<Li> Environmentally sustainable dust suppression agent for roads </Li> <P> Lignin removed via the kraft process is usually burned for its fuel value as part of a concentrated black liquor stream, providing energy to run the mill and its associated processes . Three commercial processes exist to remove lignin from black liquor for higher value uses: LignoBoost (Sweden), LignoForce (Canada), and SLRP (US). Higher quality lignin presents the potential to become the main renewable aromatic resource for the chemical industry in the future, with an addressable market of more than $130 bn . </P> <P> Given that lignin is the most prevalent biopolymer after cellulose and is ubiquitous in the Earth's biosphere, the same economic principles that drive the desire for cellulosic ethanol as a biofuel also call for the investigation of lignin as a feedstock for biofuel production . Lignin can already be burned in furnaces, but interest in the idea of instead chemically converting it to liquid fuel is strong . </P> <Ul> <Li> 1927: The first investigations into commercial use of lignin were reported by Marathon Corporation, a paper company based in Rothschild, Wisconsin . The first class of products that showed promise were leather tanning agents . The lignin chemical business of Marathon was operated for many years as Marathon Chemicals . It is now known as LignoTech USA, Inc., and is owned by the Norwegian company Borregaard . </Li> <Li> 1998: a German company, Tecnaro, developed a process for turning lignin into a substance, called Arboform, which behaves identically to plastic for injection molding . Therefore, it can be used in place of plastic for several applications . When the item is discarded, it can be burned just like wood . </Li> <Li> 2007: lignin extracted from shrubby willow was successfully used to produce expanded polyurethane foam . </Li> <Li> 2012: it was shown carbon fiber can be produced from lignin instead of from fossil oil . </Li> <Li> 2013: the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology was supervising a trial of 448 poplar trees genetically engineered to produce less lignin so that they would be more suitable for conversion into bio-fuels . </Li> <Li> 2013: researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, demonstrated that lignin derived from a Miscanthus grass could be catalytically degraded into monophenolic products, which could potentially serve as an aromatic chemical feedstock . </Li> </Ul>

Cellulose pectin hemicellulose and lignin are examples of