G. Shulga , B. Neiberte , A. Verovkins , S. Vitolina , O. Anne , D. Ambrazaitene , A. Žukauskaite , V. Shapovalov , A. Valenkov

Biorefinery of the Lignocellulosic Waste of Wood Processing for Environmental Sustainability

View full text in PDF format

Abstract

The lignocellulosic biomass remaining after the chemical and mechanical processing of wood in Eastern European countries is commonly used to produce energy that is not beneficial from the economic, social and environmental points of view. Owing to the notable deposits of a lignocellulosic by-product such as hydrolysis lignin in Belarus and Lithuania (as a waste of the post-hydrolysis industry), its tailored biorefinery is an urgent problem. In this paper, results of the application of the hydrolysis lignin modified with various chemical methods as a filler in the wood polymer composite and a mulch for prevention of soil erosion are presented. The obtained results testify that the purposeful modification of hydrolysis lignin by the treatment of the non-stoichiometric polyelectrolyte complex, incorporating quaternary polymeric amine and sulphate lignin, as well as by diethylepoxypropylamine with the aim of the partial replacement of the more expensive wood flour in the wood polymer composite, favours the remarkable improvement of the mechanical properties of the composite and the decrease of its ability to adsorb water. The modification of the hydrolysis lignin particles as a mulch with a non-stoichiometric polyelectrolyte complex sulphite lignin/acrylic polymer by the impregnation method creates more favourable conditions in the soil for decreasing water evaporation, increasing mulch cohesiveness and fertility of soil, in comparison with the case of the initial hydrolysis lignin.

Keywords: hydrolysis lignin; modification; mulch; polyelectrolyte complex; wood polymer composite material.