, the lignin ester was incorporated (20%) into PLA, HDPE, and PP to establish the thermal and mechanical behavior of the blends. DSC and rheological measurements suggest that the lignin ester blends consist of a phase-separated system. The results demonstrate how esterification of lignin allows dispersion in all the evaluated thermoplastic polymers maintaining, to a large extent, the tensile properties of the original material. The impact strength of HDPE and PLA blends show substantial loss upon the addition of the lignin ester. Reconverting the acetic acid side stream into acetic anhydride and reusing the catalyst, the presented methodology can be scaled up to produce a lignin-based substitute to fossil materials. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:58:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b46f19a1fed940bd9ea8e28becafe15e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:58:51Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-b46f19a1fed940bd9ea8e28becafe15e2023-11-21T21:40:10ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492021-05-012611321910.3390/molecules26113219Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Esterified Lignin in Various Polymer BlendsAlexander Orebom0Davide Di Francesco1Patrick Shakari2Joseph S. M. Samec3Clara Pierrou4RenFuel K2B Materials AB, Rapsgatan 25, 754 50 Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Organic Chemistry, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius Väg 16C, 106 91 Stockholm, SwedenÅngström Laboratory, Department of Polymer Chemistry, Uppsala University, Lägerhyddsvägen 1, 751 21 Uppsala, SwedenRenFuel K2B Materials AB, Rapsgatan 25, 754 50 Uppsala, SwedenRenFuel K2B Materials AB, Rapsgatan 25, 754 50 Uppsala, SwedenLignin is an abundant polymeric renewable material and thus a promising candidate for incorporation in various commercial thermoplastic polymers. One challenge is to increase the dispersibility of amphiphilic lignin in lipophilic thermoplastic polymers We altered Kraft lignin using widely available and renewable fatty acids, such as oleic acid, yielding more than 8 kg of lignin ester as a light brown powder. SEC showed a molecular weight of 5.8 kDa with a PDI = 3.80, while the T<sub>g</sub> of the lignin ester was concluded to 70 °C. Furthermore, the lignin ester was incorporated (20%) into PLA, HDPE, and PP to establish the thermal and mechanical behavior of the blends. DSC and rheological measurements suggest that the lignin ester blends consist of a phase-separated system. The results demonstrate how esterification of lignin allows dispersion in all the evaluated thermoplastic polymers maintaining, to a large extent, the tensile properties of the original material. The impact strength of HDPE and PLA blends show substantial loss upon the addition of the lignin ester. Reconverting the acetic acid side stream into acetic anhydride and reusing the catalyst, the presented methodology can be scaled up to produce a lignin-based substitute to fossil materials.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/11/3219Kraft ligninbiopolymerbioplastics |
| spellingShingle | Alexander Orebom Davide Di Francesco Patrick Shakari Joseph S. M. Samec Clara Pierrou Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Esterified Lignin in Various Polymer Blends Molecules Kraft lignin biopolymer bioplastics |
| title | Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Esterified Lignin in Various Polymer Blends |
| title_full | Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Esterified Lignin in Various Polymer Blends |
| title_fullStr | Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Esterified Lignin in Various Polymer Blends |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Esterified Lignin in Various Polymer Blends |
| title_short | Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Esterified Lignin in Various Polymer Blends |
| title_sort | thermal and mechanical properties of esterified lignin in various polymer blends |
| topic | Kraft lignin biopolymer bioplastics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/11/3219 |
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