phd thesis on lignin

Lignin is a complex biopolymer abundantly found in all vascular plants. It plays a key role in building connective tissues and giving them strength, rigidity, and resistance to environmental factors such as pathogens. Extracted lignin finds diverse applications in the commercial sector with immense potential in novel value-added applications. Therefore, it is important to develop optimum and sustainable processes for lignin extraction. To this end, one of the aims of the present research was to examine different lignin extraction methods on common wood species present in Newfoundland, Canada – balsam fir, pine, spruce (softwood), birch, maple, and oak (hardwood). Two different lignin extraction methods were studied: (1) the Formacell method, which uses acetic acid/formic acid/water; and (2) the BioEB method, which uses only formic acid/water. Various parameters were tested, including solvent concentration, temperature, cooking time, to determine the most optimal lignin extraction conditions. The results of this study can be applied to inform and improve industrial lignin extraction processes to obtain better yields in the most optimal manner. This thesis also discusses the latest developments in value-added uses of extracted lignin for the preparation of novel bio-based materials. Lastly, it provides a review of the mechanisms of microbial biodegradation of lignin. These microbial ligninolytic mechanisms provide a host of possibilities to overcome the challenges of using harmful chemicals to degrade lignin biowaste in many industries.

Actions (login required)

Downloads per month over the past year

View more statistics

Microwave-Assisted Treatments of Biomass: Lignin Isolation from Lignocellulose and Natural Products Recovery from Bilberry Presscake

--> zhou, long (2018) Microwave-Assisted Treatments of Biomass: Lignin Isolation from Lignocellulose and Natural Products Recovery from Bilberry Presscake. PhD thesis, University of York.

Abstract Microwave thermal treatment has generated an increasing interest in biomass valorisation. In this research, softwood, hardwood and straw are processed by microwave-assisted acidolysis, producing high quality residual lignin without significant modification, especially softwood (purity 93%, yield 82%). Under equivalent conditions, microwave treatment produces lignin with higher yield and purity than conventional treatment. The aqueous hydrolysate is fermented by two oleaginous yeasts, Cryptococcus curvatus and Metschnikowia pulcherrima. Both yeasts could grow on the hydrolysate and produce an oil with similar properties to palm oil. This preliminary work demonstrates new protocols of microwave-assisted acidolysis and therefore offers an effective approach to produce high purity lignin and fermentable chemicals, which is a key step towards developing a zero-waste lignocellulosic biorefinery. In addition, microwave conversions (lab and pilot scale) of bilberry presscake, aiming to fulfill multiple chemicals recovery, were carried out using only water as the solvent, ensuring all products are suitable for food grade status applications. Microwave hydrolysis gives much higher yield of mono-/disaccharides than conventional extraction, with the yield of rhamnose particularly high (10.8%). Pilot scale microwave conversions are also carried out with high conversion. It is believed microwave hydrolysis offers an efficient and green approach to convert bilberry presscake into value-added products for food industry and biorefinery.

--> Examined Thesis (PDF) -->

Filename: thesis Long Zhou edited.pdf

Embargo Date:

You do not need to contact us to get a copy of this thesis. Please use the 'Download' link(s) above to get a copy. You can contact us about this thesis . If you need to make a general enquiry, please see the Contact us page.

Green Chemistry

A sustainable approach for lignin valorization by heterogeneous photocatalysis.

* Corresponding authors

a State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, P. R. China E-mail: [email protected]

b College of Chemistry, New Campus, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, P. R. China

c Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224, Warsaw, Poland E-mail: [email protected]

The depletion of the Earth's fossil fuel reserves and the rapid increase in the emission of greenhouse gases and other environmental pollutants are driving the development of renewable energy technologies. Lignin is one of the three main subcomponents of lignocellulosic biomass in terrestrial ecosystems and makes up nearly 30% of the organic carbon sequestered in the biosphere. As a result of its rich content of aromatic carbon, lignin has the potential to be decomposed to yield valuable chemicals and alternatives to fossil fuels. However, the complex and stable chemical bonds of lignin make the depolymerization of lignin a difficult challenge with regard to its valorization. In this review, we highlight recent advances in the selective decomposition of lignin-based compounds via photocatalysis into other value-added chemicals and the treatment of waste water containing lignin. The photocatalytic transformation of lignin under mild conditions is particularly promising.

Article information

Download citation, permissions.

S. Li, S. Liu, J. C. Colmenares and Y. Xu, Green Chem. , 2016,  18 , 594 DOI: 10.1039/C5GC02109J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page .

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page .

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content .

Social activity

Search articles by author, advertisements.

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Published: 25 March 2021

A strong, biodegradable and recyclable lignocellulosic bioplastic

• Qinqin Xia   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2712-1083 1   na1 ,
• Chaoji Chen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9553-554X 1   na1 ,
• Yonggang Yao 1 ,
• Jianguo Li 1 ,
• Shuaiming He 1 ,
• Yubing Zhou 1 ,
• Teng Li   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6252-561X 2 ,
• Xuejun Pan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6859-9342 3 ,
• Yuan Yao   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9359-2030 4 &
• Liangbing Hu   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9456-9315 1 , 5  

Nature Sustainability volume  4 ,  pages 627–635 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

19k Accesses

208 Altmetric

Metrics details

• Chemical engineering
• Environmental sciences
• Sustainability

An Author Correction to this article was published on 20 August 2021

Renewable and biodegradable materials derived from biomass are attractive candidates to replace non-biodegradable petrochemical plastics. However, the mechanical performance and wet stability of biomass are generally insufficient for practical applications. Herein, we report a facile in situ lignin regeneration strategy to synthesize a high-performance bioplastic from lignocellulosic resources (for example, wood). In this process, the porous matrix of natural wood is deconstructed to form a homogeneous cellulose–lignin slurry that features nanoscale entanglement and hydrogen bonding between the regenerated lignin and cellulose micro/nanofibrils. The resulting lignocellulosic bioplastic shows high mechanical strength, excellent water stability, ultraviolet-light resistance and improved thermal stability. Furthermore, the lignocellulosic bioplastic has a lower environmental impact as it can be easily recycled or safely biodegraded in the natural environment. This in situ lignin regeneration strategy involving only green and recyclable chemicals provides a promising route to producing strong, biodegradable and sustainable lignocellulosic bioplastic as a promising alternative to petrochemical plastics.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

24,99 € / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles

111,21 € per year

only 9,27 € per issue

Buy this article

• Purchase on Springer Link
• Instant access to full article PDF

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

Highly reinforced and degradable lignocellulose biocomposites by polymerization of new polyester oligomers

Chemical recycling of a lignin-based non-isocyanate polyurethane foam

Stabilization strategies in biomass depolymerization using chemical functionalization

Data availability.

Data are available on reasonable request from the authors, according to their contributions.

Yun, X. & Dong, T. in Food Packaging (ed. Grumezescu, A. M.) 147–184 (Academic Press, 2017).

Záleská, M. et al. Structural, mechanical and hygrothermal properties of lightweight concrete based on the application of waste plastics. Constr. Build. Mater. 180 , 1–11 (2018).

Article   Google Scholar  

Someya, T., Bao, Z. & Malliaras, G. G. The rise of plastic bioelectronics. Nature 540 , 379–385 (2016).

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Kudrin, A. M., Gabriel’s, K. S. & Karaeva, O. A. The temperature effect on mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforced plastics for aviation purposes. Inorg. Mater. 9 , 763–766 (2018).

Rochman, C. M. et al. Classify plastic waste as hazardous. Nature 494 , 169–171 (2013).

Brahney, J., Hallerud, M., Heim, E., Hahnenbergeret, M. & Sukumaran, S. Plastic rain in protected areas of the United States. Science 368 , 1257–1260 (2020).

Law, K. L. et al. The United States’ contribution of plastic waste to land and ocean. Sci. Adv. 6 , eabd0288 (2020).

Zhu, Y., Romain, C. & Williams, C. K. Sustainable polymers from renewable resources. Nature 540 , 354–362 (2016).

Lambert, S. & Wagner, M. Environmental performance of bio-based and biodegradable plastics: the road ahead. Chem. Soc. Rev. 46 , 6855–6871 (2017).

Chen, C. et al. Structure–property–function relationships of natural and engineered wood. Nat. Rev. Mater. 5 , 642–666 (2020).

Yang, J., Ching, Y. C. & Chuah, C. H. Applications of lignocellulosic fibers and lignin in bioplastics: a review. Polymers 11 , 751 (2019).

Balaguer, M. P., Gomez-Estaca, J., Gavara, R. & Hernandez-Munoz, P. Biochemical properties of bioplastics made from wheat gliadins cross-linked with cinnamaldehyde. J. Agric. Food Chem. 59 , 13212–13220 (2011).

Yue, H. B., Cui, Y. D., Shuttleworth, P. S. & Clark, J. H. Preparation and characterisation of bioplastics made from cottonseed protein. Green. Chem. 14 , 2009–2016 (2012).

Herres-Pawlis, S. New stereocontrol on the block. Nat. Chem. 12 , 107–109 (2020).

Venkateshaiah, A. et al. Recycling non-food-grade tree gum wastes into nanoporous carbon for sustainable energy harvesting. Green. Chem. 22 , 1198–1208 (2020).

Yang, Y., Tilman, D., Lehman, C. & Trost, J. J. Sustainable intensification of high-diversity biomass production for optimal biofuel benefits. Nat. Sustain. 1 , 686–692 (2018).

Isogai, A., Saito, T. & Fukuzumi, H. TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers. Nanoscale 3 , 71–85 (2011).

Arnodo, D., Ghinato, S., Nejrotti, S., Blangetti, M. & Prandi, C. Lateral lithiation in deep eutectic solvents: regioselective functionalization of substituted toluene derivatives. Chem. Commun. 56 , 2391–2394 (2020).

Hong, S. et al. In-depth interpretation of the structural changes of lignin and formation of diketones during acidic deep eutectic solvent pretreatment. Green. Chem. 22 , 1851–1858 (2020).

Hammond, O. S., Edler, K. J., Bowron, D. T. & Torrente-Murciano, L. Deep eutectic-solvothermal synthesis of nanostructured ceria. Nat. Commun. 8 , 14150 (2017).

Tan, X., Zhao, W. & Mu, T. Controllable exfoliation of natural silk fibers into nanofibrils by protein denaturant deep eutectic solvent: nanofibrous strategy for multifunctional membranes. Green. Chem. 20 , 3625–3633 (2018).

Sirvio, J. A., Visanko, M. & Liimatainen, H. Acidic deep eutectic solvents as hydrolytic media for cellulose nanocrystal production. Biomacromolecules 17 , 3025–3032 (2016).

Wang, M. et al. Highly stretchable, transparent, and conductive wood fabricated by in situ photopolymerization with polymerizable deep eutectic solvents. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 11 , 14313–14321 (2019).

Xia, Q. et al. Multiple hydrogen bond coordination in three-constituent deep eutectic solvents enhances lignin fractionation from biomass. Green. Chem. 20 , 2711–2721 (2018).

Liu, Q. et al. Novel deep eutectic solvents with different functional groups towards highly efficient dissolution of lignin. Green. Chem. 21 , 5291–5297 (2019).

Zhao, D. et al. A dynamic gel with reversible and tunable topological networks and performances. Matter 2 , 390–403 (2020).

Li, Y. et al. Facile extraction of cellulose nanocrystals from wood using ethanol and peroxide solvothermal pretreatment followed by ultrasonic nanofibrillation. Green. Chem. 18 , 1010–1018 (2016).

Wang, H. et al. Extraction of cellulose nanocrystals using a recyclable deep eutectic solvent. Cellulose 27 , 1301–1314 (2019).

Zhu, M. et al. Highly anisotropic, highly transparent wood composites. Adv. Mater. 28 , 5181–5187 (2016).

Moon, R. J., Martini, A., Nairn, J., Simonsen, J. & Youngblood, J. Cellulose nanomaterials review: structure, properties and nanocomposites. Chem. Soc. Rev. 40 , 3941–3994 (2011).

Alvarez-Vasco, C. et al. Unique low-molecular-weight lignin with high purity extracted from wood by deep eutectic solvents (DES): a source of lignin for valorization. Green. Chem. 18 , 5133–5141 (2016).

Wu, X. et al. Lignin‐derived electrochemical energy materials and systems. Biofuel. Bioprod. Birefin. 14 , 650–672 (2020).

Iravani, S. & Varma, R. S. Greener synthesis of lignin nanoparticles and their applications. Green. Chem. 22 , 612–636 (2020).

Ragauskas, A. J. et al. Lignin valorization: improving lignin processing in the biorefinery. Science 344 , 1246843 (2014).

Wu, X. et al. Solar energy-driven lignin-first approach to full utilization of lignocellulosic biomass under mild conditions. Nat. Catal. 1 , 772–780 (2018).

Fraile, JoséM., Zoel Hormigón, J. I. G., Mayoral, J. A., Saavedra, C. J., & Salvatella, L. Role of substituents in the solid acid-catalyzed cleavage of the β-O-4 linkage in lignin models. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 6 , 1837–1847 (2018).

Sanderson, K. Lignocellulose: a chewy problem. Nature 474 , S12–S14 (2011).

Jung, Y. H. et al. High-performance green flexible electronics based on biodegradable cellulose nanofibril paper. Nat. Commun. 6 , 7170 (2015).

Ashter, S. A. in Thermoforming of Single and Multilayer Laminates Ch. 10 (William Andrew, 2013).

Download references

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the support of the Maryland Nanocenter, its Surface Analysis Center and AIMLab. We acknowledge J. Gao for his experimental suggestions.

Author information

These authors contributed equally: Qinqin Xia, Chaoji Chen.

Authors and Affiliations

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

Qinqin Xia, Chaoji Chen, Yonggang Yao, Jianguo Li, Shuaiming He, Yubing Zhou & Liangbing Hu

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

Center for Materials Innovation, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

Liangbing Hu

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

L.H., Q.X. and C.C. designed the experiments. Q.X. carried out experiments. Y.G.Y. and S.H. analysed the mechanical data. Y.Z. helped with the preparation of the large-scale bioplastic film. Q.X. and J.L. fabricated the lignocellulosic bioplastic parts by compression moulding. T.L. and X.P. provided some useful suggestions. Y.Y. provided the LCAs. L.H., Q.X. and C.C. collaboratively analysed the data and wrote the paper. All authors commented on the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yuan Yao or Liangbing Hu .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Peer review information Nature Sustainability thanks Robert Allen, Eun Yeol Lee and Tong-Qi Yuan for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Extended data

Extended data fig. 1 the fabrication mechanism of the lignocellulosic bioplastic..

Loose and porous wood powder, composed of cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose, serves as the starting material. After DES (ChCl/oxalic acid) treatment, the cellulose fibres are fibrillated into micro/nanofibrils while DES dissolves the lignin. Water can interact with the hydrophobic DES through hydrogen bonding interactions. Thus, water can be added as a green antisolvent in the system, causing the hydrophobic lignin to regenerate. After filtering, we obtain a cellulose–lignin slurry, the solid content of which we can control by varying the water content. The lignocellulosic bioplastic film can then be obtained by casting the slurry at room temperature.

Extended Data Fig. 2 The structure of the wood powder.

a-d , Photograph ( a ), SEM image ( b ), magnified SEM image ( c ) and SAXS pattern ( d ) of the wood powder. Compared to the isotropic structure of lignocellulosic bioplastic, the wood powder shows more structural inhomogeneity.

Extended Data Fig. 3 The tensile strength and fracture surfaces of the lignocellulosic bioplastic.

a , The tensile stress-strain curves of the cellulose film and lignocellulosic bioplastic. b , The strength and toughness of the cellulose film and lignocellulosic bioplastic. The lignocellulosic bioplastic demonstrates excellent mechanical properties with a high tensile strength of 128 MPa and toughness of 2.8 MJ·m 3 , which are 7- and 8-times higher than cellulose film (18 MPa and 0.35 MJ·m 3 ), respectively. c-d , Digital and SEM images of the fracture surfaces of the ( c ) lignocellulosic bioplastic and ( d ) cellulose film after tensile testing. The samples have ~1 wt.% water content. The cellulose film fractured by macro-fibre slippage from the loose fibre network structure, in which most fibres were not broken, indicating the binding strength between the cellulose fibres in the film is weaker than the strength of the fibres themselves. In contrast, broken fibres appear in the fracture zone of the lignocellulosic bioplastic, suggesting its binding strength is greater than the strength of its constituent fibres due to the intertwining cellulose micro/nanofibrils and lignin network. Such entangled interaction between the micro/nanofibrils and high adhesion mediated by the in situ regenerated lignin matrix with abundant hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces contribute to the outstanding mechanical properties of the lignocellulosic bioplastic.

Extended Data Fig. 4 The excellent mechanical strength of the lignocellulosic bioplastic.

a , Photographs of the lignocellulosic bioplastic (8 cm×3.5 cm×0.1 cm), b , including under a heavy load (200 g). c-d , The excellent foldability of the lignocellulosic bioplastic. e , The unfolded lignocellulosic bioplastic features a sharp crease. f , Photograph of the unfolded lignocellulosic bioplastic bearing a heavy load (200 g). Although the lignocellulosic bioplastic had undergone folding, the creased material can still easily bear the applied weight without failing.

Extended Data Fig. 5 The water stability of the lignocellulosic bioplastic.

a . Photographs of water droplets on the cellulose film and lignocellulosic bioplastic surfaces over time (0–10 min). The lignocellulosic bioplastic has a higher water contact angle (90.0 ± 8°) than that of pure cellulose film (78.7 ± 10°), demonstrating its slightly greater tendency to repel water. After 10 minutes, the water droplet gradually spreads out and adheres to the cellulose film (28.2 ± 6°), whereas the shape of the droplet on the lignocellulosic bioplastic surface remains relatively stable (71.8 ± 7°). b , Water absorption of the cellulose film and lignocellulosic bioplastic over 140 min. The inset shows photographs of water droplets on a sloping lignocellulosic bioplastic surface (right), demonstrating the material’s excellent water stability, while the water is quickly absorbed on the cellulose film (left). The lignocellulosic bioplastic has exceptionally lower water absorption (~30%) than that of the cellulose film (~100%). In contrast, water droplets easily permeate into the hydrophilic cellulose film even on inclined surfaces. c , Water stability test of cellulose film and lignocellulosic bioplastic in water for 30 days. The cellulose film disintegrates while the lignocellulosic bioplastic film maintains its shape. We immersed the cellulose film and lignocellulosic bioplastic in water for thirty days. After this time, we found the cellulose film completely disintegrated into microfibers, while the lignocellulosic bioplastic showed good stability in the wet environment, retaining its shape without any fractures.

Extended Data Fig. 6 The degradability tests of the lignocellulosic bioplastic and PVC materials.

Direct outdoor exposure was carried out to evaluate the degradability of the lignocellulosic bioplastic, which was placed on grass and exposed to the sun, wind and rain (College Park, Maryland, U.S., from October 20, 2019 to March 10, 2020). After three months, the dimensions of the lignocellulosic bioplastic increased as it became more swollen. After ~4 months, the lignocellulosic bioplastic became cracked and fragmented and its original structure completely degraded after five months. Meanwhile, the PVC remained almost the same as on the first day, demonstrating it cannot be degraded under natural conditions.

Extended Data Fig. 7 Flow diagram for continuous in situ lignin regeneration treatment and the recycling of the DES.

After mixing and heating of the wood powder and DES, followed by the addition of water to in situ regenerate the lignin, we can use an in-line filter to separate the cellulose–lignin slurry and solvent, in which the DES and water make up the filter liquor. DES can then be purified by heating the mixture to remove water. The recovered DES can be recycled in the system to treat new lignocellulosic starting materials. Water can also be collected using a condenser and recycled again to serve as the antisolvent for lignin regeneration.

Extended Data Fig. 8 The universality of in situ lignin regeneration approach.

The lignocellulosic bioplastic can be derived from various lignocellulosic biomass sources, including wood, wheat straw, grass and bagasse, demonstrating the strong universality of this approach.

Extended Data Fig. 9 The life cycle impact assessment results of lignocellulosic and other biodegradable plastics per cm 3 /MPa.

Across most environmental impact categories, the lignocellulosic bioplastic developed in this work is more environmentally favourable than PHA, PLA, PBS, PCL and PBAT. There are a few exceptions. Compared with PBAT, the lignocellulosic bioplastic has higher impacts in three categories, including eutrophication, human health - carcinogenics and respiratory effects. For all three categories, the impacts of lignocellulosic bioplastics are driven by electricity consumption, which accounted for 71–86% of the results based on the contribution analysis. The electricity was assumed to be the U.S. average grid in this study. The environmental impacts could be lower if renewable energy were used. To estimate the impacts of using renewable energy, a scenario using electricity generated from wind was evaluated and the results are shown in Extended Data Fig. 9 as triangles. The Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of wind energy was obtained from Ecoinvent database for onshore generation in the U.S. The environmental impacts of the lignocellulosic bioplastic using wind energy are the lowest across all the impact categories except fossil fuel depletion (close to the upper bounds of the results of PLA and PBAT).

Extended Data Fig. 10 Environmental impacts of the moulded lignocellulosic bioplastic compared to PP, PET and ABS.

Compared to PP and ABS, the lignocellulosic bioplastic is at the lower end across all environmental impact categories. Compared to PET, the lignocellulosic bioplastic has lower environmental impacts in categories such as ecotoxicity, eutrophication and human health. For other categories, the lignocellulosic bioplastic has comparable results with PET and close to the higher bounds of PET’s impacts in ozone depletion, smog formation and fossil fuel depletion. Similar to the LCAs for plastic films, we included a renewable energy scenario to investigate the impacts of using wind and the results are shown as triangles (Extended Data Fig. 10 ). Compared with PP, PET and ABS, the environmental impacts of the lignocellulosic bioplastic using wind energy were the lowest across all the impact categories, except for fossil fuel depletion (which was close to the upper bound of PET’s results).

Supplementary information

Supplementary information.

Supplementary Notes 1–8, Figs. 1–19, Tables 1–3 and refs. 1–60.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Xia, Q., Chen, C., Yao, Y. et al. A strong, biodegradable and recyclable lignocellulosic bioplastic. Nat Sustain 4 , 627–635 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00702-w

Download citation

Received : 29 September 2020

Accepted : 19 February 2021

Published : 25 March 2021

Issue Date : July 2021

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00702-w

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

This article is cited by

A water-soluble label for food products prevents packaging waste and counterfeiting.

• Joohoon Kim
• Hongyoon Kim

Nature Food (2024)

Machine intelligence-accelerated discovery of all-natural plastic substitutes

• Tianle Chen
• Zhenqian Pang
• Po-Yen Chen

Nature Nanotechnology (2024)

Sustainable upcycling of mixed spent cathodes to a high-voltage polyanionic cathode material

• Hui-Ming Cheng

Nature Communications (2024)

Plant cell wall reconstruction towards enhancing moisture stability and toughness by assembling delignified wood with alkali lignin

• Huining Xiao

Wood Science and Technology (2024)

Assessment of lipid synthesis from sugarcane biomass by adaptive strains of Rhodosporidium toruloides

• Sâmilla Gabriella Coelho de Almeida
• Jonas Paulino Souza
• Kelly Johana Dussán

Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery (2024)

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings
• My Bibliography
• Collections
• Citation manager

Save citation to file

Email citation, add to collections.

• Create a new collection
• Add to an existing collection

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search, create a file for external citation management software, your rss feed.

• Search in PubMed
• Search in NLM Catalog
• Add to Search

A review on lignin structure, pretreatments, fermentation reactions and biorefinery potential

Affiliations.

• 1 Department of Medicinal and Applied Chemistry, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan; Research Center for Environmental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.
• 2 Department of Environmental Energy Engineering, Kyonggi University, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
• 3 Division of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Humanities, Sree Sowdambika College of Engineering, Aruppukottai, Tamil Nadu, India.
• 4 Department of Chemistry and Research Centre, Aditanar College of Arts and Science, Virapandianpatnam, Tiruchendur, Tamil Nadu, India.
• 5 Department of Civil Engineering, Regional Campus Anna University Tirunelveli, Tamilnadu, India.
• 6 Research Institute of Biotechnology and Medical Converged Science, Dongguk University, Seoul, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do 10326, Republic of Korea.
• 7 Green Processing, Bioremediation and Alternative Energies Research Group, Faculty of Environment and Labour Safety, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. Electronic address: [email protected].
• PMID: 30270050
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2018.09.070

In recent years, lignin valorization is commercially an important and advanced sustainable process for lignocellulosic biomass-based industries, primarily through the depolymerization path. The conversion of the lignin moieties into biofuels and other high value-added products are still challenging to the researchers due to the heterogeneity and complex structure of lignin-containing biomass. Besides, the involvement of different microorganisms that carries varying metabolic and enzymatic complex systems towards degradation and conversion of the lignin moieties also discussed. These microorganisms are frequently short of the traits which are obligatory for the industrial application to achieve maximum yields and productivity. This review mainly focuses on the current progress and developments in the pretreatment routes for enhancing lignin degradation and also assesses the liquid and gaseous biofuel production by fermentation, gasification and hybrid technologies along with the biorefinery schemes which involves the synthesis of high value-added chemicals, biochar and other valuable products.

Keywords: Biofuel; Biorefinery; Hybrid–conversion; Lignin; Lignocellulosic biomass; Sustainability.

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

• Exploitation of lignocellulosic-based biomass biorefinery: A critical review of renewable bioresource, sustainability and economic views. Chen Z, Chen L, Khoo KS, Gupta VK, Sharma M, Show PL, Yap PS. Chen Z, et al. Biotechnol Adv. 2023 Dec;69:108265. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108265. Epub 2023 Oct 1. Biotechnol Adv. 2023. PMID: 37783293 Review.
• Lignocellulosic biomass: Hurdles and challenges in its valorization. Singhvi MS, Gokhale DV. Singhvi MS, et al. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2019 Dec;103(23-24):9305-9320. doi: 10.1007/s00253-019-10212-7. Epub 2019 Nov 9. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2019. PMID: 31707441 Review.
• Engineering Ligninolytic Consortium for Bioconversion of Lignocelluloses to Ethanol and Chemicals. Bilal M, Nawaz MZ, Iqbal HMN, Hou J, Mahboob S, Al-Ghanim KA, Cheng H. Bilal M, et al. Protein Pept Lett. 2018;25(2):108-119. doi: 10.2174/0929866525666180122105835. Protein Pept Lett. 2018. PMID: 29359652 Review.
• Organic solvent pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuels and biochemicals: A review. Zhang K, Pei Z, Wang D. Zhang K, et al. Bioresour Technol. 2016 Jan;199:21-33. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2015.08.102. Epub 2015 Sep 1. Bioresour Technol. 2016. PMID: 26343573 Review.
• Catalytic oxidation of biorefinery lignin to value-added chemicals to support sustainable biofuel production. Ma R, Xu Y, Zhang X. Ma R, et al. ChemSusChem. 2015 Jan;8(1):24-51. doi: 10.1002/cssc.201402503. Epub 2014 Oct 1. ChemSusChem. 2015. PMID: 25272962 Review.
• Advanced Triboelectric Applications of Biomass-Derived Materials: A Comprehensive Review. Park CH, Kim MP. Park CH, et al. Materials (Basel). 2024 Apr 24;17(9):1964. doi: 10.3390/ma17091964. Materials (Basel). 2024. PMID: 38730775 Free PMC article. Review.
• Hydrodynamic cavitation for lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment: a review of recent developments and future perspectives. Bimestre TA, Júnior JAM, Canettieri EV, Tuna CE. Bimestre TA, et al. Bioresour Bioprocess. 2022 Jan 25;9(1):7. doi: 10.1186/s40643-022-00499-2. Bioresour Bioprocess. 2022. PMID: 38647820 Free PMC article. Review.
• Whole genome sequencing and annotation of Daedaleopsis sinensis , a wood-decaying fungus significantly degrading lignocellulose. Ma JX, Wang H, Jin C, Ye YF, Tang LX, Si J, Song J. Ma JX, et al. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2024 Jan 16;11:1325088. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1325088. eCollection 2023. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2024. PMID: 38292304 Free PMC article.
• Impact of the T296S mutation in P450 GcoA for aryl-O-demethylation: a QM/MM study. Santos SFG, Bommareddy RR, Black GW, Singh W. Santos SFG, et al. Front Chem. 2024 Jan 11;11:1327398. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1327398. eCollection 2023. Front Chem. 2024. PMID: 38283898 Free PMC article.
• Transcriptomic insights into the roles of the transcription factors Clr1, Clr2 and Clr4 in lignocellulose degradation of the thermophilic fungal platform Thermothelomyces thermophilus . Siebecker B, Schütze T, Spohner S, Haefner S, Meyer V. Siebecker B, et al. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 Oct 6;11:1279146. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1279146. eCollection 2023. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023. PMID: 37869709 Free PMC article.

Publication types

• Search in MeSH

Related information

• PubChem Compound (MeSH Keyword)

LinkOut - more resources

Full text sources.

• Elsevier Science
• Citation Manager

NCBI Literature Resources

MeSH PMC Bookshelf Disclaimer

The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited.

• CNRS - National Center for Scientific Research
• Posted on: 24 May 2024

PhD offer: Study of the pyrolysis of lignins extracted from black liquors (M/F)

Job Information

Offer description.

This thesis will take place at the University of Lorraine (UL) at the Reaction and Process Engineering Laboratory (LRGP – UMR CNRS 7274) in Nancy (54000, France).

The subject of this thesis concerns the precipitation step of lignin present in black liquors assisted by CO2 coupled with a conversion by pyrolysis to produce molecules of interest (phenols). One of the technological issue associated with the lignin pyrolysis is the agglomeration and clogging of the reactors. Indeed, during pyrolysis, the lignins form a sticky reactive intermediate material converted into char and liquid products (bio-oils) generated in the form of aerosols or vapors condensed in pyrolysis units. The scientific challenge of lignin pyrolysis is to control the composition of the liquids (monomers, suitable oligomers) and the structure of the char (biochar) produced. The objectives of this doctorate are: - ) to optimize the lignin precipitation step from black liquors from the DREAM project in a semi-continuous reactor: study of the effect of temperature, pressure, pH. Characterize the products obtained (GC, LC, NMR, IR, thermal analyses, etc.) -) study the pyrolysis of lignins obtained in a fluidized bed reactor (and others): flow rates, temperatures, fluidization behavior of the bed depending on the lignins. Hydrodynamic study by in-situ visualization of the reactor. Characterization of the products obtained (GC, LC, NMR, IR, thermal analyses, etc.).

The development of alternative biosourced processes is one of the major challenges of a sustainable economy concerned with preserving the environment. In pulp mills (from wood raw material to pulp), cellulose (fibers) are separated from lignin, hemicellulose and inorganic molecules. Around 100 million tonnes of wood are recovered for a production of 85 million tonnes of pulp in Europe (2022 data, including the use of recycled paper – 185 million tonnes worldwide, 7 million tonnes in France). The most used process is the Kraft process (90% of world production) which involves the treatment (digestion) of wood fibers in an aqueous solution called white liquor containing sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphide. Thus, black liquors (BL) are a waste stream from the Kraft process obtained after delignification of the biomass (wood) during the digestion operation. With more than 500 million tonnes/year of BL generated worldwide, the treatment and recovery of BL is an important industrial and environmental issue. Currently, BLs are concentrated by multiple evaporator systems and are then burned to regenerate inorganic materials and recover heat necessary for the Kraft process. Since evaporation systems have a fixed capacity, they currently constitute a bottleneck compared to a potential increase in production within factories using the Kraft process. In fact, these factories cannot produce more paper pulp without taking the risk of not being able to regenerate all of the by-products formed. Thus, the exploration of alternative processes for a portion of the BL produced could benefit pulp mills by reducing CO2 emissions and producing a wide variety of biosourced compounds: lignin, phenolic compounds, aromatics, acids. In the medium term, these pulp mills have the potential to transform into integrated forest biorefineries, producing a wide range of bio-sourced products. Numerous valorization strategies have been explored to extract/separate the compounds of interest (membrane filtration, liquid-liquid extraction, decantation, distillation) or to transform BL directly into energy (gasification, pyrolysis, hydrothermal treatment). It is in this context of need for development that the EIC Pathfinder DREAM project (processing complex matrices: Description, REAction-separation, Modelling) financed by the European Council takes place. The DREAM project aims to contribute to major scientific advances in the study of complex matrices (black liquor as a case study) with potentially future “on-site” industrial development. Several separation/extraction routes are studied in the DREAM project (membrane separation, precipitation, membrane filtration) followed by several transformation/purification routes (Reactive distillation, thermochemical processes).

Where to apply

Requirements, additional information.

https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101130523

Work Location(s)

Share this page.