Lignin Team

Flambeau River Papers lingosulfonates are derived from white birch and maple hardwood trees harvested from forests in Wisconsin and Minnesota. As shown in the flowchart above, the lignin extraction process starts in the pulping stage. The first step is separating the cellulose fibers in wood chips from the adhesive that holds them together in trees. This is done by adding a cooking acid made from calcium and sulfur to the wood chips to dissolve the bonds between the cells in large pressure vessels called digesters. The wood fiber is then separated from the liquid lignosulfonate and processed to make paper.