The market pull for biobased materials is now unprecedented, driven by worldwide sustainability initiatives to eliminate or replace single-use plastics, to reduce the use of fossil fuels, and keep water and air free of pollution.
As a result of the sugars, oils, and lignin in trees, today’s pulp mills have an unlocked potential as biorefineries. Lignin is the most abundant biobased polymer on the planet, and the industry is currently only burning it (over 99% or approximately 86mm tons burned per year).
Lignin based products can potentially disrupt or replace numerous markets, such as plastics ($600B), lead acid batteries ($80B market), adhesives ($63B), aqua feed ($70B), and dispersants ($7B), just to name a few.