Lignin Valorization: Improving Lignin Processing in the Biorefinery
Background
Lignin, nature’s dominant aromatic polymer, is found in most terrestrial plants in the approximate range of 15 to 40% dry weight and provides
Advances
Bioengineering to modify lignin structure and/or incorporate atypical components has shown promise toward facilitating recovery and chemical transformation of lignin under biorefinery conditions. The flexibility in lignin monomer composition has proven useful for enhancing extraction efficiency. Both the mining of genetic variants in native populations of bioenergy crops and direct genetic manipulation of biosynthesis pathways have produced lignin feedstocks with unique properties for coproduct development. Advances in analytical chemistry and computational modeling detail the structure of the modified lignin and direct bioengineering strategies for targeted properties. Refinement of biomass pretreatment technologies has further facilitated lignin recovery and enables catalytic modifications for desired chemical and physical properties.
Outlook
Potential high-value products from isolated lignin include low-cost carbon fiber, engineering plastics and thermoplastic elastomers, polymeric foams and membranes, and a variety of fuels and chemicals all currently sourced from petroleum. These lignin coproducts must be low cost and perform as well as petroleum-derived counterparts. Each product stream has its own distinct challenges. Development of renewable lignin-based polymers requires improved processing technologies coupled to tailored bioenergy crops incorporating lignin with the desired chemical and physical properties. For fuels and chemicals, multiple strategies have emerged for lignin depolymerization and upgrading, including thermochemical treatments and homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. The multifunctional nature of lignin has historically yielded multiple product streams, which require extensive separation and purification procedures, but engineering plant feedstocks for greater structural homogeneity and tailored functionality reduces this challenge.
Top-30
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ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
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Green Chemistry
206 publications, 5.9%
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International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
128 publications, 3.67%
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Bioresource Technology
122 publications, 3.49%
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Industrial Crops and Products
110 publications, 3.15%
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ChemSusChem
104 publications, 2.98%
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ACS Catalysis
62 publications, 1.78%
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Chemical Engineering Journal
61 publications, 1.75%
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Polymers
49 publications, 1.4%
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RSC Advances
45 publications, 1.29%
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Biotechnology for Biofuels
42 publications, 1.2%
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Fuel
39 publications, 1.12%
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Molecules
36 publications, 1.03%
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Energy & Fuels
34 publications, 0.97%
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Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
33 publications, 0.95%
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ACS Omega
27 publications, 0.77%
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Biomass and Bioenergy
27 publications, 0.77%
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Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery
25 publications, 0.72%
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Nature Communications
21 publications, 0.6%
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
21 publications, 0.6%
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Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining
21 publications, 0.6%
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Angewandte Chemie
21 publications, 0.6%
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Angewandte Chemie - International Edition
21 publications, 0.6%
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Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
19 publications, 0.54%
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Catalysis Science and Technology
19 publications, 0.54%
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Journal of Applied Polymer Science
18 publications, 0.52%
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Applied and Environmental Microbiology
18 publications, 0.52%
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
17 publications, 0.49%
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Chemical Communications
16 publications, 0.46%
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Elsevier
1149 publications, 32.91%
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American Chemical Society (ACS)
553 publications, 15.84%
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Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
415 publications, 11.89%
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Wiley
384 publications, 11%
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Springer Nature
383 publications, 10.97%
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MDPI
219 publications, 6.27%
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Frontiers Media S.A.
61 publications, 1.75%
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Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
34 publications, 0.97%
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American Society for Microbiology
30 publications, 0.86%
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Taylor & Francis
26 publications, 0.74%
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Walter de Gruyter
21 publications, 0.6%
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Oxford University Press
18 publications, 0.52%
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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
17 publications, 0.49%
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
17 publications, 0.49%
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American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
10 publications, 0.29%
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IOP Publishing
7 publications, 0.2%
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AIP Publishing
6 publications, 0.17%
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Hindawi Limited
6 publications, 0.17%
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IntechOpen
6 publications, 0.17%
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Higher Education Press
5 publications, 0.14%
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SAGE
4 publications, 0.11%
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
4 publications, 0.11%
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Korean Society of Industrial Engineering Chemistry
4 publications, 0.11%
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TAPPI Press
4 publications, 0.11%
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Annual Reviews
4 publications, 0.11%
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The Royal Society
3 publications, 0.09%
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Pleiades Publishing
3 publications, 0.09%
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Altai State University
3 publications, 0.09%
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Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
2 publications, 0.06%
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- We do not take into account publications without a DOI.
- Statistics recalculated weekly.