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The product commonly designated “lignosulfonate” is really a mixture of sulfonated lignin, sugars, sugar acids, resins and inorganic chemicals. This complex and variable mixture is water soluble and anionic, with certain surface-active characteristics. The end-use markets for these mixtures are functionally determined by the dispersing, wetting, binding and sequestering properties of the mixtures.
Western Europe dominates world lignosulfonate production. Canada, China and Western Europe are net exporters, while the United States and Japan are net importers. Most exports go to the United States and Asian countries, including Japan, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea.In 2004, the value of lignosulfonate production (for nonfuel purposes) in the United States and Canada was $150–170 million; the world production value was $490–550 million.
The following graph shows consumption of lignosulfonates by region and end use:
Over the next five years, the consumption of lignosulfonates is expected to decline in Japan, slightly decline in Western Europe, be flat in Canada and nearly flat in the United States. Consumption will grow moderately in China and the rest of the world. The future global market will generally be restricted by a lack of additional lignosulfonate supply—new pulping capacity does not usually employ the sulfite process and therefore, older sulfite pulping plants that are phased out will reduce the potential lignosulfonate supply.
The world lignosulfonate industry is dominated by two large producers, Borregaard LignoTech, headquartered in Norway, and Tembec, headquartered in Canada. Together, these two companies account for about 55% of the world’s 1.8 million metric tons of lignosulfonate production capacity.
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