Future commercial viability of second generation biofuel and biochemical production depends on the efficient utilization of not only carbohydrates but also non-carbohydrate fractions. To enhance the valorization of biomass, we have developed a hybrid (i.e., thermo-catalytic and biological) conversion platform to generate value-added products from lignin.  This hybrid conversion platform consists of two sequential processes: a thermo-catalytic process that depolymerizes lignin into an aqueous-soluble lignin breakdown product and a biological process that converts and funnels compounds in the lignin breakdown product into a single bio-product, a triacylglycerol (TAG, a biodiesel precursor). To overcome well-known challenges to lignin conversion, lignin breakdown products will be generated via a “lignin-first” depolymerization process and characterized and classified by a novel combination of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and positive matrix factorization (PMF) methods. In our study, various heterogeneous catalysts were employed to catalyze the hydrogenolysis of lignin in aqueous media. The lignin breakdown products (LBPs) generate were utilized as the carbon source for the growth of with a bacterium, <i>Rhodococcus opacus</i> to produce lipids. Lignin thermo-catalytic processing conditions were then related to LBP yield and composition as well as <i>R. Opacus</i> growth and lipid production.

Exploring the hybrid conversion of lignin into biodiesel

2019 Spring National Meeting

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