Issue 3, 2018

Unravelling the enigma of ligninOX: can the oxidation of lignin be controlled?

Abstract

As societal challenges go, the development of efficient biorefineries as a means of reducing our dependence on petroleum refineries is high on the list. One of the core strengths of the petroleum refinery is its ability to produce a huge range of different products using all of the components of the starting material. In contrast, the target of using all the biopolymers present in lignocellulosic biomass is far from realised. Even though our ability to use the carbohydrate-based components has advanced, our plans for lignin lag behind (with the notable exception of vanillin production). One approach to lignin usage is its controlled depolymerisation. This study focuses on an increasingly popular approach to this challenge which involves highly selective lignin oxidation to give a material often referred to as ligninOX. But what do we mean by ligninOX? In this study we show that it is possible to form many different types of ligninOX depending on the oxidation conditions that are used. We show that variations in the levels of processing of the β–O-4, the β–β and a third linkage occur. Through use of this information, we can form a well-defined ligninOX from six different hardwood lignins. This process is reproducible and can be carried out on a large scale. With a source of well-defined ligninOX in hand, we show that it can be converted to simple aromatic monomers and that any remaining ligninOX is sufficiently soluble for further processing to be carried out.

Graphical abstract: Unravelling the enigma of ligninOX: can the oxidation of lignin be controlled?

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
11 Aug. 2017
Accepted
08 Nov. 2017
First published
09 Nov. 2017
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2018,9, 702-711

Unravelling the enigma of ligninOX: can the oxidation of lignin be controlled?

H. Guo, Daniel M. Miles-Barrett, A. R. Neal, T. Zhang, C. Li and N. J. Westwood, Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 702 DOI: 10.1039/C7SC03520A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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