Commercialization of Depolymerized Lignin in Fire Protection Products
Project Start Date: 13/09/2021
Project End Date: 31/03/2023
CRIBE Funding: $235,300
Project Total Value: $470,600
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Project Lead: Lancotek Products Inc.
Consortium Members: Lancotek Products Inc., Western University, Western Maple Bio Resources Inc., Paper Province and RISE.
Project Goal
The goal of this project is to increase the commercial readiness of lignin-containing thermoplastics and composites, specifically injection molded and extruded products. This project will pursue three opportunities for commercialization:
- Enabling halogen free products targeted at fire protection using depolymerized kraft lignin (DKL).
- Expanding market scope for improved depolymerized kraft lignin enhanced products targeted at fire protection.
- Capturing market opportunities for highly loaded, thermally resistant thermoplastic products.
Lancotek Products Inc. and its consortium will achieve this by:
- Starting pilot production of DKL to support lab scale and commercial scale production.
- Test and optimize lignin, polymer and filler processing for commercial scale production.
- Test and optimize fire performance for all three applications.
Project Updates
February 2022
The consortium group has made meaningful progress on the development and commercialization of depolymerized kraft lignin (DKL) in fire protection products. Lab scale DKL production has been achieved and further development will be conducted to produce commercial fire protection products. Kraft lignin (KL) has shown promising fire protection properties in non-halogenated injection molded products and it’s expected that DKL will also show favorable results and improved material and processing properties due to its low molecular weight. Further chemical modification will be explored to improve the flame retardant properties of DKL and expand its commercial applications, particularly thin extrusion profiles.
September 2022
The consortium group has further developed lignin containing fire protection products. It has been shown that West Fraser’s Kraft Lignin performs favorably within complex, highly filled firestop systems and can be used synergistically with other fire retardant components. Fire performance results show that West Fraser’s Kraft Lignin can be used as a bio-based, fire-retardant filler that contributes to char formation in polyolefin fire protection systems.
November 2022
The consortium group has further developed lignin containing fire protection products. It has been shown that Depolymerized Kraft Lignin (DKL) and Hardwood Kraft Lignin (HKL) performs more effectively than unmodified Kraft Lignin in non-halogenated firestop systems and can be used synergistically with other firestop components. Fire performance results show that DKL and HKL can be used as a bio-based, firestop filler that contributes to char formation in non-halogenated polyolefin firestop systems.
March 2023
The consortium group has further developed lignin containing fire protection products. It has been shown that Depolymerized Kraft Lignin (DKL) and Hardwood Kraft Lignin (HKL) can perform effectively in non-halogen formulations used in small diameter, firestop collar assemblies
Consortium Members:
