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Title: Valorization of homogeneous linear catechyl lignin: opportunities and challenges

Journal Article · · RSC Advances
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ra01546g · OSTI ID:1971280
 [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [1];  [3]; ORCiD logo [4];  [5]; ORCiD logo [6]
  1. Inner Mongolia Univ., Hohhot (China)
  2. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  3. Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Technology Extension Center, Hohhot (China)
  4. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI)
  5. Inner Mongolia Univ., Hohhot (China); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  6. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI)

Lignin is the dominant aromatic renewable polymer on earth. Generally, its complex and heterogeneous structure hinders its high-value utilization. Catechyl lignin (C-lignin), a novel lignin discovered in the seed coats of vanilla and several members of Cactaceae, has received increasing attention due to its unique homogeneous linear structure. Obtaining substantial amounts of C-lignin either by gene regulation or effective isolation is essential to advance C-lignin's valorization. Through a fundamental understanding of the biosynthesis process, genetic engineering to promote the accumulation of C-lignin in certain plants was developed to facilitate C-lignin valorization. Various isolation methods were also developed to isolate C-lignin, among which deep eutectic solvents (DESs) treatment is one of the most promising approaches to fractionate C-lignin from biomass materials. Since C-lignin is composed of homogeneous catechyl units, depolymerization to produce catechol monomers demonstrates a promising way for value-added utilization of C-lignin. Reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) represents another emerging technology for effective depolymerizing C-lignin, leading to a narrow distribution of lignin-derived aromatic products (e.g., propyl and propenyl catechol). Meanwhile, the linear molecular structure predisposes C-lignin as a potential promising feedstock for preparing carbon fiber materials. In this review, the biosynthesis of this unique C-lignin in plants is summarized. C-lignin isolation from plants and various depolymerization approaches to obtaining aromatic products are overviewed with highlights on RCF process. Exploring new application areas based on C-lignin's unique homogeneous linear structure is also discussed with its potential for high-value utilization in the future.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; 21706136
OSTI ID:
1971280
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1976012
Journal Information:
RSC Advances, Vol. 13, Issue 19; ISSN 2046-2069
Publisher:
Royal Society of ChemistryCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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