Olumoye Ajao

Natural Resources Canada | NRCan · CanmetENERGY

Chemocatalytic lignin valorization strategies are critical for a sustainable bioeconomy, as lignin, especially technical lignin, is one of the most available and underutilized aromatic feedstocks. Here, we provide the first report of an intensified reactive distillation-reductive catalytic deconstruction (RD-RCD) process to concurrently deconstruct...

Barks from harvested logs have limited use although they are potential feedstock for high value products due to the polyphenolic and cellulosic molecules they contain. Key reasons for their low valorization are recalcitrance, higher lignin content, inhomogeneousity, and higher contamination compared to wood stems. The objective of this study was to...

New insights on the variability of solubility elucidated for diverse lignins, quantification thereby makes it possible to predict performance for solvent fractionation processes and polymers formulation.

Furfural is a versatile platform and multipurpose chemical that can be produced with no carbon efficiency loss from pentose sugars present in prehydrolysate streams. Existing processes for the production of furfural are typically energy-intensive with limitations to recover value-added molecules and byproducts such as lignin and acetic acid. In thi...

The aim of this work is to develop a novel green solvent based sustainable process to refine lignin into low molecular weight (LMW) and high molecular weight (HMW) fractions. Lignin dispersity reduction were experimentally determined using four solvent mixtures, and benchmarked against eight pure solvents. Data outputs were used for modelling the i...

Yellow birch barks is one of the abundant species in Quebec with harvest surplus in several regions. Biofuels or biochemicals such as biobutanol can be produced using the surplus feedstock, how- ever challenges such as the cost of pretreatment, production of unwanted by-products in the fermentation process, and the effi- cient recovery of solvents...

Integrated forest biorefineries have been proposed as a viable option for the transformation of lignocellulosic biomass into a wide spectrum of profitable products for the pulp and paper industry. Hemicelluloses, a class of wood components can be extracted from a Kraft pulping process prior to chemical pulping and transformed by means of chemical a...

The development of integrated biorefineries is one of the currently proposed strategies for transforming into a low carbon bio‐economy. Although different biorefining technologies can be integrated into host mills such as the Kraft and thermomechanical pulp processes, it is important to select the most appropriate technology taking into considerati...

Lignin availability has increased significantly due to the commercialization of several processes for recovery and further development of alternatives for integration into Kraft pulp mills. Also, progress in lignin characterization, understanding of its chemistry as well as processing methods have resulted in the identification of novel lignin-base...

Prehydrolysate, a dilute solution consisting mainly of pentoses, hexoses, and lesser quantities of organic acids, furfural and phenolics, is generated in the Kraft dissolving pulp process. An obstacle facing the valorization of the solution in hemicellulose biorefineries, by conversion of the sugars into bioproducts such as furfural, is the low sug...

Kraft prehydrolysate contains fermentable sugars and other organic compounds such as furans, phenolic compounds and acids, which are toxic to the fermentation microorganisms. In this work, bacteria-derived laccases were used to degrade key phenolic compounds. Firstly, the potential of degrading the key phenolic compounds in the prehydrolysate was d...

Of the 17 million m3 of forestry barks, approximately 40% is used as a source of energy in Canadian pulp and paper mills. In recent years, due to their high fraction of tannin, lignin and cellulose, forestry barks have attracted growing interest as feedstock for development and commercialization of industrial biochemicals and biomaterials. The purp...

Bioenergy is increasingly recognized as one of the sustainable and reliable energy sources routes that can help to mitigate the consequences of climate change and led to more consistent usage of biomass. Canada is making significant progress with Government support programs to increase the bioenergy share of the total primary energy consumption In...

As more new plants and processes for lignin extraction from black liquor and from forest biomass are implemented globally, the availability of various grades of lignin will continue to increase. Considerable effort is being made to facilitate utilization of lignin for high value applications through modifications of some of its properties. However,...

A generic design for the fractionation process was developed and tested against eight organic solvents. Modelling and simulation using Aspen Plus® was used to establish the mass and energy balances and the efficiency of solvent recovery for the alternatives considered. In addition, the solvent recovery yield was determined as it is essential for th...

Due to the rapid advancement of material science and technology, it is anticipated that the next growth area for biomaterials will be in developing energy-efficient processes and lightweight performance products for automotive applications. In this context, wood barks represent a low cost feedstock to produce biocomposites but there has been limite...

Biomass p retreatment processes for the f ractionation of lignocellulosic biomass into cellulose, lignin and hemicelluloses differ considerably in terms of their complexity, operating conditions and results . Hence, identification of the best method depen ds on the type of lignocellulosic biomass and targeted bioproducts. Ch allenges with e...

Recovery of lignin from Kraft black liquor is already at the commercial scale, and the conversion of lignin into high-value products is considered as one of the means for transforming pulp and paper mills into multiproduct biorefineries. However, this has not led to the widespread production of lignin derivatives because the actual techno-economic...

One of the abundant wood species in eastern Canada is yellow birch, and high volumes of harvested surplus wood and residues (about 4 dry tons/acre/year) exist in several rural and suburban communities. Sustainable utilization of this feedstock by producing biofuels or biochemical such as biobutanol can boost economic transformation of such communit...

In 2012, the market forbio-based products excluding biofuels, was estimated at about $200Billion (Bn), of which polyols, bioplastics and biocomposites represent $28Bn.The annual growth of the entire bio-based products market is projected to be in the order of 6 to 8%, with the highest growth by bioplastics and biocomposites. Despite such significan...

The development of biorefineries presents an opportunity for the Canadian forest industry to utilize its abundant biomass source for increasing revenues, creating jobs and improving its environmental footprint. A precondition for success is that the production cost of biochemicals, biomaterials and biofuels should be lower than that of fossil fuel...

The emerging bioeconomy provides Canadian industries with promising opportunities to generate new revenue streams by taking advantage of abundant renewable forest resources. However, forest products sector transformation by establishing biorefinery strategies implies that companies have to identify which bio-based products are attractive and how th...

The prehydrolysate stream from a Kraft dissolving pulp mill can be valorized by fermentation of the hemicellulosic sugars into biofuels or bioproducts, such as ethanol or butanol, instead of the typical practice of combustion to produce energy. An obstacle facing the use of Kraft hemicelluloses prehydrolysate for biofuels production is the low suga...

Hemicellulosic sugars from a Kraft dissolving pulp mill can be valorized through the integration of a biorefinery for furfural production. Furfural is a multipurpose platform chemical, with derivatives that can replace many organic compounds currently produced from fossil resources. A novel process for furfural production from biomass, with a Kraft...

In recent years, the forest biorefinery has been identified and proposed as an opportunity for pulp and paper mills to improve their profitability. The implementation of biorefinery units will have an impact on the energy requirements of the receptor mill, and the energy consumption of the biorefinery should therefore be optimized before integratio...