The Project’s Achievements:
Any other sustainable benefits
Wood is a renewable natural resource which can replace fossil-based raw materials and products.
Efficient use of side streams in pulp production ensures the greatest possible added value.
Demo plant for developing new lignin products
Project description
Metsä Group will construct a demo plant for lignin refining in connection with its Äänekoski bioproduct mill. Construction began in summer 2024, and will be completed in late 2025. The plant’s daily capacity will be two tonnes of the lignin product.
Lignin is a substance in wood that binds wood fibres together. In pulp production, lignin is separated from the fibres into black liquor in the chemical cycle and used as bioenergy. Lignin could also be used in chemical and material applications.
Metsä Group aims to develop its mills according to the bioproduct mill concept. This means that the company will increasingly use the side streams of pulp mills to process wood into increasingly valuable bioproducts in a resource-efficient manner. The use of lignin as a raw material is one example of this. New products made from renewable natural resources can replace fossil-based raw materials and products.
The implemented solution
Lignin could be used in various chemical and material applications, for example to meet the future needs of the building and construction industry.
In a pilot-scale EU project coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Metsä Group, ANDRITZ and Dow have already demonstrated the suitability of modified lignin as a replacement for fossil-based chemicals in concrete production.
The key hurdles solved
The demo plant will be built at Metsä Group’s mill area in Äänekoski, next to the bioproduct mill. As it is a demo plant, permits for pilot operations have been applied for. If an industrial-scale mill is built, it will require an update of the existing permits for the bioproduct mill.
Key Suppliers / Partners
- ANDRITZ
- Dow
“The aim is to create a product that can be used in many different ways, replacing fossil-based raw materials and products. It is also essential to refine the process so that it can be successfully integrated into a bioproduct mill. If everything goes smoothly, we will discover within a few years that we have a great product highly demanded in the market, suitable for different applications and that the process can be integrated into bioproduct mills without insurmountable problems. Certain uses for lignin have already been identified, and we are trying to find new uses that have not yet emerged. Customer feedback plays an important role in developing the product and finding its new uses.”
Timi Hyppänen
SVP, business development, Metsä Fibre
