Epoxidation of Methanol-Soluble Kraft Lignin for Lignin-Derived Epoxy Resin and Its Usage in the Preparation of Biopolyester

<p>Most commercial epoxy resins have been produced using toxic bisphenol A. Lignin can be utilized as green substitute for bisphenol A to produce bio-epoxy resins. Methanol-soluble kraft lignin was extracted by methanol fractionation for lignin epoxidation, and epoxidized into lignin-derived epoxy resin via two-step epoxidation consisting of epichlorohydrin addition and epoxide ring restructuring. Epoxidized lignin was selectively separated from non- or less-reacted lignin based on their solubility differences in organic solvents. The existence of epoxide groups in the lignin-derived epoxy resin was confirmed using FT-IR, ¹H-NMR, and TGA analyses. Epoxidized lignin was used as a reactive lignin macromonomer to prepare biopolyester. The characteristics of the synthesized biopolyester were analyzed using FT-IR, and the thermal properties were analyzed by TGA. The thermal decomposition temperature of 5% weight loss (T_d5) was determined to be 257.1°C, which is comparable to epoxy resins that are used in electronic applications.