Metsä Group, ANDRITZ, and Dow will construct a demo plant for lignin refining planned to begin in the summer 2024 and be completed in late 2025.
Mar 22, 2024
Metsä Group will construct a demo plant for lignin refining in connection with its Äänekoski bioproduct mill. Technology group ANDRITZ will supply the equipment. Construction will begin in summer 2024, and the demo plant will be completed in late 2025. The plant’s daily capacity will be two tonnes of the lignin product. Metsä Group and ANDRITZ will focus on developing the production process of the new lignin product and its integration with the bioproduct mill, and the product properties suitable for various end uses. The demo plant project also involves Dow, a leading material science company, which will develop high-performance bio-dispersant plasticizers for concrete and gypsum applications, based on the lignin product produced at the plant.
Mr. Ismo Nousiainen, CEO of Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, says, “Our goal is to efficiently use the side streams of pulp production and ensure they produce the greatest possible added value. We want to develop new products made from renewable natural resources that can replace fossil-based raw materials and products.”
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ANDRITZ has been developing lignin recovery and modification technology concepts as part of its initiative to enable pulp mills to convert side streams into value-added products. Kari Tuominen, CEO & President of ANDRITZ Oy, states: “We are thrilled to be able to test this technology in continuous process conditions at the Äänekoski bioproduct mill. In addition to validating markets for the new lignin product, the demo scale gives us valuable insights for integrating the LigniOx process into a bioproduct mill and scaling it up for industrial use.”
Ms. Raquel Fortes, Global Business Director of Dow Construction Chemicals, says, “At Dow, we are committed to collaborating with stakeholders to innovate and bring more sustainable solutions to the market. This new technology would further expand Dow’s bio-based product offerings 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 Äänekoski mill area is Metsä Group’s largest, housing a paperboard, veneer and bioproduct mill. Äänekoski is also home to Metsä Group’s demo plants for the Kuura textile fibre and Muoto fibre product.
Lignin is a substance in wood that binds wood fibers together. In pulp production, lignin is separated from the fibers into black liquor in the chemical cycle and used as bioenergy. Lignin could also be used in chemical and material applications.
