Abstract
Research on lignin deconstruction has recently become the center of interest for scientists and companies worldwide, racing towards harvesting fossil-fuel like aromatic compounds which are so durably put together by plants as products of millions of years of evolution. The natural complexity and high stability of lignin bonds (also as an evolutionary adaptation by plants) makes lignin depolymerization a highly challenging task. Several efforts have been directed towards a more profound understanding of the structure and composition of lignin in order to devise pathways to break down the biopolymer into useful compounds. The present contribution aims to provide an overview of key advances in the field of lignin depolymerisation. Protocols and technologies will be discussed as well as critically evaluated in terms of possibilities and potential for further industrial implementation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 7485-7500 |
| Journal | Chemical Society Reviews |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue number | 22 |
| Online published | 7 Oct 2014 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Nov 2014 |
Funding
The authors gratefully acknowledge Spanish MICINN for financial support via the concession of a RyC contract (ref: RYC-2009-04199) and funding under project CTQ2011-28954-C02-02 (MEC). Consejeria de Ciencia e Innovacion, Junta de Andalucia is also gratefully acknowledged for funding project P10-FQM-6711. Both RL and JL gratefully acknowledge the EU and COST for financing COST Action FP1306. The reviewers of the manuscript are gratefully acknowledged for their useful suggestions to improve the quality of this contribution.
Research Keywords
- IONIC LIQUIDS
- ORGANOSOLV LIGNIN
- LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOMASS
- DEGRADATION KINETICS
- RENEWABLE CHEMICALS
- HYDROGENOLYSIS
- CONVERSION
- CATALYSTS
- NICKEL
- FRACTIONATION