Abstract
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.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Aqueous Pretreatment of Plant Biomass for Biological and Chemical Conversion to Fuels and Chemicals |
Publisher | John Wiley and Sons |
Pages | 23-38 |
Number of pages | 16 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780470972021 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 5 2013 |
Keywords
- Biomass conversion
- Biomass diversity
- Biomass recalcitrance
- Cell types
- Lignocellulosic biomass
- Multilamellar architecture
- Nanoporosity
- Plant cell wall chemistry
- Plant cell wall structure
- Plant tissue