Utilization of the entire components of lignocellulose is of great importance for renewable feedstock to replace the resources derived from declining supply of fossil resources. Technologies for efficient carbohydrates conversion to value-added materials such as sugar monomers, ethanol, and fuels are developed, however lignin upgrading and valorization processes are not well-established, and lignins are more or less burnt to generate heat and steam. In this work, we assess accurate quantum chemistry based evaluation on how thermodynamics of lignin degradation mechanism can be used to selectively crack the linkages with different functionalized groups, and subsequently convert it to aromatic monomers and non-aromatic compounds. Finally, different thermochemical and biochemical processes for lignin catalysis are considered based on bond cleavage strategies relevant for lignin depolymerization.

Predictive framework for the understanding of lignin breakdown and conversion

251st National Meeting (2016)

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