Chemicals from lignin: an interplay of lignocellulose fractionation, depolymerisation, and upgrading.

In pursuit of more sustainable and competitive biorefineries, the effective valorisation of lignin is key. An alluring opportunity is the exploitation of lignin as a resource for chemicals. Three technological biorefinery aspects will determine the realisation of a successful lignin-to-chemicals valorisation chain, namely (i) lignocellulose fractionation, (ii) lignin depolymerisation, and (iii) upgrading towards targeted chemicals. This review provides a summary and perspective of the extensive research that has been devoted to each of these three interconnected biorefinery aspects, ranging from industrially well-established techniques to the latest cutting edge innovations. To navigate the reader through the overwhelming collection of literature on each topic, distinct strategies/topics were delineated and summarised in comprehensive overview figures. Upon closer inspection, conceptual principles arise that rationalise the success of certain methodologies, and more importantly, can guide future research to further expand the portfolio of promising technologies. When targeting chemicals, a key objective during the fractionation and depolymerisation stage is to minimise lignin condensation (i.e. formation of resistive carbon-carbon linkages). During fractionation, this can be achieved by either (i) preserving the (native) lignin structure or (ii) by tolerating depolymerisation of the lignin polymer but preventing condensation through chemical quenching or physical removal of reactive intermediates. The latter strategy is also commonly applied in the lignin depolymerisation stage, while an alternative approach is to augment the relative rate of depolymerisation vs. condensation by enhancing the reactivity of the lignin structure towards depolymerisation. Finally, because depolymerised lignins often consist of a complex mixture of various compounds, upgrading of the raw product mixture through convergent transformations embodies a promising approach to decrease the complexity. This particular upgrading approach is termed funneling, and includes both chemocatalytic and biological strategies.

Internal architecture of coffin-shaped ZSM-5 zeolite crystals with hourglass contrast unravelled by focused ion beam-assisted transmission electron microscopy.

Optical microscopy, focused ion beam and transmission electron microscopy are combined to study the internal architecture in a coffin-shaped ZSM-5 crystal showing an hourglass contrast in optical microscopy. Based on parallel lamellas from different positions in the crystal, the orientation relationships between the intergrowth components of the crystal are studied and the internal architecture and growth mechanism are illustrated. The crystal is found to contain two pyramid-like components aside from a central component. Both pyramid-like components are rotated by 90° along the common c-axis and with respect to the central component while the interfaces between the components show local zig-zag feature, the latter indicating variations in relative growth velocity of the two components. The pyramid-like intergrowth components are larger and come closer to one another in the middle of the crystal than at the edges, but they do not connect. A model of multisite nucleation and growth of 90° intergrowth components is proposed.

Synthesis, characterisation, and catalytic evaluation of hierarchical faujasite zeolites: milestones, challenges, and future directions.

Faujasite (X, Y, and USY) zeolites represent one of the most widely-applied and abundant catalysts and sorbents in the chemical industry. In the last 5 years substantial progress was made in the synthesis, characterisation, and catalytic exploitation of hierarchically-structured variants of these zeolites. Hererin, we provide an overview of these contributions, highlighting the main advancements regarding the evaluation of the nature and functionality of introduced secondary porosity. The novelty, efficiency, versatility, and sustainability of the reported bottom-up and (predominately) top-down strategies are discussed. The crucial role of the relative stability of faujasites in aqueous media is highlighted. The interplay between the physico-chemical properties of the hierarchical zeolites and their use in petrochemical and biomass-related catalytic processes is assessed.

Correction: Synthesis, characterisation, and catalytic evaluation of hierarchical faujasite zeolites: milestones, challenges, and future directions.

Correction for 'Synthesis, characterisation, and catalytic evaluation of hierarchical faujasite zeolites: milestones, challenges, and future directions' by D. Verboekend et al., Chem. Soc. Rev., 2015, DOI: .

Reductive catalytic fractionation of pine wood: elucidating and quantifying the molecular structures in the lignin oil.

In-depth structural analysis of biorefined lignin is imperative to understand its physicochemical properties, essential for its efficient valorization to renewable materials and chemicals. Up to now, research on Reductive Catalytic Fractionation (RCF) of lignocellulose biomass, an emerging biorefinery technology, has strongly focused on the formation, separation and quantitative analysis of the abundant lignin-derived phenolic monomers. However, detailed structural information on the linkages in RCF lignin oligomers, constituting up to 50 wt% of RCF lignin, and their quantification, is currently lacking. This study discloses new detailed insights into the pine wood RCF lignin oil's molecular structure through the combination of fractionation and systematic analysis, resulting in the first assignment of the major RCF-derived structural units in the 1H-13C HSQC NMR spectrum of the RCF oligomers. Specifically, ß-5 γ-OH, ß-5 ethyl, ß-1 γ-OH, ß-1 ethyl, ß-ß 2x γ-OH, ß-ß THF, and 5-5 inter-unit linkages were assigned unambiguously, resulting in the quantification of over 80% of the lignin inter-unit linkages and end-units. Detailed inspection of the native lignin inter-unit linkages and their conversion reveals the occurring hydrogenolysis chemistry and the unambiguous proof of absence of lignin fragment condensation during proper RCF processing. Overall, the study offers an advanced analytical toolbox for future RCF lignin conversion and lignin structural analysis research, and valuable insights for lignin oil valorization purposes.

Catalytic Strategies Towards Lignin-Derived Chemicals.

Lignin valorization represents a crucial, yet underexploited component in current lignocellulosic biorefineries. An alluring opportunity is the selective depolymerization of lignin towards chemicals. Although challenged by lignin's recalcitrant nature, several successful (catalytic) strategies have emerged. This review provides an overview of different approaches to cope with detrimental lignin structural alterations at an early stage of the biorefinery process, thus enabling effective routes towards lignin-derived chemicals. A first general strategy is to isolate lignin with a better preserved native-like structure and therefore an increased amenability towards depolymerization in a subsequent step. Both mild process conditions as well as active stabilization methods will be discussed. An alternative is the simultaneous depolymerization-stabilization of native lignin towards stable lignin monomers. This approach requires a fast and efficient stabilization of reactive lignin intermediates in order to minimize lignin repolymerization and maximize the envisioned production of chemicals. Finally, the obtained lignin-derived compounds can serve as a platform towards a broad range of bio-based products. Their implementation will improve the sustainability of the chemical industry, but equally important will generate opportunities towards product innovations based on unique biobased chemical structures.

Snß-zeolite catalyzed oxido-reduction cascade chemistry with biomass-derived molecules.

High activity of post-synthetically synthesized Sn-beta, producing novel caprolactone polymer building blocks, is demonstrated in Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley (MPV), Oppenauer (OPO), Baeyer-Villiger (BV) and cascade reactions thereof with biomass-derived molecules.

Tuning the lignin oil OH-content with Ru and Pd catalysts during lignin hydrogenolysis on birch wood.

Liquid reductive processing of birch wood in the presence of commercial Ru/C or Pd/C catalysts yields about 50% of a select set of phenolic monomers and a variety of phenolic di- and oligomers, next to a solid carbohydrate pulp. Changing the catalyst from Ru/C to Pd/C drastically increases the OH-content of the lignin-derived products, in particular for the phenolic monomers.

Molecular sieve properties of mesoporous silica with intraporous nanocarbon.

Biporous carbon-silica materials (CSM) with molecular sieve properties and high sorption capacity were developed by synthesizing nano-sized carbon crystallites in the mesopores of Al-MCM-41.

Kinetic and spectroscopic study of 1O2 generation from H2O2 catalyzed by LDH-MoO4(2-) (LDH=layered double hydroxide).

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs), exchanged with molybdate, decompose H2O2 to form one molecule of singlet-state dioxygen (1O2) from two molecules of H2O2. The dependence of the kinetics of H2O2 decomposition on Mo and H2O2 concentrations and on temperature has been related to structural characteristics of the material (X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), IR spectroscopy, N2 adsorption, thermogravimetry) and to molybdate speciation as revealed by in-situ studies in the presence of peroxide (FT Raman, diffuse reflectance UV/visible spectroscopy). The H2O2 decomposition rate is linearly correlated with the amount of LDH-exchanged molybdate, except when a considerable fraction of the molybdate occupies less accessible interlayer positions. A maximum in the H2O2 decomposition rate as the H2O2 concentration is increased is due to the successive formation of mono-, di-, tri-, and tetraperoxomolybdates. This behavior was modeled successfully by using the equilibrium constants for formation of the Mo-peroxo complexes, and the rate constants for decay of the peroxomolybdates with 1O2 liberation. Time-resolved diffuse reflectance and Raman observations of the various MoO4(2-)-peroxide adducts are in line with the proposed kinetic scheme. Of all the Mo-peroxo species on the LDH, the triperoxomolybdate has the highest rate for decay to 1O2. Comparison with the kinetics of dissolved molybdate shows that the monomolecular decay of all peroxomolybdate species proceeds much faster at the LDH surface than in solution. Consequently, maximal rates per Mo atom are at least twice as high for the heterogeneous LDH catalyst as for the homogeneous systems.

Use of WO(4)(2-) on layered double hydroxides for mild oxidative bromination and bromide-assisted epoxidation with H(2)O(2).

Tungstate, exchanged on a (Ni,Al) layered double hydroxide, is applied as a heterogeneous catalyst in the oxidation of bromide with H(2)O(2) and the ensuing electrophilic bromination of olefins. The high halogenation activity of the catalyst in essentially neutral conditions mimicks the activity of V-bromoperoxidase enzymes. In water, aromatic and aliphatic olefins are selectively converted to bromohydrins; in methanol, methoxybromides are produced. In appropriate solvent conditions, the bromohydroxylation of geminally di-, tri-, and tetrasubstituted olefins proceeds via dehydrobromination to the epoxide. Evidence for this mechanism is provided by kinetic and labeling experiments. This one-pot alternative for the two-step halohydrin epoxidation process is enabled by the mild pH conditions; bromide is effective in substoichiometric, catalytic amounts. All new catalytic procedures are characterized by a high oxidative stability of the catalyst, high productivity of the catalyst on weight basis, high W turnover frequencies in ambient conditions (up to 50 mol of product per W per h), and high chemo-, regio-, and stereoselectivities.