Plant Cell Walls: Basics of Structure, Chemistry, Accessibility and the Influence on Conversion

This chapter briefly surveys the basics of plant cell-wall structure and composition as well as the variability of lignocellulose in plants that relate to pretreatment. It then returns to the chemical components of lignocellulose, first lignin and then cellulose. The discussion of hemicellulose focuses on its branching, decorations, and cross-linkages. The chapter also discusses the influences of the microscopic structure of biomass: the tissue, cellular, and macromolecular-scale architecture that contributes to recalcitrance. Finally, it surveys how molecular modeling and computer simulation is being used to explore biomass structure and chemistry, and to inform the nature of recalcitrance in lignocellulosic biomass.