Sucrol: hemicellulose-based surfactants

The Sucrol project was completed early 2014 and associated three industrial partners, Fibre Excellence, Seppic and Dupont. It was awarded an ANR grant of € 284 k for an overall budget of approximately € 823 k. The results of the project have proven that it is possible to extract a significant quantity of sugars from hard wood while at the same time guaranteeing the production of high-quality cellulose. Furthermore, sugar extraction makes cellulose extraction easier, which is an additional benefit for the manufacturer. By adapting the process, the liquors extracted, mainly composed of a mixture of monomeric and oligomeric sugars, were used to produce surfactants. When applied, this process will allow the pulp and paper manufacturers to produce sugars for the synthesis of surfactant agents as well as cellulose, thereby improving the profitability of their units. The extracted sugars, obtained in a form suited to the synthesis of surfactant agents, will replace the fossil-based surfactants and will not use sugars from food raw materials, as opposed to recent developments in this area.