Grant: Research Networks

The Forest Industry is one of Canada's largest industries and the economic mainstay of many communities across the country. It is facing great challenges due to competition from low cost sources of wood and declining demand for some of its products. The Industry is at a crossroads and must change. Production of new, high value products rather than traditional commodity products is the path to the future. Lignin is one of the primary components of wood, second only to cellulose in abundance. When wood is pulped to obtain cellulose fibres, approximately 20 % of wood is dissolved as lignin. This is currently used a fuel in pulp mills. However, lignin also has the potential to be a biomass feedstock for various products. While it has been used for some time to make adhesives, dispersants and surfactants, exciting new research is pointing the way to lignin-derived carbon-fibre composites for strong, light automobile parts, carbon aerogels for hydrogen storage, and new biobased polymers, to name a few. The aim of this Network is to develop technology platforms to deliver this next generation of biomaterials and chemicals from lignin. The Network consists of 16 professors in science and engineering from 11 universities across Canada, including five Canada Research Chairs and three Distingusihed Professors. The work will be carried out primarily with masters and doctoral students, thereby training a new generation of scientists and engineers for the forest industry of the future.