The efficient utilization of lignin, the direct source of renewable aromatics, into value-added renewable chemicals is an important step towards sustainable biorefinery practices. Nevertheless, owing to the random heterogeneous structure and limited solubility, lignin utilization has been primarily limited to burning for energy. The catalytic depolymerization of lignin has been proposed and demonstrated as a viable route to sustainable biorefinery, however, low yields and poor selectivity of products, high char formation, poor bioavailability of intermediates/products, and limited to no recycling of transition-metal-based catalyst involved in lignin depolymerization demands attention to enable practical-scale lignocellulosic biorefineries.
The CLD team focuses on developing solutions to above-mentioned issues through a) robust catalyst design and development, b) understanding lignin depolymerization over catalytic sites for controlled product profile, c) implementation of computation tools to understand lignin chemistry, and d) finally tuning lignin depolymerization into bioavailable molecules.
Projects
- Development of robust reductive and oxidative catalytic pathways for efficient lignin depolymerization
- Develop abiotic routes to depolymerize lignin present in bioenergy crops into targeted bioavailable intermediates with at least 90% yields
- Implementation of chemical-biological hybrid depolymerization process for maximum carbon utilization
- Development of integrated catalytic depolymerization and separation of monomeric lignin molecules
- Understanding of structure-activity relationships between catalytically active sites and lignin depolymerization activity through advanced characterization
- Understanding of lignin depolymerization routes with computational tools
- Generation of high-quality polymeric lignin and their thorough characterization
- Implementation of catalytic methods including product analysis/separation in collaboration with other teams within the Deconstruction Division and other JBEI Divisions (LEAD, Feedstocks, Technology, and Biofuels and Bioproducts)
Recent Publications
- Computational Advances in Ionic Liquid Applications for Green Chemistry: A Critical Review of Lignin Processing and Machine Learning Approaches Molecules, 2024, 29, 5073
- Engineered reduction of S-adenosylmethionine alters lignin in sorghum Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts, 2024, 17, 128
- Perspective on lignin conversion strategies that enable next generation biorefineries ChemSusChem, 2024, 17, e202301460
- An Engineered Laccase from Fomitiporia mediterranea Accelerates Lignocellulose Degradation Biomolecules 2024, 14, 324
- A hybrid chemical-biological approach can upcycle mixed plastic waste with reduced cost and carbon footprint One Earth, 2023, 6, 1576
- Maximizing microbial bioproduction from sustainable carbon sources using iterative systems engineering Cell Reports, 2023, 42, 113087
- Lignin deconstruction by anaerobic fungi Nature Microbiology, 2023, 8, 596
- Funneled Depolymerization of Ionic Liquid‐Based Biorefinery “Heterogeneous” Lignin into Guaiacols over Reusable Palladium Catalyst Chemistry – A European Journal, 2023, 29, e202300330
- Multiscale molecular simulations for the solvation of lignin in ionic liquids Scientific Reports, 2023, 13, 271
- Enhanced microbial production of protocatechuate from engineered sorghum using an integrated feedstock-to-product conversion technology Green Chemistry, 2023, 25, 6797
- Perspective on oligomeric products from lignin depolymerization: their generation, identification, and further valorization Industrial Chemistry & Materials, 2023, 1, 207
- Finding values in lignin: A promising yet under-utilized component of the lignocellulosic biomass Frontiers in Chemical Engineering, 2022, 4, 1059305
Related Intellectual Properties
- Methods and compositions useful for oxidation of biomass to carboxylic acids using polyoxometalate ionic liquids
- Catalytic Depolymerization of Lignin via Metal Catalysts
- Chelator-Mediated Fenton (CMF) Process to Transform Lignin into a Water-Soluble Polymer without Need for Separation or Concentration Steps
- Depolymerizing Lignin Using a Chelator-Mediated Fenton Reaction
- Converting Lignin to Ionic Liquids without Reductive Amination
- Low Temperature Lignin Dissolution, Depolymerization