2021 Volume 21 Issue 1 Pages 13-23
Utilization of biomass feedstocks is one of the essential subjects to achieve a sustainable society. Wood biomass is the most abundant biomass resource on Earth and is mainly composed of three polymers, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Compared with the former two polysaccharides, the utilization of lignin is challenging work due to its inhomogeneous structure and brittle mechanical property. In this study, we have developed a moldable material from lignosulfonate, an industrial byproduct in sulfite pulping process, by taking advantage of the reversible crosslinking via ionic interactions between lignosulfonate and cationic polyelectrolytes. The lignosulfonate/cationic-polyelectrolyte complex could be processed into desired shapes including a dumbbell-shaped test piece and revealed flexibility and elasticity, which was completely different from pure lignosulfonate. In addition, the complex has unique functions such as humidity responsibility, self-healing property, and adhesion properties because of ionic functional groups and reversible crosslinking structure in the complex. This lignosulfonate/cationic-polyelectrolyte complex can expand the application space of lignosulfonate and it will help more appropriate and effective utilization of wood biomass resources.
