PROJECT TITLE: Production Of New Polymers And Materials Utilizing Phenolic And Furanic Platform Molecules From Biomass

PROJECT ACRONYM: BIORESCOM
PROJECT CODE: T2EDK-01243

Wood, one of the most commonly used natural product, can be found daily in applications in the furniture industry, through composite wood products, such as plywood, particle boards and fiberboards (MDF). Development of such products aims to reduced use of expensive and rare wood by combining various wood shapes (pieces, flakes, etc.) from various forest sources with blends of polymeric adhesive resins by applying hot-pressure welding. Phenol-formaldehyde resins (PF resins), due to their excellent properties, have been established as the most commonly used adhesive resins for the production of composite wood products. However, these resins are composed of two oil-derived compounds, which are also well known to be harmful compounds to humans and the environment. A promising alternative source of high value added chemicals is lignocellulosic biomass, which is an abundant and underutilized/unexploited source, that comes as residue/waste from forestry and agricultural activities and by-products of related processing industries. Lignocellulosic biomass consists of three main structural components, i.e. cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Lignin is an amorphous natural polymer, consisting of phenolic rings with various substituents/functional groups. The correlation/relevance of its structure with petroleum-based phenol has made it possible to use lignin as an additive in the production of PF type adhesive resins by partial substitution of phenol. 

CHIMAR has developed this technology and holds a leading position in the European and international market in this field. Based on its experience in the use of lignin, CHIMAR's goal through this project is to utilize/exploit the phenolic and furan monomers/oligomers recovered from lignocellulosic biomass towards the production of new bio-based phenol-formaldehyde-type resins and related composite materials, such as composite wood products (plywood). Specifically, in the first step the isolation of the hemicellulose and lignin stream will take place by selective fractionation of biomass. From the first stream and through catalytic hydrolysis/dehydration processes, furanic monomers such as furfural, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and organic acids (acetic and formic) will be obtained, while from the lignin stream and through catalytic or non-catalytic fast pyrolysis lignin bio-oils will be obtained, that are rich in alkyl- and alkoxy- phenolic monomers, such as phenol and substituted phenols. The resulting furan and phenolic monomers, as well as model commercial compounds, will be studied for the ability to replace formaldehyde and phenol, respectively, in phenol-formaldehyde resins, while the ability to produce bio-based resins achieving as much as possible substitution levels of petroleum compounds, through the combination of the two types of bio-monomers. Phenol-formaldehyde bio-based resins will be used as adhesive resins for the manufacture of composite wood products and in particular plywood. To achieve the objectives of the project, CHIMAR will assign specific tasks to the Subcontractor (Department of Chemistry, AUTH), who has significant experience in the processing and utilization of residual biomass towards chemicals and high added value products as well as in the development of polymeric nanocomposite materials.