Lignin Biorefinery Approach

Figure 8.10 Lignin Biorefinery Approach (LIBRA), under development at ECN.

Recent attempts aim at the controlled transformation of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin to platform molecules for a potential future biorefinery scenario. In this regard, the U.S. Department of Energy has published studies on potential future platform molecules that could be derived from renewable resources [35, 36]. Tailored transformation of biomass to these platform chemicals could serve as a starting point for biofuel production. This would allow the development of comprehensive biorefinery approaches that incorporate both the production of biofuels and chemicals. The... 

Before examining biomass conversion approaches in detail, we first briefly review the chemical composition of plant biomass. The main biomass compraients [16, 17] are cellulose [18-20], hemicellulose [21], starch, sugars, lignin [22], oils, fats, and waxes [23, 24], proteins [25, 26], and various extractives. Those most relevant to the biorefinery are shown in Fig. 3. 

Approaches to the Selective Catalytic Conversion of Lignin A Grand Challenge for Biorefinery Development... 

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