Solvent-free lignin recovered by thermal-enzymatic treatment using fixed-bed reactor technology - Economic assessment

At optimum process conditions, lignin can be produced at a competitive price (395 €/tLignin) when comparing to other technical lignins. This result is achieved by using the fixed-bed reactor only for thermal treatment, with the water consumption being the most important factor affecting the cost of lignin production. Compared to that the C5 sugar recovery of the pretreatment is negligible.