LignoPure secures funding to scale-up its lignin transformation technology

By -

Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF. 

LignoPure, a start-up focused on transforming raw lignin into valuable materials and intermediary products, has closed its seed round (2.2 M€) with High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg GmbH (IFH) and Swiss Holding Tanovis AG. The funding will allow LignoPure to scale its own technology for the transformation of lignin (a byproduct of the pulp and paper industries and biorefineries) into tailor made particles for industrial applications and accelerate its market entry. 

Figure 1. LignoPure concept (taken from the company website) 

LignoPure GmbH was founded in 2019 by Joana Gil, Wienke Reynolds and Stefan Boersting as a spinoff of the Institute of Thermal Separation Processes lead by Professor Irina Smirnova at TUHH. It has received multiple awards including the German StartGreen Award and the International Future Hamburg Award, the team also received the support of the InnoRampUp program by the Hamburgische Investitions- und Förderbank. 

LignoPure is positioning as game changer in the way that lignin is applied into products, offering tailor-made powders according to the intended application and bringing the properties that lignin has in nature to the end products that will be offered to consumers. With this investment, the startup will scale up their technology for the production of LignoBase® (100% natural ultrafine, high quality lignin particles) that will be primarily offered as functional ingredient in cosmetics and replace harmful fossil-based materials. For the first time, LignoPure will be able to deliver high-quality lignin for cosmetics on ton-scale. LignoPure works beyond the supply of lignin powders but aims to assist their customers in launching their own innovative, sustainable, and lignin-based products by offering tailored solutions and development services for Life Sciences as well as new materials.

Popular Posts

Biofuels from algae

By -
Image
In my opinion, the production of biofuels and biobased chemicals from algae is one of the most fascinating topics in the sector of the biorefineries and it will be one of the niches of opportunity with highest potential in the medium and the long terms. This post pretend to be a very basic approach to the topic Algae-to-Biofuels through three general key points. Algae 1,2,3,4,5 Algae include a wide variety of photosynthetic organisms capable of transforming light, water and specific nutrients into products that can be used with commercial and industrial purposes. We can say that algae are sunlight-driven factories with potential to convert CO 2 into biofuels, high-value biochemical, food and feed. There are four algae cultivation technologies currently in use for commercial algae cultivation and proposed for algal biofuel production: extensive or open ponds, intensive or raceway ponds, closed photobioreactors in many designs and closed fermenter systems. Algal biof
Read more

Hidrotratamiento (HVO) – Conceptos, materias primas y especificaciones

By -
Image
English version Sección: BIOCOMBUSTIBLES AVANZADOS Serie: HVO - Hidrotratamiento (HVO) – Conceptos, materias primas y especificaciones - Hidrotratamiento(HVO) – Ventajas sobre el biodiesel convencional y propiedades - Biorrefinerías de Aceites Vegetales Hidrotatados (HVO) – El auge del diésel renovable - Entradas: HVO                El acrónimo HVO significa en inglés “ Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils ” (“Aceites Vegetales Hidrotratados”) o ” Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils ” (“Aceites Vegetales Hidrogenados”). Clave del proceso: Tratamiento con hidrógeno. En el proceso de producción de HVO, el hidrógeno se usa para eliminar el oxígeno de los triglicéridos produciendo una mezcla de parafinas lineales, CO 2 y agua. Posteriormente, el producto de la primera etapa se isomeriza, siempre en presencia de hidrógeno, para ramificar las cadenas lineales con el propósito de mejorar las propiedades de flujo en frío de los productos finales. Por tanto, los HVO son
Read more

Levulinic acid biorefineries

By -
Image
Publication date: 16/11/2015 Last update: 20/02/2016 Description 1,2 Levulinic acid (also known as 4-oxopentanoic acid or γ-ketovaleric acid) is an organic compound with chemical formula C 5 H 8 O 3 . It is a white crystalline solid soluble in water and polar organic solvents. It contains ketone and a carboxylic group whose presence results in interesting reactivity patterns. It is one of the more recognized Biobased Chemical Building Blocks , a starting material for a wide number of compounds (see Applications below). In fact, it was recognized by the US DoE as one of the top biobased platform chemicals of the future and it can successfully address many performance-related issues attributed to petroleum-based chemicals and materials. Process technologies 1,3,4,5 The controlled degradation of C6-sugars by acids is the most widely used approach to prepare levulinic acid from lignocellulosic biomass. Other methods have also been studied, for instance, the hydroly
Read more

Biorefinery platforms – Sugars

By -
Image
Versión en Español BIOREFINERY PLATFORMS Concept - The sugar platform is defined as any combination of C5 (5 carbon atoms; xylose, pentose and ribose are the most common pentose sugars), C6 (6 carbon atoms; glucose, fructose and galactose are the most common hexose sugars) and/or C12 sugars (molecules containing two hexose sugar units) that exists within a pathway from biomass feedstock towards final biobased products. - These simple sugars are reactive molecules that can be converted biologically or chemically into fuels, chemicals, materials. food and animal feed. - Larger molecules such as oligosaccharides and polysaccharides are not included within the sugar platform. - The traditional processes are based on utilizing sucrose (composed of glucose and fructose) derived from sugar crops (sugar beet or sugar cane) or glucose obtained after hydrolysis of starch (founded in wheat, corn barley, rye, triticale…). - In advanced biorefineries, utilizing lignocellulosic biomass as feedst
Read more

Etanol celulósico – Lo básico: Ruta de conversión – Bioquímica

By -
Image
English version Sección: BIOCOMBUSTIBLES AVANZADOS Serie: Etanol celulósico - Lo básico: Concepto y materias primas - Lo básico: Ruta de conversión – Bioquímica - Lo básico: Ruta de conversión –Termoquímica - Cellulosic ethanol biorefineries at commercial scale Entradas: ETANOL CELULÓSICO 1. Introducción El proceso de conversión bioquímica ha sido el que ha generado mayor atención debido a sus similitudes con el proceso utilizado para producir etanol a partir de maíz. Como se puso de manifiesto en la primera entrada de esta serie, el proceso de producción de etanol a partir de materias primas celulósicas requiere descomponer la materia prima en azúcares fermentables a través de tecnologías innovadoras en forma de pretratamiento e hidrólisis. Los pasos restantes son similares a los utilizados en las plantas de etanol convencionales. 2. Pretratamiento El pretratamiento es el primer paso en todos los diferentes procesos disponibles para la ruta de conversi
Read more