A synergistic biorefinery based on catalytic conversion of lignin prior to cellulose starting from lignocellulosic biomass

Current biomass utilization processes do not make use of lignin beyond its heat value. Here we report on a bimetallic Zn/Pd/C catalyst that converts lignin in intact lignocellulosic biomass directly into two methoxyphenol products, leaving behind the carbohydrates as a solid residue. Genetically mod...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Green chemistry : an international journal and green chemistry resource : GC 2015-01, Vol.17 (3), p.1492-1499
Main Authors: Parsell, Trenton, Yohe, Sara, Degenstein, John, Jarrell, Tiffany, Klein, Ian, Gencer, Emre, Hewetson, Barron, Hurt, Matt, Kim, Jeong Im, Choudhari, Harshavardhan, Saha, Basudeb, Meilan, Richard, Mosier, Nathan, Ribeiro, Fabio, Delgass, WNicholas, Chapple, Clint, Kenttaemaa, Hilkka I, Agrawal, Rakesh, Abu-Omar, Mahdi M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomass
Carbohydrates
catalysis (homogeneous), catalysis (heterogeneous), biofuels (including algae and biomass), bio-inspired, materials and chemistry by design, synthesis (self-assembly), synthesis (scalable processing)
Catalysts
Cellulose
Conversion
Lignocellulose
Palladium
Residues
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Summary:Current biomass utilization processes do not make use of lignin beyond its heat value. Here we report on a bimetallic Zn/Pd/C catalyst that converts lignin in intact lignocellulosic biomass directly into two methoxyphenol products, leaving behind the carbohydrates as a solid residue. Genetically modified poplar enhanced in syringyl (S) monomer content yields only a single product, dihydroeugenol. Lignin-derived methoxyphenols can be deoxygenated further to propylcyclohexane. The leftover carbohydrate residue is hydrolyzed by cellulases to give glucose in 95% yield, which is comparable to lignin-free cellulose (solka floc). New conversion pathways to useful fuels and chemicals are proposed based on the efficient conversion of lignin into intact hydrocarbons.
ISSN:1463-9262
1463-9270
DOI:10.1039/c4gc01911c