A Call to Action: Stop Calling Kraft Lignin a “Waste Product”
It’s time, once and for all, to stop calling Kraft lignin a “waste product.”
It’s surprising how often Kraft lignin is still described as a “waste product” of the pulp and paper industry. You see it in academic papers, sustainability pitches, and even conference presentations. But that description is simply wrong.
Extracting kraft lignin requires a significant capital investment. A pulp or paper mill must install a dedicated separation unit to isolate kraft lignin, which can cost well over $50 million, not to mention the operating expenses. No industry would invest that kind of money in capturing waste.
Kraft lignin does present an opportunity to create new products from one of the world’s most renewable raw materials: trees. For decades, pulp and paper companies have been sustainability leaders. They rely on managed forests, replant, and grow more than they harvest. Expanding the use of Kraft lignin strengthens that credibility, ensuring more of the tree is used productively, opening doors to bio-based chemicals, resins, carbon materials, and other advanced materials.
Yet a truth often overlooked outside the industry is this: almost every process inside a pulp mill requires a significant capital investment. Nothing is free. The construction of a kraft lignin separation unit is complex and costly, creating an economic hurdle that is difficult to overcome. Yet, for some reason, the perception that Kraft lignin is a waste product persists, and this is wrong. Calling Kraft lignin a “waste product” diminishes the investment, engineering, and sustainability potential it represents, misleading researchers, policymakers, and the public about this amazing sustainable material.
A Call to Action
If Kraft lignin is going to reach its full potential, we must describe it accurately. Here’s what I’m asking:
- Researchers: Stop labeling Kraft lignin as waste.
- Industry professionals: Correct the misconception whenever you see it.
- Researchers and Entrepreneurs: Build on Kraft lignin’s real value as a renewable, high-value co-product.
- Educators: Teach the economics and sustainability behind kraft lignin extraction.
Kraft lignin strengthens the industry’s renewable future. It deserves to be represented honestly.
By Dale Mitchell
