Lignin-Based High-Performance Fibers by Textile Spinning Techniques

Abstract

As a major component of lignocellulosic biomass, lignin is one of the largest natural resources of biopolymers and, thus, an abundant and renewable raw material for products, such as high-performance fibers for industrial applications. Direct conversion of lignin has long been investigated, but the fiber spinning process for lignin is difficult and the obtained fibers exhibit unsatisfactory mechanical performance mainly due to the amorphous chemical structure, low molecular weight of lignin, and broad molecular weight distribution. Therefore, different textile spinning techniques, modifications of lignin, and incorporation of lignin into polymers have been and are being developed to increase lignin’s spinnability and compatibility with existing materials to yield fibers with better mechanical performance. This review presents the latest advances in the textile fabrication techniques, modified lignin-based high-performance fibers, and their potential in the enhancement of the mechanical performance.

High-Performance Gel-Spun Poly(vinyl alcohol) Fibers Reinforced by Organosolv Lignin-graft-poly(acrylic acid)

“…Synthesis of Lignin-graf t-poly(acrylic acid). Organosolv lignin has little modification in the structure after its recovery from the organosolv pulping process, and it is ideal for direct use as a raw material for different products 35 due to its relatively high purity. In this work, commercially available organosolv lignin (OL) was used mainly because its structure contains no other functional groups such as sulfonate groups (−SO 3 ) in lignosulfonate or aliphatic thiol groups (−SH) in Kraft lignin.…”

Recent advances in lignin-based carbon fibers (LCFs): precursors, fabrications, properties, and applications

“…In recent years, to meet the huge market demand for CFs, great efforts have been focused on developing sustainable and low-cost CFs with comparable properties, and the related research progress in this field has been reviewed by different research groups all over the world. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Lignin is one of the three main components in lignocellulosic biomass and is usually a by-product of pulping and biorefinery. In lignocellulosic biomass, lignin is a heterogeneous polymer bonded by a series of C-O (i.e., β-O-4) and C-C (i.e., β-β, β-5, β-1, etc.)…”

“…In recent years, to meet the huge market demand for CFs, great efforts have been focused on developing sustainable and low-cost CFs with comparable properties, and the related research progress in this field has been reviewed by different research groups all over the world. 1–15…”

Electrospinning of Softwood Organosolv Lignin without Polymer Addition

“…On the other hand, electrospinning of pure lignin is known to be very difficult . The branched structure of lignin samples recovered from various pulping processes and their low molecular weight represent a limitation for electrospinning and the synthesis of carbon fibers with good properties. ,, This is why most of the studies dealing with the electrospinning of lignin focused on adding polymers, such as polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and most frequently, polyethylene oxide (PEO) in solution. − The main reason is that PEO can establish strong hydrogen-bonding interactions with lignins, which decrease the surface tension and remove Plateau–Rayleigh instabilities . The most frequently used solvent for lignin electrospinning is N , N -dimethyl formamide (DMF).…”