Production of phenolic compounds by lignin liquefaction – PhenoLiq

This project deals with the valorisation of lignin, which is a by-product of the pulp and paper industry, into phenolic compounds by a thermochemical process with new catalysts. Phenol is an important building block for the chemical industry notably to produce polymers. This project is a good example of a concept of biorefinery applied to an existing sector: the pulp and paper industry.
Mass and energy balances of the whole route will be determined from the pulp mill to lignin conversion and to the final purified phenols.

This project deals more specifically with the development of a novel process: a staged catalytic and continuous liquefaction process. Furthermore, this process is combined with a purification step of the phenols and a synthesis of bio-sourced polymers in order to figure out the quality of the as-produced phenols.

This project gathers interdisciplinary skills in energy (FJV, CTP), chemical engineering (FJV, CTP), catalysis (IRCELYON), physical-chemistry of polymers (FJV), technical-economical and environmental assessment (CTP).

The novelty of this project lies in the following aspects:
- for chemical engineering methodology: the staged liquefaction process is new for lignin and coud be interesting for other fields of application (such as petroleum and coal conversion, recycling of polymers or tyres, purification of liquid waste streams, etc.);
- for catalysis science: new cheap and green catalysts are proposed;
- in term of global assessment of the technical route: this study would offer the first environmental and technical-economical assessment of the route "wood to phenols" applied to currently operated pulp mills in France.