The project goal? To produce and commercialize lignin-derived, industrial-grade composites with properties including 3D printability, rivaling current petroleum-derived alternatives. That’s the project undertaken by a team led by Amit K. Naskar, of the Carbon & Composites Group Materials Science & Technology Division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The hoped-for project outcome? A novel family of commercial-ready, lignin-based 3D-printable composites. Also, suitable for high-volume applications. And, recyclable compositions retain their unprecedented mechanical properties, and utilize unmodified lignin at ≥50 (%) volume to produce engineered plastic materials with values ranging $2000-$5000/metric ton.

The research team gave this illuminating overview on the project’s promise and progress at the DOE Project Peer Review meetings.

Lignin Unchained, 3D printable: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Engineered Lignin Bioplastics