Lignin application areas

Our lignin is used in a variety of industrial and agricultural areas for various applications.

Industrial

Lignin is an environmentally friendly dust suppressant and surface stabiliser for unsealed (gravel) roads.
Sappi’s lignin is used as a dispersant in the admixture industry for improved particle dispersion to maintain slump of fresh concrete in a process-friendly manner.
The manufacture of coal briquettes and egg coal is one of the oldest applications for lignin bonding agents.
Where good bonding properties and good dispersion are needed, lignins can prove their ability to perform.
Lignin dispersants can be added to process water to prevent agglomeration of the undissolved suspended particles.
The addition of lignin to a plaster suspension for natural and REA plasters significantly liquifies the slurries.
Lignin can be added to the clay mixture during the manufacture of bricks and roof tiles.
The binding agent used in the production of chipboard can be replaced in part with a technical lignin.
Our lignin-based products enhance polymeric strength when used in the production of recycled packaging paper.
The phenolic structure of lignin yields benefits in tanning and leather applications.
The aromatic structure of lignin molecules make them particularly suitable for the manufacturing of phenolic resins and melamine-phenolic resins.
The complex chemical structure of the lignin molecule makes it possible for chemical modification to derive biobased polyols.

Agriculture

Pelletin is a lignin which offers multiple functionality for improved productivity in the animal nutrition and health industry.
Lignins are a reliable bonding agent in the manufacture of mineral fertilisers.
Lignins are frequently used in the production of pesticides in the form of water-dispersible powders, granules or aqueous suspension concentrates.
Lignin is a major component of wood and is one of the most abundant natural organic wood polymers which provides a multitude of functionalities.

New developments in wood processing supports the move to a biobased economy that utilises materials that are renewable and biodegradable and that do not compete with food sources.