New Keynotes Announced for the 2018 International Lignin Conference

The program for the upcoming 2018 International Lignin Conference is taking shape!

Keith Carter Vice President Pulp and Energy Operations with West Fraser will give an introductory keynote on the development of Hinton Pulp’s state-of-the-art lignin production facility and West Fraser’s vision for lignin-based products and markets.

Mikhail Balakshin is a Professor of Practice in Lignin Chemistry at Aalto University. He graduated from Leningrad (currently St. Petersburg) Forest Technical Academy (Russia) with an Engineering Degree in Pulp and Paper Industry (1987) and a PhD in Wood Chemistry (1991). Dr. Balakshin’s talk will focus on “The development of efficient methodology for the valorization of technical lignins”.

Tarja Tamminen is a Principal Scientist at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. She graduated from Helsinki University of Technology (now Aalto University) in Finland with a PhD degree in Organic Chemistry in 1991. Since 1992, she has worked in projects related to pulping and more generally wood processing chemistry, first at the Finnish Pulp and Paper Research Institute KCL and later at VTT. Dr. Tamminen will give a seminar entitled: “Monitoring lignin reactions in LPF synthesis”. Phenol formaldehyde (PF) resins are one of the most promising end uses for lignin.

Dr. Richard Gosselink holds BSc and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry. He is currently a Senior Scientist at the Wageningen Food & Biobased Research contract research organisation in the Netherlands where he co-ordinates lignocellulosic biorefinery and lignin chemistry and applications research. Dr. Gosselink will be giving a seminar entitled: “Lignin as raw material for the development of biobased materials”.

Per Tomani holds a Master of Science in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology. He joined STFI (the Swedish Pulp and Paper Research Institute), today part of RISE, in 1991. At that time, he was active as a researcher and project leader with a focus on different challenges related to minimal water use in kraft pulping. Per Tomani will present a seminar entitled: “Development of kraft lignin applications”.

The First PAPTAC International Lignin Conference will take place in Edmonton, Alberta on September 18-20, 2018. In a site visit during the last day of the conference, attendees will have the opportunity to tour the first installation of the LignoForce System™ at the West Fraser, Hinton mill in Alberta, Canada.

The final program has not been published yet, but please visit www.ligninconference.com for details and registration

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