Converting lignin to value added products at high yields provides an avenue for making cellulosic biorefineries more profitable. This study aims to fractionate and depolymerize alkali treated corn stover lignin to bio-oils utilizing 1) a reductive process of catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis (CTH) in supercritical ethanol with a Ru/C catalyst and 2) an oxidative process of peracetic acid treatment. The bio-oils derived from each process were then sequentially extracted utilizing hexane, petroleum ether, chloroform and ethyl acetate as solvents in order of less polar to polar. The raw bio-oils and sequentially extracted fractions were compared for differences in monomeric and oligomeric phenolic compounds via gel permeation chromatography and GC/MS. Antimicrobial properties of these fractions were screened against gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus amylovorus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis) and negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) by examining inhibitions to microbial growth. This study provides insight into the types of lignin-derived compounds that confer antimicrobial activities, and a potential novel use for the bio-oils derived from lignin depolymerization.

Antimicrobial properties of depolymerized lignin compounds

2019 Spring National Meeting

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