Technical soda lignin dissolved in urea as an environmental friendly binder in wood fiberboard

The application of lignin as binder in wood composite panel is not only environmentally friendly but also commercially attractive. The dissolving of technical soda lignin is the most premier challenge in its application. In this study, the effect of different key factors on soda lignin solubility in urea was investigated. The maximum solubility of 60.16 g/L was obtained under the temperature 70 °C, urea concentration 8 M, lignin content 7%, and pH 8.8. Then, different kinds of wood fiber material were mixed with the dissolved lignin solution to make fiber board separately. The results showed that the lignin can enhance the tensile strength of particleboard and can be used as a binder in wood material, but the strength will be different with different materials. The optimal tensile strength obtained was 44.63 MPa with the sample made from oriented cotton linter sheet.