Lignin is the second most prevalent component of biomass, after cellulose. Intertwined with cellulose and hemicellulose in plant cell walls, lignin is difficult to sustainably isolate for use in bioproducts. A low-pressure separation process has been investigated that uses a new type of solvent easily synthesized from environmentally-friendly chemicals. Biodegradable deep eutectic solvents have low volatility and are capable of biomass deconstruction, even from recalcitrant agricultural residues that are wastes from food processing. In this work, lignin has been extracted from coffee chaff and sugarcane bagasse using deep eutectic solvents. In addition, lignin from sugarcane bagasse has been carboxymethylated. These lignins were added to cement to explore their effect on workability of the mix, and also the compressive strength and porosity of the resulting cement samples. If lignin from waste biomass can be used in this way, plasticizers generated from fossil fuels may be replaceable.

Lignin separated from waste biomass using deep eutectic solvents as a plasticizer in cement

ACS Fall 2021

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