Insight into Lignin-Based Materials Webinar

insight.png

Lignin has emerged as an important component for the valorization of plant biomass. Interesting approaches for upgrading lignin either by controlled depolymerization using catalytic fractionation or materials fabrication have been of great interest to the research community. For the latter, exploitation of industrially available technical lignins, such as kraft and organosolv lignins have provided pathways towards functional materials such as mesoporous aerogels, nanofiber sponges, lignin polymer blends, carbon fiber and colloidal lignin particles. This talk will highlight some basic information about lignin (types and sources) and how these feedstocks can be manipulated into new materials. The talk will describe some processes about making lignin more uniform by fractionation and chemical modification to discuss some structure and property relationships. The talk is aimed at researchers and managers wanting to better understand lignin and its potential with some observations about lignin structure.

Who Should Watch:

Job Titles

  • Academics
  • Research Managers
  • Research Scientists
  • Governmental Organizations

Company

  • Academics (North America, Europe, Asia, and South America)
  • Research Managers
  • Pulp and paper, chemical manufacturers, materials company
  • Research Scientists
  • SME, bioeconomy, bioconversion, biorefinery
  • Research like NREL, JBEI, or USDA ARS, and government ministers

Learning Outcomes:

  • Discuss the value that lignin holds for a biorefinery (pulp and paper to energy and fuels) and the challenges that have made commercialization of products difficult
  • Assess new and interesting materials that can be fabricated from technical lignin

Speaker: Prof. Scott Renneckar

scott webianr.jpgDepartment of Wood Science
University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver,
British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
E-mail: scott.renneckar@ubc.ca
Tel.: +1-604-827-0637

Scott Renneckar is a Professor in the Department of Wood Science at the University of British Columbia where he does research and teaching around sustainable biobased materials. He earned his PhD and BSc degrees from Virginia Tech (USA) in Wood Science, along with a MSc in Wood Science from the University of California, Berkeley. He moved to UBC in 2014, after serving as a professor at Virginia Tech for 9 years. He leads a dynamic team of researchers working on projects of lignin and heteropolysaccharide valorization, biomass fractionation, and nanocomposites.

Scott is recognized as a Canada Research Chair in Advanced Renewable Materials contributing to bioproducts research at UBC as theme-lead for UBC’s Bioproducts Institute. Currently, he serves as Chair of the Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division of the American Chemical Society. He serves as the Program Director for the Forest Bioeconomy Sciences and Technology (BEST) degree in the Faculty of Forestry.

Inside this Section