Submitted: The Two Sides Team March 12, 2013

Plymouth Mill to produce bio-material with wide range of industrial applications as petro-chemical alternative – the first of its kind in over quarter century
March 12, 2013

Press Release, via PRNewswire

Domtar Corporation

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today announced that it has successfully installed a
commercial-scale lignin separation plant at its Plymouth, North
Carolina mill, the first U.S. facility of its type in over 25 years.
The production of BioChoice™ ligninbegan in February, with a targeted
rate of75 tons a day, destined for a wide range of industrial
applications as a bio-based alternative to the use of petroleum and
other fossil fuels.

The successful installation of commercial-scale lignin removal capacity
at the Plymouth Mill is the culmination of a research and engineering
project launched by Domtar in 2010. This project was further boosted
when the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of
Energy awarded the company a grant through the Biomass Research and
Development Initiative. Domtar’s lignin operation sets a new path for
the industry and also marks the latest sustainability milestone for a
company that has long been recognized as an industry leader in forest
certification and environmental stewardship.

“Our vision is to be a global leader in fiber-based innovation,” said
Bruno Marcoccia, Domtar’s director of research and development. “A big
part of this is our focus on partnering with best-in class
collaborators to develop new products and markets for a wide portfolio
of initiatives, like BioChoice.”

“The possibilities for making a real difference in terms of offering
manufacturers a bio-based alternative to the use of petro-chemicals is
truly exciting,” said Hasan Jameel, a professor in North Carolina State
University’s Department of Forest Biomaterials. “This is a big win for
sustainability on two counts – Domtar improves the efficiency of its
pulp-making process, and at the same time the market gets a reliable,
high-quality source of this underused material with so much potential.”

A wide range of potential applications for BioChoice lignin exists,
including fuels, resins and thermoplastics.

For more information, please visit www.domtar.com.

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