With new lignin recovery technologies there is an emerging opportunity to utilize lignin in large scale targeted applications. A high-value, large-market application for lignin is the plastics industry. However, there are not clear attributes of lignin that make one lignin “good” for blending with thermoplastics.  In this work, fractionated softwood kraft lignin is modified in a stepwise process and blended with a commercially available biodegradable polyester, Ecoflex™. Solvent fractionated lignin and their corresponding hydroxyethyl and ethylpropionate derivatives were melt blended and injection molded into test samples. With up to 40% lignin these materials were tested for their mechanical properties. In addition, processing temperature was evaluated on the corresponding properties. Both the fractionation and the lignin modification greatly impacted the processability of the samples, as the lignin derivative had a significantly reduced glass transition temperature. The work provides insight into structure-property relationships, where a combination of analyses including molecular weight, NMR functional group analysis, thermal analysis, and vibrational spectroscopy is connected to the mechanical performance of the corresponding lignin blends.

Getting to the bottom of what makes a “good” lignin for thermoplastic blends

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

[Author Benefits](https://scimeetings.acs.org/?utm_source=pubs_content_marketing&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=0320_MCF_NPI_Launch_Spring_Homepage&ref=pubs_content_marketing)

[How to use SciMeetings](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMeetings-ACSSpring2020-HowToGuide_M3020-Final.pdf)

[Frequently Asked Questions](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMtng_ACSNMSp2020_FAQ_M3120_Final.pdf)

ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.