— By PIE correspondent — 

Swedish bioplastics startup Lignin Industries (Knivista; www.lignin.se), specialising in a bio-based material developed from lignin, is set to scale up and commercialise its patented technology through a partnership agreement it announced with UK-based compounder and polymer distributor Hellyar Plastics (Whitstable; www.hellyar.co.uk).

Lignin Industries developed a patented technology that transforms lignin – the brown part of wood and the element that gives plants their strength – into a renewable, high-performance bio-based thermoplastic. The company claims that the resulting material, which it calls Renol, is a 100% bio-based, carbon-negative feedstock for bio-based materials. Renol can generate carbon-neutral end products when mixed with recyclate or biomaterials, the company said. The company sources the lignin from the forestry and agriculture industries.

Lignin Industries and Hellyar have been working together for 18 months. At Hellyar’s UK factory it has incorporated Renol into ABS and polypropylene applications. Customers of Hellyar have products containing Renol in the advanced development stage that are set for launch in sectors such as domestic goods and construction, the company said.

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Renol is fully recyclable in open recycling streams. Other advantages of the feedstock material include flexibility in terms of blend percentages, the processability and performance consistency at temperatures that allow for shorter cycle times when injection moulded, and the ability to perform repeat processes at-scale to high standards, according to Lignin Industries.