High-value utilization of eucalyptus kraft lignin: Preparation and characterization as efficient dye dispersant

The dark color of industrial lignin is the main obstacle for their high value-added use in areas such as dyestuff dispersants. A kind of light-colored lignosulfonate with favorable dispersibility and remarkable stain resistance is prepared using fractionated eucalyptus kraft lignin. The fractionated lignins named as D (insoluble part) and X (soluble part) and sulfonated lignin fractions named as SD and SX are characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, ¹H NMR spectroscopy, GPC and brightness test. The results reveal that fraction X presents a lower molecular weight but a higher hydroxyl content than that of fraction D, which lead to the differences on the SO₃H content, dispersibility and color performance of SD and SX. The sulfonated fractions perform a similar molecular weight to that of unsulfonated lignins and show light color due to the phenolic hydroxyl blocking of 1,4-BS (1,4-butane sultone) and the postprocessing of sodium borohydride. The SX that performs the best of all exhibits obvious decrease on phenolic hydroxyl groups and increase on brightness value which is improved by 85.8% compared with control sample. The SX reaches the highest level (grade 5) in the dispersibility test and presents remarkable stain resistance on different textiles, especially on the dacron and cotton.