Project description
Sticking to sustainability: bio-based adhesives from lignin
Conventional wood adhesives often rely on fossil fuels and emit harmful formaldehyde, posing significant health and environmental risks. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the NanoLiBRe project aims to replace these synthetic resins with sustainable, bio-based alternatives derived from kraft lignin, a natural plant component. By refining lignin into stable nanoparticles using green methods and innovative bio-capping agents, the project will create high-performance, biodegradable adhesives. NanoLiBRe will also pioneer the use of amino acids to strengthen these natural glues and systematically study how lignin's molecular structure affects overall bonding performance. Ultimately, this approach may provide a safer, eco-friendly way to produce wood composites, reducing climate impact while offering a fully recyclable and viable solution for the global timber industry.
Objective
An increasing number of countries are promoting the development of bio-based materials as a sustainable strategy to mitigate climate change and reduce dependence on fossil resources. Simultaneously, concerns about health risks and formaldehyde emissions from conventional wood resins have intensified efforts to develop bio-based adhesives as safer, sustainable, and recyclable alternatives. This project aims to advance kraft lignin through innovative modification strategies to produce novel, functionalized nano-lignin adhesives with recyclability and biodegradability. The approach involves lignin fractionation using green methods to reduce structural heterogeneity, followed by size reduction to the nanoscale to enhance lignin homogeneity. To improve lignin nano particles (LNPs) preparation yield and stability, a novel bio-based capping agent will be applied to prevent undesired LNPs re-condensation, following reversible bonding chemistry principles. Purified LNPs will undergo self- and bio-based crosslinking, oxidative modification, and amino acid functionalization to establish covalent bonds within the LNPs structure. The project will pioneer the use of bio-capping agent for LNPs preparation and their functionalization by amino acids, as fully bio-derived crosslinkers, to create high-performance, biodegradable thermosetting adhesives capable of replacing formaldehyde-based resins in wood composites. Additionally, it will systematically investigate the influence of lignin’s molecular heterogeneity, size distribution, bio-capping agent efficiency, oxidative modification, and bio-crosslinking efficiency on the final adhesive performance. Adhesion performance will be evaluated using renewable materials such as wood veneers in the fabrication of bio-based composite. Ultimately, this project will introduce new methods enabling the practical use of green, fully bio-derived adhesives in bio-composite production providing a viable alternative to conventional synthetic resins.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology materials engineering composites
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries forestry
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.