EUBCE 2026 - Glen PAULS - Leveraging inorganic species in kraft black liquor to enable rapid oxidative crosslinking and morphology control in kraft lignin derived hard carbons

Leveraging inorganic species in kraft black liquor to enable rapid oxidative crosslinking and morphology control in kraft lignin derived hard carbons

Short Introductive summary

Conventional routes for converting kraft lignin (KL) into hard carbons typically rely on highly purified (low-ash) feedstocks and slow, energy-intensive oxidative stabilization steps which are often assisted by added crosslinkers to mitigate melting and foaming during thermal treatment. In this work, we deliberately invert this paradigm by exploiting, rather than removing, pulping-derived inorganic species as intrinsic catalysts for lignin stabilization. Capitalizing on this approach, we showcase production of morphology defined hard carbon from KL by a simple carbonization procedure. When evaluated as Li-ion battery anodes, the resulting hard carbons exhibit improved electrochemical performance compared to carbons derived from reference high purity KL.

G. Pauls, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, ESPOO, FINLAND
O. Sorsa, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, ESPOO, FINLAND
S. Grönqvist, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, ESPOO, FINLAND
A. Kalliola, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, ESPOO, FINLAND
C. Guizani, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, ESPOO, FINLAND