Metsä Group’s demo plant for a new lignin product has started up in Äänekoski. The plant uses lignin extracted from the bio-product mill’s production process as its raw material, and it has a nameplate capacity of two tons of a new type of lignin product per day. The plant was built in cooperation with the equipment supplier Andritz. Dow, a leading materials science company, is a key partner. Metsä Group’s new lignin products are called Metsä LigO.
According to Ismo Nousiainen, CEO of Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, the company aims to use the wood raw material, including side streams of pulp production, as efficiently as possible to generate the greatest possible added value.
“Lignin is a substance in wood that binds wood fibers together. In pulp production, lignin is separated from the fibers. It has usually been utilized as bio-energy. However, it also has other valuable potential uses where it can replace fossil raw and other materials,” Nousiainen said.
“The purpose of the new demo plant is to ensure the functionality of the lignin product’s production process, as well as the product’s characteristics and suitability for the market. If everything goes according to our plan, the next step will be the design and possible construction of a production-scale plant.”
Dow has collaborated with Metsä Group and Andritz to develop bio-based plasticisers for concrete and gypsum applications, using modified lignin from the demo plant as raw material.
“This collaboration demonstrates our shared vision for sustainable construction solutions and the potential of lignin-based technologies throughout the value chain,” said Emilia Wasilewicz, global business director of Dow’s construction chemicals business.
“The new demo facility will help enable Dow Construction Chemicals to advance the development of bio-based additives and validate the technology in construction applications at a commercial scale.”
Metsä Group, Andritz and Dow have previously collaborated in an EU-funded R&D project coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland to test and develop the production technology on a smaller pilot scale. The project also showed that the new lignin product can replace fossil-based chemicals in the production of concrete and gypsum boards.
