Metsä Group’s pilot plant for lignin processing has begun operations in Äänekoski. The plant uses lignin separated from the production process of the bioproduct mill as its raw material, and its nominal capacity is two tons of a new type of lignin product per day. The plant was built in collaboration with equipment supplier ANDRITZ, with chemical industry giant Dow serving as a key partner. Metsä Group’s new lignin products are branded Metsä LigO™.
According to Ismo Nousiainen, CEO of Metsä Fibre, a Metsä Group company, the company’s goal is to utilize wood raw material and pulp production by-products as efficiently as possible and to generate the greatest possible added value from them.
“Lignin is a component of wood that binds wood fibers together. In pulp production, lignin is separated from the fibers and has traditionally been utilized as bioenergy. However, it also has several other valuable potential applications where it can be used to replace fossil raw materials and materials,” Nousiainen notes.
“The purpose of the pilot plant now being launched is to ensure the functionality of the lignin product’s production process, as well as the product’s properties and market suitability. If everything goes according to plan, the next step would be the design and potential construction of a production-scale facility.”
Dow, a leading chemical company, is developing bio-based plasticizers for concrete and gypsum applications, using the lignin product manufactured at the pilot plant as the raw material.
“This collaboration demonstrates that we share a common vision for sustainable building solutions and the potential of lignin-based technologies across the entire value chain,” says Emilia Wasilewicz, Business Director at Dow Construction Chemicals.
“Thanks to the new pilot plant, Dow Construction Chemicals can advance the development of bio-based additives and validate the technology in commercial-scale construction applications.”
Metsä Group, ANDRITZ, and Dow have previously collaborated on an EU project coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, during which the manufacturing technology was tested and developed on a smaller pilot scale. The project also demonstrated that refined lignin is suitable for use in concrete production as a substitute for fossil-based chemicals.
Metsä Group’s bioproduct and pulp mills produce a wide variety of by-products, the best known of which are bark, pine oil, turpentine, electricity, and heat. In Äänekoski, sulfuric acid, product gas, biogas, and methanol are also produced on an industrial scale. The Kuura textile fiber and Muoto packaging pilot plants also operate in the mill area. Meanwhile, the Rauma pulp mill is testing carbon dioxide capture on a pilot scale.