High Performance Phenolic Resin using Benzoxazine-Modified Herbaceous Lignin

Abstract

We researched the increase in performance of phenolic resins using lignin-based natural materials, a non-fossil resource without a concern of becoming a cause of environmental problems, and without using fossil resources such as oil and coal, for which there are concerns of depletion and which place major burdens on the environment. First, modified (reactive) lignin with imparted reactivity to herbaceous lignin was newly developed. The developed modified lignin was compounded with phenolic resin, and a phenolic resin molding material containing the modified herbaceous lignin, and molded articles thereof were produced. The produced phenolic resin molded articles containing the modified lignin exhibited an improvement in water resistance, which was a drawback of phenolic resin molded articles produced using herbaceous Synopsis (natural) lignin, and it was clear that phenolic resin molded articles also excelling in heat resistance and electrical insulation properties can be obtained. Moreover, it was also demonstrated that the characteristics of the obtained phenolic resin can be varied by changing the blending ratios of the formaldehyde, aniline, and herbaceous lignin used as raw materials to produce the modified lignin.