A research project led by Biome Bioplastics, one of the UK’s leading developers of natural plastics, has demonstrated the feasibility of extracting organic chemicals from lignin — a complex hydrocarbon that helps to provide structural support in plants and trees — for the manufacture of bioplastics.
The results stem from a grant from the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board, awarded to a consortium led by Biome Bioplastics in early 2013 to investigate lignin as a potential new source of organic chemicals for bioplastics manufacture, which could significantly reduce costs and increase performance of these sustainable materials.