Solvent cuts paper energy use by 40%

In the production of paper, the basic vegetable material lignocellulose - coming from woodchips or other biomass - has to be separated into lignine and cellulose.

The cellulose can then be used to make paper. However, the process to separate the cellulose requires high pressures and temperatures, and is expensive to operate.

This is a game changer, and it means the paper industry will look very different 20 years from now

VNP chairman Henk van Houtum

To overcome these issues, EUT professor Maaike Kroon has developed a novel technique to easily dissolve wood fibres in specific deep eutectic solvents (DES).

DES consists of a mixture of two compounds which, once they have been combined, have a much lower melting point than that of the individual components.

Kroon’s process also produces very pure lignine, which the paper industry can use to develop new applications and markets such as making biodegradable plastics.

“This is a game changer, and it means the paper industry will look very different 20 years from now,” said Henk van Houtum, chairman of the Royal Netherlands’ paper and board association (VNP).

In addition to lowering overall energy consumption by up to 40%, van Houtum is also optimistic that the DES process will be capable of reducing carbon emissions by around 20%.

So far 14 producers in the European paper industry have signed a letter of intent to fund the continued development of the solvent.

It is thought that the laboratory research could take 10 years to complete, with a similar period being required for the optimisation of a pilot plant that is to be built in the Netherlands.