Menetelmä lignoselluloosamateriaalien höyryräjäyttämisestä saadun ligniinin fraktioimiseksi sellaisten fraktioiden saamiseksi, joiden ominaisuudet ovat erilaiset mutta toistettavissa, menetelmiä fraktioiden keskinäiseksi konversioksi ja näin saatuja tuotteita

摘要

The invention relates to a process for extracting chemical components of lignocellulosic material which have been dissociated by steam explosion process from the mixture of components using a solvent extraction process. The solvents are water, alcohol and a mild caustic in that order, or the alcohol step can be by-passed and only water and caustic are used. The caustic is a stronger solvent and it will extract the alcohol solubles along with the caustic only solubles. The eluant from these extractions contains a range of lignin derivatives, which have different properties, such as thermoplastic and thermosetting characteristics, being therefore suitable for different applications. The patent also relates to thermoplastic and thermosetting lignin obtained with the method and a process for converting the thermoplastic lignin fraction to thermosetting lignin. <IMAGE>