Process for producing carbon from heat treated lignin

A process to produce granular carbon from lignin, said process comprising the steps of

• a) providing a dried agglomerated lignin having a particle size distribution such that at least 80 wt-% of the dried agglomerated lignin has a diameter within a range of from 0.2 mm to 5.0 mm;
• b) thermally stabilizing the dried agglomerated lignin by heating the agglomerated lignin to a temperature in a range of from 180 to 250° C. for a period of at least 1.5 hours and less than 12 hours, to obtain thermally stabilized agglomerated lignin, wherein the heating of the agglomerated lignin in step b) is carried out in air;
• and
• c) subjecting the thermally stabilized agglomerated lignin to heat treatment at one or more temperatures in the range of from 300° C. and 1500° C., wherein the heat treatment is carried out for a total time of from 30 minutes to 10 hours, to obtain granular carbon.