CLIENT II Project LINOKAS makes the leap into industrial practice

The German-Kazakh CLIENT II project LINOKAS is dedicated to the integral use of the oil linseed plant by processing the straw – so far an unused by-product of oil production – into an industrially applicable raw material. The processing method developed in the project is now attracting interest among agricultural stakeholders in the partner country Kazakhstan, generating the first specific business cooperations. 

Since November 2017, German and Kazakh partners from agriculture, industry and research have been working together on the development of a cost-efficient processing method for the large quantities of straw that accumulate year after year in the north of Kazakhstan during oil flax production as an unusable secondary raw material. The decomposition-resistant stalk material presents farmers with disposal problems and has so far been burned directly in the field in an uncontrolled manner, leaving valuable raw material potential unused and simultaneously releasing large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The utilisation of all components of an agricultural crop in the sense of co-product utilisation, therefore, combines regional value creation, more careful use of natural resources, innovative bio-economy, and climate protection. Furthermore, in order to achieve global food security, it is currently more important than ever that renewable industrial raw materials do not compete for agricultural land with food production.  

It is, however, crucial that the processes and technologies developed be subsequently considered for actual industrial applications. This form of long-term implementation of project results is now becoming apparent in LINOKAS: A milk producer and processor in the Aktobe district of northern Kazakhstan, one of the largest companies in the region, is interested in the solutions developed for the utilisation of oil straw. With a closed production cycle from more than 40 farms to the shop counter, the company is closely involved into the cultivation of feed for dairy cows, including oil flax, and sees opportunities to benefit from using all parts of the crop.

In addition to the applications initially envisaged, e.g. in the building materials sector and the automotive industry, the potential aim for textile qualities became a point of discussion as the work progressed. At the moment, utilisation concepts are being discussed which, among other things, consider a chemical-mechanical processing of straw via cellulose as a transportable semi-finished product up to a future local further processing to viscose and lyocell fibres. The developments make it clear that the project content is attracting attention in Kazakhstan beyond the partner structure and give rise to expectations of further commercial follow-up activities; the business relationships that are emerging will do justice to the objective of stabilising and expanding the project results to a highly satisfying extent.