With the help of new technology, scientists are now very close to producing carbon fiber out of wood residue. Other potential products in the near future include ‘green’ plastics from wood sugars. This may result in new product areas with high added value for the pulp industry – and a financial springboard into the future."With the LignoBoost process, we’re now able to extract lignin from kraft pulp mills," says Peter Axegård, Director Business Area Biorefining at the Swedish research institute Innventia. "The lignin is sufficiently pure and economically viable enough to be used in high-end materials like carbon fiber. Manufacturing carbon fiber from lignin has the potential to allow the material to be more extensively used in, for example, the automotive industry. Less steel mean lighter cars and thus a lower fuel consumption, which constitutes vast energy savings in the long run."On the 22-24th of March 2011, Innventia, world leader in wood biorefining research, organizes the third Nordic Wood Biorefinery Conference in Stockholm. Leading experts from all over the world will present the latest ideas and developments in biorefinery separation and conversion processes, as well as new biobased products, used as energy sources, chemicals and materials.The conference will cover both new research results and industrial experiences related to biorefineries based on wood and/or on pulp mills. On the final day, a special focus will be placed on lignin. Its field of potential application is wide – as a high quality biofuel, in the production of chemicals such as benzene, industrial dispersant, and activated carbon as well as in the production of carbon fibers.