LIGNIN COMPOSITIONS

1 . A lignin-furfuryl alcohol-resole (LFR) composition comprising:

(i) 10-90 wt % of a lignin-furfuryl alcohol composition derived from a lignin, water, and one or more lignin reactive monomers, wherein at least one of the one or more lignin reactive monomers is furfuryl alcohol;

(ii) 10-90 wt % of a phenolic-resole derived from a phenol and a phenol-reactive monomer; and

(iii) optionally 0.1-10 wt % of an organic amine comprising urea, melamine, hexamine, or mixtures thereof, wherein the amounts in wt % are based on the total weight of the LFR composition.

2 . The LFR composition of claim 1 , wherein the phenol-reactive monomer comprises at least one of formaldehyde, paraformaldehyde, furfuryl alcohol, furfural, glyoxal, acetaldehyde, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, levulinate esters, sugars, 2,5-furandicarboxylic aldehyde, difurfural (DFF), sorbitol, or mixtures thereof.

3 . The LFR composition of claim 1 , wherein the phenol-reactive monomer is formaldehyde.

4 . The LFR composition of claim 1 , further comprising at least one of an organic anhydride, a surfactant, and a plasticizer.

5 . A thermoset polymer derived from the LFR composition of claim 1 .

6 . A thermoset polymer derived from the LFR composition of claim 1 and at least one of urea-formaldehyde resin, melamine-formaldehyde resin and resorcinol-formaldehyde resin.

7 . A lignin-furfuryl alcohol-resole (LFR) foam comprising:

(i) a polymeric phase defining a plurality of open cells and a plurality of closed cells, and

(ii) a gas phase comprising one or more blowing agents disposed in at least a portion of the plurality of closed cells,

wherein the polymeric phase is derived from the lignin-furfuryl alcohol-resole (LFR) composition of claim 1 .

8 . The LFR foam of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the one or more blowing agents comprises 1,1,1,4,4,4-hexafluoro-2-butene, pentane, isopentane, cyclopentane, petroleum ether, ether, 1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene, 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane, 2,2-dichloro-1,1,1-trifluoroethane, 1-chloro-1,1-difluoroethane, 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane, 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane, 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluorobutane, 2-chloropropane (isopropyl chloride), dichlorodifluoromethane, 1,2-dichloro-1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethane, trichlorotrifluoroethane, trichloromonofluoromethane, or mixtures thereof.

9 . The LFR foam of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the one or more blowing agents comprises an azeotrope or an azeotrope-like mixture of isopentane and one other blowing agent selected from the group consisting of isopropyl chloride, 1,1,1,4,4,4-hexafluoro-2-butene and 1-chloro-3,3,3,-trifluoropropene.

10 . The LFR foam of claim 7 , wherein the blowing agent comprises a mixture of isopropyl chloride and isopentane.

11 . An article comprising the LFR foam of claim 7 .

12 . The article of claim 11 comprising a sandwich panel structure, wherein the sandwich panel structure comprises the LFR foam disposed between two similar or dissimilar non-foam materials.

13 . A foam formed by foaming and curing a composition at a temperature in the range of 50-100° C., the composition comprising

a. a lignin-furfuryl alcohol composition derived from a lignin, water, and one or more lignin reactive monomers, wherein at least one of the one or more lignin reactive monomers is furfuryl alcohol,

b. a phenolic-resole,

c. a blowing agent,

d. an acid catalyst, and

e. a surfactant.

14 . A method of making a lignin-furfuryl alcohol-resole (LFR) foam comprising:

a) forming a lignin-furfuryl alcohol composition from a lignin, water, and one or more lignin reactive monomers, wherein at least one of the one or more lignin reactive monomers is furfuryl alcohol;

b) adding a phenolic-resole to the lignin-furfuryl alcohol composition of step (a) to form a lignin-furfuryl alcohol-resole (LFR) composition, wherein the phenolic-resole is derived from a phenol and a phenol-reactive monomer comprising at least one of formaldehyde, paraformaldehyde, furfuryl alcohol, furfural, glyoxal, acetaldehyde, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, levulinate esters, sugars, 2,5-furandicarboxylic aldehyde, difurfural (DFF), sorbitol, or mixtures thereof;

c) adding at least one blowing agent to the LFR composition of step (b);

d) adding an aromatic sulfonic acid to the LFR composition of step (b) or (c) to form a foamable-LFR composition;

e) adding a surfactant to at least one of the steps (a), (b), (c) or (d); and

f) foaming and curing the foamable-LFR composition at a temperature in the range of 50-100° C. to form a foam comprising a polymeric phase defining a plurality of open cells and a plurality of closed cells,

wherein the polymeric phase is derived from the lignin-furfuryl alcohol-resole (LFR) composition.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the aromatic sulfonic acid comprises para-toluenesulphonic acid and xylenesulphonic acid.

16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the at least one blowing agent comprises 1,1,1,4,4,4-hexafluoro-2-butene, pentane, isopentane, cyclopentane, petroleum ether, ether, 1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene, 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane, 2,2-dichloro-1,1,1-trifluoroethane, 1-chloro-1,1-difluoroethane, 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane, 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane, 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluorobutane, 2-chloropropane (isopropyl chloride), dichlorodifluoromethane, 1,2-dichloro-1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethane, trichlorotrifluoroethane, trichloromonofluoromethane, or mixtures thereof.

17 . The method of claim 14 further comprising disposing the foam between two similar or dissimilar non-foam materials to form a sandwich panel structure.