Lignosulfonate Brown Amorphous Powder , Lignin Fertilizer Powder

Lignosulfonate is brown amorphous powder. They have no odour and they are not hygroscopic. They form colloidal solutions or dispersions with water but are not soluble in organic solvents. Lignosulfonate are biopolymers; they are salts of lignosulfonic acid that has been formed when pulp is manufactured by the sulphite method.

The Lignosulfonate are of varied composition because the woods are different, the extent of the lignin degradation can be different and a different number of sulfonic groups can have been added. Lignin is a polymer with a most varied length and composition, a fundamental structure being hydroxyphenyl propane. It contains many phenolic rings and groups, the figure gives one example. The distribution of unpolar and polar groups, including the hydroxyl and sulfonic acid groups formed at the degradation, decides the properties of the particular Lignosulfonate

This is also used in lead batteries where some tenth of a percent of Lignosulfonate acts on crystallisation of the lead sulphate so that the battery gets a much longer life-time. Lignosulfonate is used as a filler and binder in ceramic tiles, resins to fibre boards, casting sand and in fodder pellets.

A large use is for dust-laying on roads as well as in dusty processes within industry. Lignosulfonate is used as a dispersant in products like fodder, dyes and industrial cleaners. It is used in industrial management of slurry, where addition of the substance facilitates pumping and separation of water in e.g. concrete. Lignosulfonate also have complexing properties and are used in ppm-concentrations to prevent scaling in hot and cooling waters and to keep micro-nutrients in solution in liquid fertilizers.