【Frontiers in HaiChuan Chemical Technology】German research team converts by-products of straw pulp into key raw materials for nylon (polyamide)

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German research team converts straw pulp by-products into key raw materials for nylon (polyamide) 2026-03-04 15:02:15 Manufacturing plastics from straw – this is the core of the project that the systems biology team led by Christoph Wittmann has been working on together with its scientific and industrial partners since early February 2026. In the “LiGNUM” project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), researchers genetically modified bacteria so that they could use by-products from straw pulp production to manufacture the raw materials for nylon (polyamides). Converting industrial by-product streams into reusable raw materials is the core concept of a circular economy. “The “LiGNUM” project puts this concept into practice by using microorganisms to convert the material streams in pulp production into key raw materials for new plastics, thereby replacing petroleum-based raw materials. What’s even more encouraging is that the project is rooted in the local area while also enabling cross-regional network collaboration. The project is driven by an interdisciplinary research consortium coordinated by Christoph Wittmann from Saarland University in Germany. Over a period of three years, partners from the research and industrial sectors will work together to develop sustainable nylon (polyamide) and test its industrial viability. Christoph Wittmann said, “The goal of our alliance is to produce industrial nylon (polyamide) in a sustainable manner, up to pilot plant scale.” The LiGNUM alliance was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and launched in February 2026. In addition to the University of Salzburg, the German Biomass Research Center (DBB), the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomics (IMB), as well as the industrial partners Tecnaro GmbH (an expert in bio-based polymers) and Essity Operations Mannheim GmbH are also involved. The starting materials required for the LiGNUM project come from by-products of pulp production. Partner Essity uses agricultural straw in its pulp mills as raw material for toilet paper. This process generates a lignin-based material stream, which is launched on the market under the brand name “InnoLig+”. Christoph Wittmann said, “At Essity’s plant in Mannheim alone, tens of thousands of tons of this material are produced each year – a volume sufficient to enable it to play an important role in industrial applications.” This project aims to utilize this flow of bio-based materials to produce plastic raw materials through biotechnological processes. Christoph Wittmann emphasized: “At present, the key raw materials for nylon (polyamide) are mainly produced through petrochemical methods – based on fossil resources and using energy-intensive production processes.” The LiGNUM project follows the principles of ‘green chemistry’: it uses microorganisms to convert bio-based materials into raw materials for plastics, with the potential to replace the petrochemical production process entirely. Project overview: The “LiGNUM – Microbial upgrading of lignin-based material streams for the sustainable production of biomaterials” project received funding of around 1.55 million euros from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), of which approximately 940,000 euros were allocated to the team led by Christoph Wittmann at Saarland University. Project partners include the German Biomass Research Center (DBB), the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomics (IMB), Tecnaro GmbH, and Essity Operations Mannheim GmbH. The project was launched on February 1, 2026, and will last for 36 months.