Abstract
Lignocellulosic biomass biorefineries present an environmentally friendly avenue for generating biofuels and bioproducts, curbing emissions, and advancing environmental stewardship. Yet, the intricate structure of biomass poses obstacles to its efficient conversion into bio-derived products while conserving the native bonding motifs, especially for lignin. The limitations of conventional methodologies stimulated the exploration of innovative solvents and processes. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs), a class of solvents composed of mixtures of hydrogen-donor and hydrogen-acceptor compounds, boasting low toxicity, remarkable solubility, adaptability in synthesis, and selectivity, have garnered increasing attention as sustainable solvents for lignin extraction. The incorporation of microwave-assisted heating can further enhance DES-based lignin extraction efficiency and potential for value creation. This comprehensive review underscores the potential of the MW-DES technique in harnessing lignin—a prized renewable resource—for the sustainable production of energy and materials. From dissecting DES's elemental composition to elucidating DES-microwave-biomass interactions, scrutinizing the MW-DES lignin extraction process factors, and delving into extracted lignin characterization, this review aims to thoroughly evaluate the MW-DES approach's promise in leveraging lignin's potential across diverse industrial sectors.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1153-1169 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Green Chemistry |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 5 2023 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The authors would like to acknowledge the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) [Award Number 2018-67009-27902] and Washington State University Office of Commercialization for funding part of this work. D. Boldor would like to thank the support provided by the National Science Foundation under NSF EPSCoR OIA (Award Number 1632854), the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at the LSU AgCenter, and the USDA NIFA Hatch Program (LAB #94443). Published with the approval of the Director of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station as manuscript #2023-232-39023.
