[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Kolon Industries Inc. has developed an eco-friendly adhesive resin (lignin resin) using 'lignin' extracted from waste wood for the first time in Korea, filed a patent, and is accelerating its eco-friendly materials business.
Kolon Industries announced on the 9th that after more than two years of experimentation, it succeeded in developing 'lignin resin' and filed a patent. This development was based on biomass research aimed at replacing existing petrochemical raw materials.
'Lignin' is a polymer compound extracted as a byproduct during the production of pulp from wood. Although it is partially used as an admixture to enhance the performance of concrete, it has not been industrially utilized and is mostly burned as fuel during manufacturing processes and discarded. Compared to petrochemical raw materials, lignin has the effect of reducing carbon dioxide emissions during production and has high potential as an eco-friendly raw material that can replace toxic substances such as phenol.
Kolon Industries applied its production know-how of phenolic resin to overcome the chemical bonding difficulties of lignin, which contains adhesive components but does not easily mix with other substances, and achieved development. Kolon Industries plans to produce the product using the existing resin facilities at its Gimcheon Plant 2 and aims to start sales in the second half of this year.
The advantage of lignin resin is that it can improve the physical properties such as adhesion and heat resistance to the level of resins produced from existing petroleum-based raw materials, and it is expected to be used as a raw material for industrial adhesives in various materials in the future. Since it uses discarded materials as raw materials, it is also evaluated to be highly competitive in terms of price.
Lee Sang-min, Head of Business Division 6 at Kolon Industries, emphasized, "In line with the recent trend of strengthening ESG management, we plan to continuously expand the use of biomass-based raw materials," and added, "Lignin resin will lead a new market by supplying products with improved physical properties such as mechanical strength by utilizing the structural characteristics as a substitute for existing petroleum-based raw materials."
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