Accelerated Industrialization of Lignin-based Elastomers

Purpose and goal:

The project aims at the development of lignin-based elastomer materials that can be processed under industrial conditions. This means further development of results on a laboratory scale with different lignin qualities and pretreatments, and adaptation of this to the conditions that exist in industrial rubber production.

Expected results and effects:

The project is expected to develop new and ground-breaking knowledge about material development of lignin-based elastomers, which leads to the setting out of paths towards commercial production. Tangible results from the project will be developed materials, and recipes for the production of these, as well as trials with these at Trelleborg Industries facilities.

The effect is expected to be continued commercial investments in lignin-based elastomer materials based on scaled-up tests, in the value chain that the project establishes through its constituent parties. Approach and implementation:

The project will be carried out by testing and evaluation a number of different lignin grades, supplied by the project´s various parties, and their suitability for producing rubbery materials by cross-linking with different substances. These trials will be carried out through manual laboratory work, but also in a robotic automated process.

Successful mixtures will be adapted for trials at a larger scale, and suitability will be rigorously investigated in trials at Trelleborg Industries facilities.