Lignin from aldehyde-assisted fractionation can provide light-colored Pickering emulsions through colloidal particles formed using alkaline antisolvent
Colloidal lignin particles (CLPs) are gaining attention as eco-friendly stabilizers for Pickering emulsions. Still,
conventional lignin sources, like kraft lignin, are often limited by their dark color and strong odor. This study
explores, for the first time, the use of a light-colored lignin derived from an aldehyde-assisted fractionation with
glyoxylic acid (GA-lignin) for producing CLPs and derived Pickering emulsions. CLPs were produced by anti-
solvent precipitation with water (CLPs-W, pH 6) and alkaline buffer (CLPs-B, pH 8) as the antisolvents. The
results revealed that the selected antisolvent significantly influenced the CLPs’ properties. CLPs-W were larger,
uniform in size, and hydrophobic, whereas CLPs-B were smaller, agglomerated into clusters, and exhibited
greater hydrophilicity. Despite both CLPs’ effectiveness in stabilizing oil-in-water emulsions, the stabilization
mechanisms differed markedly; CLPs-W formed a robust membrane barrier at the oil-water interface, while CLPs-
B facilitated oil droplet bridging. Overall, this work demonstrates that GA-lignin’s light color nature offers ad-
vantages for Pickering emulsions design, surpassing a lignin typical limitation. This advancement highlights the
versatility of GA-lignin-derived CLPs and supports the development of sustainable lignin-based products with
significant commercial prospects
