Catalytic Oxidation of Biorefinery Lignin to Value-added Chemicals to Support Sustainable Biofuel Production

Transforming plant biomass to biofuel is one of the few solutions that can truly sustain mankind’s long‐term needs for liquid transportation fuel with minimized environmental impact. However, despite decades of effort, commercial development of biomass‐to‐biofuel conversion processes is still not an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ChemSusChem 2015-01, Vol.8 (1), p.24-51
Main Authors: Ma, Ruoshui, Xu, Yan, Zhang, Xiao
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodiesel fuels
Biofuels
Biomass energy
Catalysis
Conservation of Natural Resources - methods
dicarboxylic acid
Lignin
Lignin - chemistry
oxidation
Oxidation-Reduction
phenol
quinone
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Summary:Transforming plant biomass to biofuel is one of the few solutions that can truly sustain mankind’s long‐term needs for liquid transportation fuel with minimized environmental impact. However, despite decades of effort, commercial development of biomass‐to‐biofuel conversion processes is still not an economically viable proposition. Identifying value‐added co‐products along with the production of biofuel provides a key solution to overcoming this economic barrier. Lignin is the second most abundant component next to cellulose in almost all plant biomass; the emerging biomass refinery industry will inevitably generate an enormous amount of lignin. Development of selective biorefinery lignin‐to‐bioproducts conversion processes will play a pivotal role in significantly improving the economic feasibility and sustainability of biofuel production from renewable biomass. The urgency and importance of this endeavor has been increasingly recognized in the last few years. This paper reviews state‐of‐the‐art oxidative lignin depolymerization chemistries employed in the papermaking process and oxidative catalysts that can be applied to biorefinery lignin to produce platform chemicals including phenolic compounds, dicarboxylic acids, and quinones in high selectivity and yield. The potential synergies of integrating new catalysts with commercial delignification chemistries are discussed. We hope the information will build on the existing body of knowledge to provide new insights towards developing practical and commercially viable lignin conversion technologies, enabling sustainable biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass to be competitive with fossil fuel. Running on the environment platform: Lignin valorization to value‐added platform chemicals may play a pivotal role in the sustainable production of biofuel from renewable biomass. This paper reviews oxidative lignin depolymerization chemistries employed in the papermaking process and oxidative catalysts that can be applied to biorefinery lignin to produce platform chemicals. The potential synergies of integrating new catalysts with commercial delignification chemistries are discussed.
ISSN:1864-5631
1864-564X
DOI:10.1002/cssc.201402503