Biobased Resins Using Lignin and Glyoxal

The utilization of lignin and glyoxal as potentially sustainable and less hazardous building blocks for phenolic resins is an emerging research field. Lignin thereby serves as a partial, macromolecular substitute for phenol, while glyoxal fulfills the role of an aldehyde cross-linker. In the first part of this perspective, the industrial context of lignin and glyoxal will be expounded with a focus on their origin and production processes. In the framework of phenolic resins, the use of lignin and glyoxal can be categorized into two research domains: (i) glyoxalation to improve the reactivity of lignin prior to resin synthesis and (ii) direct resin synthesis using lignin and glyoxal with glyoxal immediately serving as the cross-linker. This perspective provides a comprehensive overview of the progress made in both domains, pinpointing the opportunities, blind spots, and challenges that lay ahead.