Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.7
4.6
Journals
Molecules
Special Issues
Lignocellulose: From Pretreatment to Valorization
molecules-logo
Submit to Molecules Review for Molecules Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Lignocellulose: From Pretreatment to Valorization

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 4630

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Micholas Dean Smith

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biochemistry, Cellular & Molecular Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Interests: molecular docking; drug discovery; protein folding; biopolymers; aggregation; solvent–protein interactions; salt–protein interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change is an urgent threat to human society. To overcome this challenge, it is necessary to rapidly transition from non-renewable fuel and material feedstocks to green, renewable feedstocks. Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant, renewable, terrestrial source of carbon on Earth and is a promising feedstock for replacing existing non-renewable feedstocks; however, owing to both its intrinsic recalcitrance to conversion and inherent variability, efficient and economic pathways to valorize biomass into products remain lacking.

All researchers working in the field of lignocellulosic upgrading are cordially invited to contribute original research papers or reviews to this Special Issue of Molecules focusing on the design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel lignocellulosic processing technologies and valorization strategies. Additionally, studies examining the fundamental mechanisms at work during existing and promising new biomass conversion technologies are also welcome.

Dr. Micholas Dean Smith
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • lignocellulose
  • biomass valorization
  • biomass pretreatment
  • biofuels
  • bio-plastics

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

17 pages, 3878 KiB  
Article
Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment of Softwood-Derived Poly(Ethylene Glycol)-Modified Glycol Lignin at Room Temperature
by Thi Thi Nge, Yuki Tobimatsu, Shiho Takahashi, Toshiaki Umezawa and Tatsuhiko Yamada
Molecules 2023, 28(4), 1542; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules28041542 - 05 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1665
Abstract
Recently, a large-scale production system of softwood-derived poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-modified glycol lignin (GL) was developed to produce high-quality lignin derivatives with substantially controlled chemical structures and attractive thermal properties. In this study, the further upgrading of GL properties with carboxy functionalization was demonstrated [...] Read more.
Recently, a large-scale production system of softwood-derived poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-modified glycol lignin (GL) was developed to produce high-quality lignin derivatives with substantially controlled chemical structures and attractive thermal properties. In this study, the further upgrading of GL properties with carboxy functionalization was demonstrated through the room-temperature hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) treatment with the mass ratio of H2O2 to GL, 1:1 and 1:3, for 7 d. The changes in the chemical structure, carboxy group content, molecular weight, and thermal properties of the insoluble portions of partially oxidized glycol lignins (OGLs) were then investigated. Nuclear magnetic resonance and thioacidolysis data revealed that the oxidative functionalization involved the cleavage of β–O–4 linkages and the oxidative cleavage of guaiacyl aromatic rings into muconic acid-type structures. This was validated by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and potentiometric titration. Overall, the results suggested that the varying outcomes of carboxy group content (0.81–2.04 mmol/g OGL) after 7-d treatment depended on the type of the GL origin having varying amounts of the retained native lignin structure (e.g., β–O–4 linkages), which were prepared from different source-wood-meal sizes and PEG molecular masses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lignocellulose: From Pretreatment to Valorization)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

11 pages, 2594 KiB  
Article
Direct Furfural Production from Deciduous Wood Pentosans Using Different Phosphorus-Containing Catalysts in the Context of Biorefining
by Prans Brazdausks, Daniela Godina and Maris Puke
Molecules 2022, 27(21), 7353; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27217353 - 29 Oct 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1083
Abstract
This study seeks to improve the effectiveness of the pretreatment stage when direct furfural production is integrated into the concept of a lignocellulosic biomass biorefinery. First of all, the catalytic effects of different phosphorus-containing salts (AlPO₄, Ca₃(PO₄)₂, FePO₄, H₃PO₄, NaH₂PO₄) were analysed in [...] Read more.
This study seeks to improve the effectiveness of the pretreatment stage when direct furfural production is integrated into the concept of a lignocellulosic biomass biorefinery. First of all, the catalytic effects of different phosphorus-containing salts (AlPO₄, Ca₃(PO₄)₂, FePO₄, H₃PO₄, NaH₂PO₄) were analysed in hydrolysis for their ability to convert birch wood C-5 carbohydrates into furfural. The hydrolysis process was performed with three different amounts of catalyst (2, 3 and 4 wt.%) at a constant temperature (175 °C) and treatment time (90 min). It was found that the highest amount of furfural (63–72%, calculated based on the theoretically possible yield (% t.p.y.)) was obtained when H₃PO₄ was used as a catalyst. The best furfural yield among the used phosphorus-containing salts was obtained with NaH₂PO₄: 40 ± 2%. The greatest impact on cellulose degradation during the hydrolysis process was observed using H₃PO₄ at 12–20% of the initial amount, while the lowest degradation was observed using NaH₂PO₄ as a catalyst. The yield of furfural was 60.5–62.7% t.p.y. when H₃PO₄ and NaH₂PO₄ were combined (1:2, 1:1, or 2:1 at a catalyst amount of 3 wt.%); however, the amount of cellulose that was degraded did not exceed 5.2–0.3% of the starting amount. Enzymatic hydrolysis showed that such pretreated biomass could be directly used as a substrate to produce glucose. The highest conversion ratio of cellulose into glucose (83.1%) was obtained at an enzyme load of 1000 and treatment time of 48 h. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lignocellulose: From Pretreatment to Valorization)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 3346 KiB  
Article
Valorisation Potential of Invasive Acacia dealbata, A. longifolia and A. melanoxylon from Land Clearings
by Ricardo M. F. da Costa, Maurice Bosch, Rachael Simister, Leonardo D. Gomez, Jorge M. Canhoto and Luís A. E. Batista de Carvalho
Molecules 2022, 27(20), 7006; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27207006 - 18 Oct 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1439
Abstract
Acacia spp. are invasive in Southern Europe, and their high propagation rates produce excessive biomass, exacerbating wildfire risk. However, lignocellulosic biomass from Acacia spp. may be utilised for diverse biorefinery applications. In this study, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), high-performance [...] Read more.
Acacia spp. are invasive in Southern Europe, and their high propagation rates produce excessive biomass, exacerbating wildfire risk. However, lignocellulosic biomass from Acacia spp. may be utilised for diverse biorefinery applications. In this study, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), high-performance anion-exchange chromatography pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) and lignin content determinations were used for a comparative compositional characterisation of A. dealbata, A. longifolia and A. melanoxylon. Additionally, biomass was treated with three white-rot fungi species (Ganoderma lucidum, Pleurotus ostreatus and Trametes versicolor), which preferentially degrade lignin. Our results showed that the pre-treatments do not significantly alter neutral sugar composition while reducing lignin content. Sugar release from enzymatic saccharification was enhanced, in some cases possibly due to a synergy between white-rot fungi and mild alkali pretreatments. For example, in A. dealbata stems treated with alkali and P. ostreatus, saccharification yield was 702.3 nmol mg−1, which is higher than the samples treated only with alkali (608.1 nmol mg−1), and 2.9-fold higher than the non-pretreated controls (243.9 nmol mg−1). By characterising biomass and pretreatments, generated data creates value for unused biomass resources, contributing to the implementation of sustainable biorefining systems. In due course, the generated value will lead to economic incentives for landowners to cut back invasive Acacia spp. more frequently, thus reducing excess biomass, which exacerbates wildfire risk. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lignocellulose: From Pretreatment to Valorization)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop