In order to effectively utilize a by-product of non-wood material, lignin was extracted from sugar cane bagasse via acidification of black liquor. The extracted sugar cane bagasse lignin (EBL) was modified by oxidation, hydroxymethylation, and sulfonation into a water-soluble lignosulfonate (EBL-M). It was characterized by IR, UV, GPC and elemental analysis. The results showed that the aromatic units of EBL-M were kept well and it was effectively sulfonated, that the percentage of S was high as 7.82%. The dispersing efficiency of EBL-M for pesticide formulations was compared with commercial dispersants via suspending rate measurement. As expected, EBL-M had the equal optimal dispersing efficiency to kinsperse than other commercial lignosulfonates when being used for dimethomorph water dispersible granules. The characterization of molecular weight and sulfonic group's content of lignosulfonates suggested that the dispersing efficiency increased with higher sulfonic group's content and higher molecular weight. As to being used for tribenuron water dispersible granules, the dispersing efficiency of EBL-M was much close to the commercial dispersants.
lignin; sugar cane bagasse; dispersant; pesticide formulation
