Pine Chemical Services LLC Acquires AMS Lignin Business

July 18, 2024

Pine Chemical Services LLC has announced that it has acquired 100 % of Advanced Mill Solutions’ kraft lignin business. Dale Mitchell, the owner of Pine Chemical Services and Kraftlignin.com, expresses optimism that this latest change will allow PCS to focus on improving services for its customers, especially those interested in Kraft lignin processes and associated markets.

For more information contact Mitchell at dalemitchell@kraftlignin.com

Södra to become the largest producer of kraft lignin in the world

June 25, 2024

As a step in the strategy of getting more out of every tree, Södra is now establishing a new business to become a world leader in the production of kraft lignin. Södra's production facility will be the first commercial facility in Sweden and the largest of its kind in the world. This is an investment of over two billion SEK and expected to be in operation in 2027. 

https://www.sodra.com/en/global/about-sodra/press/press-releases-global/sodra-to-become-the-largest-producer-of-kraft-lignin-in-the-world/

Stora Enso to Idle Kraft Lignin Production at Sunilla Mill

June 16, 2023

Stora Enso announced plans to close down its Sunila pulp production unit in Finland permanently. This site of Stora Enso’s kraft lignin production facility produces approximately 40,000 tons of kraft lignin per year. Stora Enso’s leadership asserts the company’s strategy for developing biomaterial innovations remains unchanged.  A feasibility study for lignin extraction has been initiated at Stora Enso’s Skutskär pulp production site in Sweden. The Group also continues to develop other sourcing alternatives, including partnering, for long-term lignin supply and to investigate competitive locations for commercial scale-up of hard carbon, Lignode production.

Valmet Lignoboost XS: Concept development and experience with first plant delivery.

Lignin extraction from kraft recovery cycle has been increasingly gathering attention in both old and modern mills around the world. Transforming the usual pulp mill concept into a multiproduct biorefinery, lignin extraction processes are currently presented as a debottlenecking alternative, capable of increasing pulp production and as a sustainable bioproduct process with potentially high-end marketable products.

Sustainable alternatives to debottlenecking pulp mills are evolving as we encounter a favorable pulp market with environmental concern over the usage of fossil-based products and fuels. Lignin extraction is emerging as a potential pathway for both environmental and economic gains.

Separated lignin can be a source of additional revenues in pulp mills. Lignin can be used as a biofuel either for mill consumers (lime kiln, biomass boilers) or externally in replacement of traditional fossil fuels. There is more and more interest to use lignin in the field of green chemicals with new high-value applications, such as biopolymers, adhesives or carbon fiber production.

LignoBoost™ is a commercial lignin extraction process where precipitation, filtration and washing are used to separate lignin from black liquor. It is currently one of the main paths for transforming traditional pulp mills into biorefineries with additional sustainable co-products.

Full-scale Valmet LignoBoost lignin extraction plants are already in operation with successful results. Moreover, a demonstration-scale lignin extraction plant has been developed, aiming at customers that are willing to enter lignin business but are still prospecting applications and future market opportunities for lignin-based products. The first Valmet LignoBoost XS solution has been supplied to one of the major Brazilian pulp companies and started its operation in November 2019.

LignoBoost XS: Compact concept

Since lignin extraction plants are relatively new technology to many pulp mills, it is important to develop cost-effective and practical solutions that suit each mill’s specific needs. In this case the traditional lignin extraction process had to be adapted and turned into a cost-competitive compact skid-like installation, named LignoBoost XS, that can be easily transported and installed at mill site.

LignoBoost XS plant concept

In this installation, all process filtrates and waste streams were designed for an open circuit concept since the plant was built at a customer R&D facility and no mill process integration was considered. Independent process utilities (water, compressed air, chemicals) were installed at the facility to supply project’s demand.

Plant delivery at customer

The main goal for this project was to provide an effective way for the customer to produce lignin, evaluate end markets, and develop the best pathway for a future lignin business including a large-scale commercial plant.

Time schedule for the project was 12 months: The project was approved in late 2018, assembly started in August 2019 and skid transport for installation on site happened in October 2019. Plant commissioning started in late October 2019 and it took about 20 days for the plant to be ready to start up, including cold and hot commissioning.

LignoBoost XS plant at customer site

New technology plants are specially demanding regarding startup phase, requiring lots of equipment testing and process tuning.

Conclusions

Lignin business is showing up as one great pathway to a sustainable and economically viable new way for kraft pulp mills to take in near future towards biorefinery status. The technology for lignin extraction is already working on commercial scale plants and market development is advancing in promising way.

LignoBoost XS is presented as a viable alternative for mills desiring to test and pursue new business lines with lower investment and risk.

The compact installation concept of LignoBoost XS was proven to be functional and the ease of construction, transportation and installation makes this approach a promising alternative for introducing the technology to new customers.

UPM Biochemicals grows lignin business with new Domtar supply agreement

PRESS RELEASE23.12.2020 13:00 EET

UPM and the US-based pulp and paper producer Domtar Paper Company LLC have signed an agreement for UPM to acquire the total annual kraft lignin production of Domtar’s Plymouth Mill in North Carolina, USA as of January 2021. This step enables UPM to expand its role in the growing lignin business and different application segments.

Following the agreement, UPM will increase its supply of kraft lignin by more than 20.000 metric tonnes annually. Part of the supply will be used to complement the existing UPM BioPivaTM product family. UPM lignin products will be sold globally through UPM’s sales network and are supported by strong technical expertise.

“We are very pleased to have agreed this new supply agreement with Domtar. It enables us to expand our lignin business in the growing biochemicals market before the start-up of our Biorefinery in Leuna, Germany,” says Juuso Konttinen, Vice President, UPM Biochemicals.  

“These additional volumes of kraft lignin and the increased security of supply will enable us to serve our customers even better. The demand for sustainable kraft lignin solutions has been increasing steadily and customers value our strong sustainability credentials and proven technical expertise,” adds Christian Hübsch, Director, Lignin Business at UPM Biochemicals.

"Domtar is excited to partner with UPM to provide sustainable alternatives to fossil-based products," Steve Henry, Domtar's vice president of strategy and business analysis said.

Kraft lignin products such as UPM BioPivaTM are used as a renewable alternative to fossil-based products in a growing range of applications, such as lignin-based phenolic resins. They offer high technical performance, with a considerably improved environmental footprint.

UPM is currently building an industrial scale biochemicals refinery in Leuna, Germany, to produce biobased Monoethylene Glycol (BioMEG), Monopropylene Glycol (BioMPG) and industrial sugars as well as renewable functional fillers and lignin from sustainably sourced hardwood.

For further information please contact:
Juuso Konttinen, Vice President, UPM Biochemicals, tel. +358 40 5317405, juuso.konttinen@upm.com
Christian Hübsch, Director, Lignin Business, UPM Biochemicals, tel. +49 175 1500232, christian.hubsch@upm.com

UPM, Media Relations
Mon-Fri 9:00-16:00 EET
tel. +358 40 588 3284
media@upm.com

STORA ENSO OYJ INVESTOR NEWS 4 December 2020 at 9:00 EET

Stora Enso is investing EUR 14 million to build a granulation and packing plant for lignin, allowing easier packing and handling of lignin compared to powder and wet form. According to Stora Enso’s strategy, lignin is one of the key innovation areas for delivering growth on new applications, such as energy storage, binders and carbon fiber. The granulation plant will be located at Stora Enso’s Sunila Mill in Finland.

Lignin is one of the main building blocks of a tree. Today, the lignin produced at Sunila Mill, Lineo™ by Stora Enso, is delivered as a dusty powder or as wet lignin. It is used, for example, as a phenol replacement in adhesives, as a bio-based natural binder replacing bitumen in asphalt, and in bioplastics. In the future, it can be used as a source of biocarbon in energy storage systems such as batteries for electric vehicles, as bio-based binders in plywood and as material for carbon fiber.

Producing lignin in granulated form enables more effective handling and packing of the product. This further strengthens Stora Enso’s capabilities in replacing fossil-based raw materials, while supporting a more sustainable supply chain. 

“This investment helps us in providing our customers with a more efficient way of handling dry lignin and delivering it in bulk containers. In addition to reducing both packaging and transportation costs, packing granulated lignin will be easier and faster compared to the dry powder used today, which requires special equipment,” says Markus Mannström, Executive Vice President of Stora Enso’s Biomaterials division.

The construction of the granulation plant is estimated to begin by the end of the second quarter of 2021 and to be complete in the second quarter of 2022.

Stora Enso has been producing lignin industrially at its Sunila Mill in Finland since 2015. The annual production capacity is 50 000 tonnes, making Stora Enso the largest kraft lignin producer in the world.

For further information, please contact:
Ingrid Peura
SVP, Communications, Biomaterials
tel. +358 50 307 0026

Investor enquiries:
Ulla Paajanen
SVP, Investor Relations
tel. +358 40 763 8767