As populations continue to grow it’s important to utilize the resources that are abundant and readily available. Lignin is abundant, readily available, and renewable. The Lignin Chair is just one example of the potential applications of lignin.
What is lignin?
Lignin is a complex organic polymer, it’s found in the cell walls of plants.
It can also be described as the glue that holds plant fibers together. Lignin builds modulus, or stiffness. It’s lignin that provides trees the strength to grow tall. Lignin has the potential to replace or displace oil and natural gas in various applications. It’s renewable and sustainable!
Where does it come from?
While lignin comes from plants, we do not harvest any additional plants for our lignin. We get our lignin from paper mills. Lignin is a byproduct from the paper manufacturing process. It’s also a byproduct of biorefineries.
What is it used for?
Usually lignin is burned to produce energy or steam. However, these are relatively low value applications. By utilizing lignin as a thermoplastic we are creating a much higher value product. This provides an economic benefit to the paper mills and biorefineries. Printing and writing paper usage has been in decline so this adds a revenue stream that could further support the mills. Biorefineries also could use additional revenue as some of the subsidies go away.
What’s unique?
Lignin is a natural polymer, but it doesn’t always melt and flow like traditional polymers or plastics. We’ve developed a unique process that turns raw lignin into a plastic that can easily be processed for a variety of thermoplastic applications from plastic films to injection molded plastics. Our technology makes lignin compatible with bioplastics and traditional plastics. Lignin by itself is brittle, but incorporating it into a resin matrix enhances the resulting resin by making it stiffer. The lignin produces an aesthetically pleasing finish. Our lignin comes from wood and it looks like wood.
Why a chair?
We chose to start with a chair for our first product because we wanted to introduce a product that supports you while you support us.
Specifics
The Lignin Chair features a contemporary yet classic design. It has a matte finished seat made with our proprietary Lignin Plastic and a sturdy chrome base. The Lignin Chair also comes with non marking feet. Assembly is required but it is easy to assemble.
- Seat Dimensions: 18 inches high x 18 inches wide x 17 inches deep
- Overall Chair Dimensions: 32.5 inches high x 18.5 inches wide x 21 inches deep