Lignocellulosic biomass

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Bagasse, the lignin-rich component of sugarcane, is a form of lignocellulosic biomass. Its combustion helps to power the sugar mill. In this photograph, the bagasse is under the blue plastic. Location:Proserpine, Queensland. Proserpine-Sugar-Mill-rail-tracks-1188.jpg
Bagasse, the lignin-rich component of sugarcane, is a form of lignocellulosic biomass. Its combustion helps to power the sugar mill. In this photograph, the bagasse is under the blue plastic. Location:Proserpine, Queensland.

Lignocellulose refers to plant dry matter (biomass), so called lignocellulosic biomass. It is the most abundantly available raw material on the Earth for the production of biofuels. [1] It is composed of two kinds of carbohydrate polymers, cellulose and hemicellulose, and an aromatic-rich polymer called lignin. [1] Any biomass rich in cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin are commonly referred to as lignocellulosic biomass. [2] Each component has a distinct chemical behavior. Being a composite of three very different components makes the processing of lignocellulose challenging. The evolved resistance to degradation or even separation is referred to as recalcitrance. Overcoming this recalcitrance to produce useful, high value products requires a combination of heat, chemicals, enzymes, and microorganisms. [3] [4] [5] [6] These carbohydrate-containing polymers contain different sugar monomers (six and five carbon sugars) and they are covalently bound to lignin.

Contents

Lignocellulosic biomass can be broadly classified as virgin biomass, waste biomass, and energy crops. Virgin biomass includes plants. Waste biomass is produced as a low value byproduct of various industrial sectors such as agriculture (corn stover, sugarcane bagasse, straw etc.) and forestry (saw mill and paper mill discards). Energy crops are crops with a high yield of lignocellulosic biomass produced as a raw material for the production of second-generation biofuel; examples include switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ) and elephant grass. The biofuels generated from these energy crops are sources of sustainable energy. [7] [8]

Chemical composition

Xylan is one form of hemicellulose found in hardwood. Xylan hardwood.svg
Xylan is one form of hemicellulose found in hardwood.

Lignocellulose consists of three components, each with properties that pose challenges to commercial applications. [10]

Dedicated energy crops

Miscanthus is a so-called energy crop, being highly efficient (fast-growing) at turning solar radiation into biomass Miscanthus Bestand.JPG
Miscanthus is a so-called energy crop, being highly efficient (fast-growing) at turning solar radiation into biomass

Many crops are of interest for their ability to provide high yields of biomass. Some can be harvested multiple times each year. These include poplar trees and Miscanthus giganteus . The premier energy crop is sugarcane, which is a source of the readily fermentable sucrose and the lignocellulosic by-product bagasse.

Application

Pulp and paper industry

Lignocellulosic biomass is the feedstock for the pulp and paper industry. In this process lignin and hemicellulose are typically separated from the plant material leaving the fibrous cellulose component to be processed for paper production, or 'chemical cellulose'. [13] Through the pulp process most of the lignin is removed and discharged as waste material in the form of effluent/wastewater before then being used as low-value fuel to generate electricity and heat. [13] In principle, the world’s current sugar demand could be fulfilled by repurposing pulp and paper mills for lignocellulosic sugar production, making it a promising resilient food. [14]

Biofuels

Lignocellulosic biomass, in the form of wood fuel, has a long history as a source of energy. Since the middle of the 20th century, the interest of biomass as a precursor to liquid fuels has increased. To be specific, the fermentation of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol [15] is an attractive route to fuels that supplements the fossil fuels. Biomass can be a carbon neutral source of energy in the long run. However depending on the source of biomass, it will not be carbon neutral in the short term. For instance if the biomass is derived from trees, the time period to regrow the tree (on the order of decades) will see a net increase in carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere upon the combustion of lignocellulosic ethanol. However, if woody material from annual crop residue is used, the fuel could be considered carbon-neutral. Aside from ethanol, many other lignocellulose-derived fuels are of potential interest, including butanol, dimethylfuran, and gamma-valerolactone. [16]

One barrier to the production of ethanol from biomass is that the sugars necessary for fermentation are trapped inside the lignocellulose. Lignocellulose has evolved to resist degradation and to confer hydrolytic stability and structural robustness to the cell walls of the plants. This robustness or "recalcitrance" is attributable to the crosslinking between the polysaccharides (cellulose and hemicellulose) and the lignin via ester and ether linkages. [17] Ester linkages arise between oxidized sugars, the uronic acids, and the phenols and phenylpropanols functionalities of the lignin. To extract the fermentable sugars, one must first disconnect the celluloses from the lignin, and then use acid or enzymatic methods to hydrolyze the newly freed celluloses to break them down into simple monosaccharides. Another challenge to biomass fermentation is the high percentage of pentoses in the hemicellulose, such as xylose, or wood sugar. Unlike hexoses such as glucose, pentoses are difficult to ferment. The problems presented by the lignin and hemicellulose fractions are the foci of much contemporary research.

A large sector of research into the exploitation of lignocellulosic biomass as a feedstock for bio-ethanol focuses particularly on the fungus Trichoderma reesei , known for its cellulolytic abilities. Multiple avenues are being explored including the design of an optimised cocktail of cellulases and hemicellulases isolated from T. reesei, as well as genetic-engineering-based strain improvement to allow the fungus to simply be placed in the presence of lignocellulosic biomass and break down the matter into D-glucose monomers. [18] Strain improvement methods have led to strains capable of producing significantly more cellulases than the original QM6a isolate; certain industrial strains are known to produce up to 100g of cellulase per litre of fungus,[ citation needed ] thus allowing for maximal extraction of sugars from lignocellulosic biomass. These sugars can then be fermented, leading to bio-ethanol.

Research

Some chemicals could be obtained from lignocellulosic biomass. Almost all are derived from the sugars obtained by hydrolysis of the cellulose component. [19]

Lignocellulosic biomasses has been considered in the production of biocomposites materials such as particle panels, wood-plastic composites, and cement/geopolymer wood composites. Even though the production of biocomposite materials rely mostly on wood resources, in less forest-covered countries or in countries where wood resources are already being overused, it is possible to utilize alternative sources of biomass such as invasive plants, agricultural and sawmills residues for the creation of new "green" composites. [20] Biocomposites produced with lignocellulosic biomass as an alternative to conventional materials, are attracting attention because they are renewable and cheaper but also because they fit perfectly into the policy of the "cascade utilization" of the resources.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cellulose</span> Polymer of glucose and structural component of cell wall of plants and green algae

Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula (C
6H
10O
5)
n, a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall of green plants, many forms of algae and the oomycetes. Some species of bacteria secrete it to form biofilms. Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on Earth. The cellulose content of cotton fiber is 90%, that of wood is 40–50%, and that of dried hemp is approximately 57%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biofuel</span> Type of biological fuel produced from biomass from which energy is derived

Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short period from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or agricultural, domestic, or industrial biowaste. Biofuels are mostly used for transportation but can also be used for heating and electricity. Biofuels are regarded as a renewable energy source. However, the use of biofuel has been controversial because of the several disadvantages associated with the use of it. These include for example : the "food vs fuel" debate, biofuel production methods being sustainable or not, leading to deforestation and loss of biodiversity or not.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lignin</span> Structural phenolic polymer in plant cell walls

Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidity and do not rot easily. Chemically, lignins are polymers made by cross-linking phenolic precursors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bagasse</span> Residue of sugar cane after juice extraction

Bagasse is the dry pulpy fibrous material that remains after crushing sugarcane or sorghum stalks to extract their juice. It is used as a biofuel for the production of heat, energy, and electricity, and in the manufacture of pulp and building materials. Agave bagasse is similar, but is the material remnants after extracting blue agave sap.

Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol produced from cellulose rather than from the plant's seeds or fruit. It can be produced from grasses, wood, algae, or other plants. It is generally discussed for use as a biofuel. The carbon dioxide that plants absorb as they grow offsets some of the carbon dioxide emitted when ethanol made from them is burned, so cellulosic ethanol fuel has the potential to have a lower carbon footprint than fossil fuels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biorefinery</span> Refinery that converts biomass to energy and other beneficial byproducts

A biorefinery is a refinery that converts biomass to energy and other beneficial byproducts. The International Energy Agency Bioenergy Task 42 defined biorefining as "the sustainable processing of biomass into a spectrum of bio-based products and bioenergy ". As refineries, biorefineries can provide multiple chemicals by fractioning an initial raw material (biomass) into multiple intermediates that can be further converted into value-added products. Each refining phase is also referred to as a "cascading phase". The use of biomass as feedstock can provide a benefit by reducing the impacts on the environment, as lower pollutants emissions and reduction in the emissions of hazard products. In addition, biorefineries are intended to achieve the following goals:

  1. Supply the current fuels and chemical building blocks
  2. Supply new building blocks for the production of novel materials with disruptive characteristics
  3. Creation of new jobs, including rural areas
  4. Valorization of waste
  5. Achieve the ultimate goal of reducing GHG emissions
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iogen Corporation</span>

Iogen Corporation is a Canadian company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and was founded by Patrick Foody Sr. in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black liquor</span> Industrial by-product

In industrial chemistry, black liquor is the by-product from the kraft process when digesting pulpwood into paper pulp removing lignin, hemicelluloses and other extractives from the wood to free the cellulose fibers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xylan</span> A plant cell wall polysaccharide

Xylan is a type of hemicellulose, a polysaccharide consisting mainly of xylose residues. It is found in plants, in the secondary cell walls of dicots and all cell walls of grasses. Xylan is the third most abundant biopolymer on Earth, after cellulose and chitin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioconversion of biomass to mixed alcohol fuels</span>

The bioconversion of biomass to mixed alcohol fuels can be accomplished using the MixAlco process. Through bioconversion of biomass to a mixed alcohol fuel, more energy from the biomass will end up as liquid fuels than in converting biomass to ethanol by yeast fermentation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butanol fuel</span> Fuel for internal combustion engines

Butanol may be used as a fuel in an internal combustion engine. It is more similar to gasoline than it is to ethanol. A C4-hydrocarbon, butanol is a drop-in fuel and thus works in vehicles designed for use with gasoline without modification. Both n-butanol and isobutanol have been studied as possible fuels. Both can be produced from biomass (as "biobutanol" ) as well as from fossil fuels (as "petrobutanol"). The chemical properties depend on the isomer (n-butanol or isobutanol), not on the production method.

Renewable Fuels are fuels produced from renewable resources. Examples include: biofuels, Hydrogen fuel, and fully synthetic fuel produced from ambient carbon dioxide and water. This is in contrast to non-renewable fuels such as natural gas, LPG (propane), petroleum and other fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Renewable fuels can include fuels that are synthesized from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Renewable fuels have gained in popularity due to their sustainability, low contributions to the carbon cycle, and in some cases lower amounts of greenhouse gases. The geo-political ramifications of these fuels are also of interest, particularly to industrialized economies which desire independence from Middle Eastern oil.

Treethanol is an ethanol fuel made from trees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abengoa</span> Spanish multinational company in the green infrastructure, energy and water sectors

Abengoa, S.A. was a Spanish multinational company in the green infrastructure, energy and water sectors. The company was founded in 1941 by Javier Benjumea Puigcerver and José Manuel Abaurre Fernández-Pasalagua, and was based in Seville, Spain. Its current chairman is Gonzalo Urquijo Fernández de Araoz. After repeated bankruptcies and rescues, it declared insolvency in February 2021 amid various regulatory and financial charges against the board and management, the second-largest corporate collapse in Spanish history.

Second-generation biofuels, also known as advanced biofuels, are fuels that can be manufactured from various types of non-food biomass. Biomass in this context means plant materials and animal waste used especially as a source of fuel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cellulose fiber</span> Fibers made with ethers or esters of cellulose

Cellulose fibers are fibers made with ethers or esters of cellulose, which can be obtained from the bark, wood or leaves of plants, or from other plant-based material. In addition to cellulose, the fibers may also contain hemicellulose and lignin, with different percentages of these components altering the mechanical properties of the fibers.

Bioproducts or bio-based products are materials, chemicals and energy derived from renewable biological material.

In industrial paper-making processes, organosolv is a pulping technique that uses an organic solvent to solubilise lignin and hemicellulose. It has been considered in the context of both pulp and paper manufacture and biorefining for subsequent conversion of cellulose to fuel ethanol. The process was invented by Theodor Kleinert in 1968 as an environmentally benign alternative to kraft pulping.

Inbicon is a Danish company that produces cellulosic ethanol.

Cellulosic sugars are derived from non-food biomass (e.g. wood, agricultural residues, municipal solid waste). The biomass is primarily composed of carbohydrate polymers cellulose, hemicellulose, and an aromatic polymer (lignin). The hemicellulose is a polymer of mainly five-carbon sugars C5H10O5 (xylose). and the cellulose is a polymer of six-carbon sugar C6H12O6 (glucose). Cellulose fibers are considered to be a plant’s structural building blocks and are tightly bound to lignin, but the biomass can be deconstructed using Acid hydrolysis, enzymatic hydrolysis, organosolv dissolution, autohydrolysis or supercritical hydrolysis. A more recent mechanical method offers hope that at last, a more economic and waste free method has been found although it is still to scale and is not yet commercial.

References

  1. 1 2 Wyman, Charles E.; Dale, Bruce E.; Elander, Richard T.; Holtzapple, Mark; Ladisch, Michael R.; Lee, Y. Y. (2005-12-01). "Coordinated development of leading biomass pretreatment technologies". Bioresource Technology. 96 (18): 1959–1966. doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2005.01.010. ISSN   0960-8524. PMID   16112483.
  2. ↑ Zhou, Chun-Hui; Xia, Xi; Lin, Chun-Xiang; Tong, Dong-Shen; Beltramini, Jorge (2011-10-17). "Catalytic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to fine chemicals and fuels". Chemical Society Reviews. 40 (11): 5588–5617. doi:10.1039/C1CS15124J. ISSN   1460-4744. PMID   21863197.
  3. ↑ Y. Sun, J. Cheng (2002). "Hydrolysis of Lignocellulosic Materials for Ethanol Production: a Review". Bioresour. Technol. 83 (1): 1–11. doi:10.1016/S0960-8524(01)00212-7. PMID   12058826.
  4. ↑ E. Palmqvist; B. Hahn-Hagerdal (2000). "Fermentation of Lignocellulosic Hydrolysates. II: inhibitors and Mechanisms of Inhibition". Bioresour. Technol. 74: 25-33. doi:10.1016/S0960-8524(99)00161-3.
  5. ↑ P. Alvira; E. Tomas-Pejo; M. Ballesteros; M. J. Negro (2010). "Pretreatment Technologies for an Efficient Bioethanol Production Process Based on Enzymatic Hydrolysis: A Review". Bioresour. Technol. 101 (13): 4851–4861. doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2009.11.093. PMID   20042329.
  6. ↑ D. M. Alonso; J. Q. Bond; J. A. Dumesic (2010). "Catalytic Conversion of Biomass to Biofuels". Green Chem. 12 (9): 1493-1513. doi:10.1039/c004654j.
  7. ↑ Güleç, Fatih; Parthiban, Anburajan; Umenweke, Great C.; Musa, Umaru; Williams, Orla; Mortezaei, Yasna; Suk‐Oh, Hyun; Lester, Edward; Ogbaga, Chukwuma C.; Gunes, Burcu; Okolie, Jude A. (12 October 2023). "Progress in lignocellulosic biomass valorization for biofuels and value‐added chemical production in the EU : A focus on thermochemical conversion processes". Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. doi: 10.1002/bbb.2544 .
  8. ↑ Saladini, Fabrizio; Patrizi, Nicoletta; Pulselli, Federico M.; Marchettini, Nadia; Bastianoni, Simone (December 2016). "Guidelines for emergy evaluation of first, second and third generation biofuels". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 66: 221–227. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2016.07.073.
  9. ↑ Horst H. Nimz, Uwe Schmitt, Eckart Schwab, Otto Wittmann, Franz Wolf "Wood" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi : 10.1002/14356007.a28_305
  10. ↑ Christopher M. Fellows, Trevor C. Brown, William O.S. Doherty (2011). "Lignocellulosics as a Renewable Feedstock for Chemical Industry: Chemicals from Lignin". In Rashmi Sanghi, Vandana Singh (ed.). Green Chemistry for Environmental Remediation. pp. 561–610. doi:10.1002/9781118287705.ch18. ISBN   9781118287705.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Lu, Yuchan; He, Qiao; Fan, Guozhi; Cheng, Qunpeng; Song, Guangsen (2021-01-01). "Extraction and modification of hemicellulose from lignocellulosic biomass: A review". Green Processing and Synthesis. 10 (1): 779–804. doi: 10.1515/gps-2021-0065 . ISSN   2191-9550.
  12. 1 2 Zeng, Yining; Himmel, Michael E.; Ding, Shi-You (2017-11-30). "Visualizing chemical functionality in plant cell walls". Biotechnology for Biofuels. 10 (1): 263. doi: 10.1186/s13068-017-0953-3 . ISSN   1754-6834. PMC   5708085 . PMID   29213316.
  13. 1 2 Haq, Izharul; Mazumder, Payal; Kalamdhad, Ajay S. (2020-09-01). "Recent advances in removal of lignin from paper industry wastewater and its industrial applications – A review". Bioresource Technology. 312: 123636. doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123636. ISSN   0960-8524. PMID   32527619. S2CID   219607347.
  14. ↑ Throup, James; García Martínez, Juan B.; Bals, Bryan; Cates, Jacob; Pearce, Joshua M.; Denkenberger, David C. (2022-01-01). "Rapid repurposing of pulp and paper mills, biorefineries, and breweries for lignocellulosic sugar production in global food catastrophes". Food and Bioproducts Processing. 131: 22–39. doi:10.1016/j.fbp.2021.10.012. ISSN   0960-3085. S2CID   243485968.
  15. ↑ Carroll, Andrew; Somerville, Chris (June 2009). "Cellulosic Biofuels". Annual Review of Plant Biology. 60 (1): 165–182. doi:10.1146/annurev.arplant.043008.092125. PMID   19014348.
  16. ↑ Barbara A. Tokay "Biomass Chemicals" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2002, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi : 10.1002/14356007.a04_099
  17. ↑ U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (June 2006). "Breaking the Biological Barriers to Cellulosic Ethanol: A Joint Research Agenda. Report from the December 2005 Workshop" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-07. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  18. ↑ Monot, Frederic; Margeot, Antoine. "Biofuels turn to fungus - Interview with Frédéric Monot and Antoine Margeot, Applied Chemistry and Physical Chemistry Division at IFPEN". IFP Energies nouvelles. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Top Value Added Chemicals from Biomass Volume I—Results of Screening for Potential Candidates from Sugars and Synthesis Gas" (PDF).
  20. ↑ Nagarajan, Vidhya; Mohanty, Amar K.; Misra, Manjusri (2013-03-04). "Sustainable Green Composites: Value Addition to Agricultural Residues and Perennial Grasses". ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 1 (3): 325–333. doi: 10.1021/sc300084z . ISSN   2168-0485.
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