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Molecular-level driving forces in lignocellulosic biomass deconstruction for bioenergy

Journal Article · · Nature Reviews Chemistry

We present that the plant cell wall biopolymers lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose are potential renewable sources of clean biofuels and high-value chemicals. However, the complex 3D structure of lignocellulosic biomass is recalcitrant to deconstruction. Major efforts to overcome this recalcitrance have involved pretreating biomass before catalytic processing. This Perspective describes recent work aimed at elucidating the molecular-level physical phenomena that drive biomass assembly. These are at play in commonly employed aqueous-based and thermochemical pretreatments. Lastly, several key processes have been found to be driven by biomass solvation thermodynamics, an understanding of which therefore facilitates the rational improvement of methods aimed at the complete solubilization and fractionation of the major biomass components.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE Office of Science; USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1488718
Journal Information:
Nature Reviews Chemistry, Journal Name: Nature Reviews Chemistry Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 2; ISSN 2397-3358
Publisher:
Springer NatureCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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