Biocatalysis in ionic liquids for lignin valorization: Opportunities and recent developments.

Biocatalysis in ionic liquids for lignin valorization: Opportunities and recent developments. Biotechnol Adv. 2019 Jul 18;:107418 Authors: Stevens JC, Shi J Abstract Lignin holds tremendous potential as a renewable feedstock for upgrading to a number of high-value chemicals and products that are derived from the petroleum industry at present. Since lignin makes up a significant fraction of lignocellulosic biomass, co-utilization of lignin in addition to cellulose and hemicelluloses is vital to the economic viability of cellulosic biorefineries. The recalcitrant nature of lignin, originated from the molecule's compositional and structural heterogeneity, however, poses great challenges toward effective and selective lignin depolymerization and valorization. Ionic liquid (IL) is a powerful solvent that has demonstrated high efficiency in fractionating lignocellulosic biomass into sugar streams and a lignin stream of reduced molecular weight. Compared to thermochemical methods, biological lignin deconstruction takes place at mild temperature and pressure while product selectivity can be potentially improved via the specificity of biocatalysts (lignin degrading enzymes, LDEs). This review focuses on a lignin valorization strategy by harnessing the biomass fractionating capabilities of ILs and the substrate and product selectivity of LDEs. Recent advances in elucidating enzyme-IL interactions as well as strategies for improving enzyme acti...
Source: Biotechnology Advances - Category: Biotechnology Authors: Tags: Biotechnol Adv Source Type: research