Organic xerogels based on lignin and tannins isolated from pine bark and wood were for the first time obtained by condensation with formaldehyde and furfuryl alcohol in the presence of hydrochloric acid. Sulfated pine ethanol lignin made it possible to obtain the first sulfur-containing (up to 1.3 wt

The isolation of proanthocyanidins from bark of Scotch pine Pínus sylvéstris L. by water and water-alcohol solutions containing 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% ethanol was studied for the first time. Isolation of proanthocyanidins was carried out from the initial and deresinified (extracted with hexane) pine bark. It was shown that, compared with water extraction, the use of 15–25% aqueous ethanol solutions allows one to increase the yield of proanthocyanidins from 0.44 to 0.63%. It was established that the preliminary extraction of resinous substances from the pine bark does not significantly affect the yield of proanthocyanidins. It was shown that an increase in ethanol concentration of more than 20% in the extraction solution leads to an increase in the total yield of extractives, while the yield of proanthocyanidins does not increase. A study of proanthocyanidins by UV spectroscopy after their conversion to red anthocyanidins showed that they mainly consist of procyanidin and prodelphinidine in close concentrations. The composition of the obtained proanthocyanidins mixtures was studied by IR and 13C NMR spectroscopy. It was shown that the proanthocyanidins obtained from the bark of pine Pínus sylvéstris L., in contrast to isolated from other pine species, contains gallic acid residues which can increase their antiradical activity.

The organic xerogels, prepared from tannins and ethanol lignins of the fir ( Abies sibirica ), were synthesized for the first time. The influence of the composition of initial mixture and pH on the characteristics of xerogels obtained by sol-gel condensation of formaldehyde with polyphenols of fir has been studied. The possibility of regulating the density and porosity of gels by varying of the concentration of ethanol lignin in the initial mixture was established. It was found that tannin-lignin-formaldehyde gel with low-density (0.11 g/cm 3 ), and very high porosity (92%) is formed at a mass ratio tannins and lignins equal to 1. According to FTIR data, the process of xerogel formation is carried out by cross-linking due to the formation of carbon-carbon and alkyl ethers bonds. SEM method confirmed the formation of branched macromolecular structure of gels from interconnected spherical particles of different sizes. Thermogravimetric analysis demonstrates greater thermal stability of tannin-formaldehyde gels compared with the tannin-lignin-formaldehyde gels. The increase of lignin concentration in gels more than 50–65% (by the mass) reduced the temperature of their intensive mass loss on 23–63 °С. The obtained organic gels are non-flammable polymers, and they can be used as thermal and fire retardant materials.