On Feb. 13, 2020 Harima Chemicals Group, Inc. subsidiary, LAWTER Kallo (Belgium) and research Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven, Belgium) released an online study on their joint research on sustainable wood biorefinery technologies in world-renowned Science magazine. Maarten Maesen, researcher at LAWTER Kallo and Hironori Matsushima expat researcher from Harima Chemicals were two of the coauthors of said study.

The study looks at the efficient valorization of lignin, one of the most abundant organic polymers on Earth. With a view to optimizing the use of this valuable green resource, KU Leuven has been developing technologies that convert wood-derived lignin into lignin oil to be used for the manufacturing of a wide array of chemical products. Replacing fossil-based phenols with renewable feedstock allows for the advancement of truly eco products and the significant reduction of carbon emissions. Our researchers at LAWTER Kallo have been using lignin oil to develop printing ink resins that maintain the same performance as their fossil-based equivalents, making them top candidates for the expansion of sustainable products.

For details, please refer to the full online article here:  

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/02/12/science.aau1567.full