Conversion of Lignin into Bio-Based Chemicals and Materials

This book presents an overview of various types of lignin and their unique structures and properties, as well as utilizations of crude or modified technical lignin for high-value bioproducts such as lignin-based PF resins/adhesives, epoxy resins, PF foams, PU foams, rubber reinforcement and carbon fibers and as dispersants in drilling fluids in the oil and gas industry. It subsequently discusses various thermal/chemical modification techniques (pyrolysis, direct liquefaction and de-polymerization) for converting lignin into oils and chemical feedstocks, and the utilization of crude lignin, lignin-derived oils or depolymerized lignins (DLs) of reduced molecular weights and improved reactivity to produce lignin-based PF resins/adhesives, PF/PU foams and epoxy resins.

Chunbao (Charles) Xu, PhD, is currently a Professor of Chemical Engineering and NSERC/FPInnovations Industrial Research Chair in Forest Biorefinery at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.

Fatemeh Ferdosian, PhD, is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo, Canada.

Dr. Chunbao (Charles) Xu is a full Professor and Associate Chair (Undergraduate) of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Director of the Industrial Bioproducts Laboratory of Western University, and was the NSERC/FPInnovations Industrial Research Chair in Forest Biorefinery from 2011 to 2016. He holds two PhD degrees, one in Metallurgical Engineering (1998) from the University of Science and Technology Beijing, and the other in Chemical Engineering (2004) from the University of Western Ontario. He has acquired an international reputation in the field of biorefinery, particularly in the production of bio-energy, bio-fuels, bio-based chemicals and materials from wastes and byproducts/residues from the forestry and agricultural sectors.

He has co-edited 2 Springer books on biorefineries and published 12 book chapters and 130+ papers in peer-reviewed journals. His research has also resulted in 3 international patents (PCT) and 5 US provisional US/Canadian patents filed, as well as nearly 20 reported inventions. He received the Syncrude Canada Innovation Award in 2011 from CSChE, the 2014 Outstanding Profile Award in Professionals Sector from Fairchild Television, and more recently the 2015 VELUX Visiting Professorship at Aalborg University, Denmark, and the 2016 Visiting Erskine Fellowship at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. He currently serves as the co-editor-in-chief for the International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering (IJCRE). Email: cxu6@uwo.ca

Dr. Fatemeh Ferdosian is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo, Canada. She received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Polymer Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Iran, in 2007 and 2009, respectively, and her PhD in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering (2015) from the University of Western Ontario, Canada. She has published 11 papers in peer-reviewed journals. A US/Canadian patent was filed on the basis of her PhD research results. Email: fatemehferdosian@gmail.com