Project Description:

Lignin is a complex organic polymer that makes up as much as one third of every tree, but traditionally its qualities, other than heating value, have been overlooked by the pulp industry.
Stora Enso recognises the potential of versatile lignin, which we have been commercialising since 2013. It’s a renewable alternative for a range of applications, e.g. as a replacement for oil-based phenolic materials, used in resins for plywood, paper lamination, insulation material, carbon fibres and energy storage. Compared with phenol and formaldehyde, lignin is a stable, safer alternative with a lower carbon footprint. Easy to handle, lignin also has stable pricing due to backward integration, making it an ideal bio-based, non-toxic alternative.
As it is a new project, it will take time to test lignin throughout the value chain, but Stora Enso hopes brand owners will become increasingly aware of its potential. Stora Enso launched LineoTM
in March 2018 with a dedicated media campaign, and the company promotes the product through a range of communication channels. Stora Enso participates in high-level industry events to inform peers and potential customers of its benefits.

Lignin as a phenol replacement is already commercialised, and Stora Enso is researching how to use it for other applications to provide the market with an innovative wood-based product to replace fossil-based materials.
The LineoTM’s launch has been positively received by our stakeholders, and we have a range of companies interested in using it as a bio-based alternative. LineoTM helps the EU reach the targets set by the European Circular Bioeconomy Strategy and adds to the mix of new bio-based products helping the European economy decarbonise.

Lignin production began in 2015 at Stora Enso’s Sunila Mill, which has a production capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year. Stora Enso invested €32 million in lignin separation technology for Sunila, and in principle other pulp mills could be suitable for similar projects.