This book presents an overview of various types of lignin and their unique structures and properties, as well as utilizations of crude or modified technical lignin for high-value bioproducts such as lignin-based PF resins/adhesives, epoxy resins, PF foams, PU foams, rubber reinforcement and carbon fibers and as dispersants in drilling fluids in the oil and gas industry. It subsequently discusses various thermal/chemical modification techniques (pyrolysis, direct liquefaction and de-polymerization) for converting lignin into oils and chemical feedstocks, and the utilization of crude lignin, lignin-derived oils or depolymerized lignins (DLs) of reduced molecular weights and improved reactivity to produce lignin-based PF resins/adhesives, PF/PU foams and epoxy resins.
The book will interest and benefit a broad readership (graduate students, academic researchers, industrial researchers and practitioners) in various fields of science and technology (chemical engineering, biotechnology, chemistry, material science, forestry, etc.).Chunbao (Charles) Xu, PhD, is currently a Professor of Chemical Engineering and NSERC/FPInnovations Industrial Research Chair in Forest Biorefinery at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.
Fatemeh Ferdosian, PhD, is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo, Canada.