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At least 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Life Cycle Analysis of Renewable Natural Gas and Lactic Acid Production from Waste Feedstocks

Producing fuels and chemicals from waste is considered economically favorable, due to low feedstock cost, and environmentally favorable, due to avoided emissions from conventional waste management practices. In this study, we evaluate the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction benefits of renewable natural gas (RNG) and lactic acid (LA) production from four types of wet waste feedstocks (wastewater sludge, food waste, swine manure, and fats, oil, and grease [FOG]) via anaerobic digestion (AD) and LA fermentation, respectively. RNG can be used as an alternative to fossil natural gas, while LA from waste feedstocks can displace conventional LA production pathways (mainly from corn via fermentation). Providing comprehensive life cycle GHG emissions of the combinations of waste feedstocks and products through different routes helps identify the GHG hotspots and show where emissions savings come from. The results show that the carbon intensities (CIs) of waste-derived RNG and LA are much lower than those of their counterparts. We estimated the life cycle GHG emissions for RNG to be between -146 and 27 g carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)/MJ, much lower than the CI of fossil fuels. Waste-derived LA pathways also show substantially lower CIs, ranging from -4.2 to -1.4 kgCO2e/kg LA, compared to the CIs of LA from corn and corn stover (1.2 and 0.3 kgCO2e/kg LA, respectively). We will also discuss that the low CIs of waste-derived products can come from low yields leading to high emission credits. Thus, life cycle analysis results presented per weight of treated waste can be used to support decisions about which waste feedstocks and products are to be used for sustainable waste valorization. In addition, we found that monetary emission reduction credits can play an important role in driving waste valorization.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Green chemistry design in polymers derived from lignin: review and perspective

The use of lignin for material and chemical applications has gained interest in recent times due to the environmental focus on using biomass for renewable materials as well as the motivation to valorize lignin as part of an integrated biorefinery. While a wealth of publications can be found for lignin-derived materials, and several reviews can be found on the topic, there are no reviews that outline and critically assess the sustainability of these protocols based on the criterion of the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry. This review assesses the literature for lignin- derived polymers over the past 20 years and highlights attempts to use biobased accompanying reagents, green solvents or solvent-less protocols, reports that replace traditionally toxic precursors (e.g. diisocyanates for polyurethanes), use mild conditions, valorize additional waste streams and prepare materials particularly biodegradable or recyclable. Here, the following work is a comprehensive and critical assessment of the green and sustainable nature of the state-of-the art of lignin-derived polymers (polyurethane, polyester, epoxy, phenolic resin, and others) utilizing actual biomass in the synthetic protocol. Each section of this review highlights and assesses published protocols that use a particularly green approach in one or more steps of the synthetic sequence. While many reports still contain traditional petroleum-derived and toxic methods along with more sustainable methods, the outline of all such green methods is able to create a landscape amidst lignin-derived polymer synthesis that points the way toward safer and more environmentally friendly materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Structural characterization of sugarcane lignins extracted from different protic ionic liquid pretreatments

Previous studies based on protic ionic liquids have shown them to be effective for extracting lignins from biomass. Moreover, ILs synthesized with amine cations can promote the insertion of nitrogen into lignin, favoring its valorization for industrial applications. Here, lignins extracted from sugarcane bagasse by eight different PILs were analyzed. Several techniques of characterization were employed (2D HSQC NMR, 31P NMR, GPC, Py-GC/MS, TGA, FTIR, and elemental analysis), seeking a deeper understanding of lignin structure post-PILS treatment. In particular, lignin obtained with acetate and lactate anions with monoethanolamonium cations showed similar structural compositions. Lignins obtained from ethylenediamonium cation combined anions acetate and lactate exhibited relatively higher molecular weights compared to the other lignins studied. The elemental analysis of these lignins further revealed the presence of nitrogen in their structures, suggesting that amination occurred. In this work we used PILs not yet reported in the literature for this purpose, and consequently obtained lignins with specific structures. Overall, our results demonstrated that depending on the PILs used, lignins with distinct properties could be obtained which might be used for value-added applications. This work covered new advances in elucidation of lignin chemical structure and opened a new path for lignin valorization.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Metabolism of Syringyl Lignin-Derived Compounds in Pseudomonas putida Enables Convergent Production of 2-Pyrone-4,6-Dicarboxylic Acid

Valorization of lignin, an abundant component of plant cell walls, is critical to enabling the lignocellulosic bioeconomy. Biological funneling using microbial biocatalysts has emerged as an attractive approach to convert complex mixtures of lignin depolymerization products to value-added compounds. Ideally, biocatalysts would convert aromatic compounds derived from the three canonical types of lignin: syringyl (S), guaiacyl (G), and p-hydroxyphenyl (H). Pseudomonas putida KT2440 (hereafter KT2440) has been developed as a biocatalyst owing in part to its native catabolic capabilities but is not known to catabolize S-type lignin-derived compounds. Here, we demonstrate that syringate, a common S-type lignin-derived compound, is utilized by KT2440 only in the presence of another energy source or when vanAB was overexpressed, as syringate was found to be O-demethylated to gallate by VanAB, a two-component monooxygenase, and further catabolized via extradiol cleavage. Unexpectedly, the specificity (kcat/KM) of VanAB for syringate was within 25% that for vanillate and O-demethylation of both substrates was well-coupled to O2 consumption. However, the native KT2440 gallate-cleaving dioxygenase, GalA, was potently inactivated by 3-O-methylgallate. To engineer a biocatalyst to simultaneously convert S-, G-, and H-type monomers, we therefore employed VanAB from Pseudomonas sp. HR199, which has lower activity for 3MGA, and LigAB, an extradiol dioxygenase able to cleave protocatechuate and 3-O-methylgallate. This strain converted 93% of a mixture of lignin monomers to 2-pyrone-4,6-dicarboxylate, a promising bio-based chemical. Overall, this study elucidates a native pathway in KT2440 for catabolizing S-type lignin-derived compounds and demonstrates the potential of this robust chassis for lignin valorization.

2-pyrone-4,6-dicarboxylic acid↗
DOE OSTI2022

Characterizing Sustained Solar-to-Hydrogen Electrocatalysis at Low Cell Potentials Enabled by Crude Glycerol Oxidation

Unassisted solar-driven water electrolysis as a sustainable source for H 2 is limited by the high overpotential necessary to drive the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Crude glycerol is an extremely alkaline byproduct of biodiesel synthesis that can be valorized or refined to produce more desirable chemicals. Glycerol can also be directly oxidized on an anode, replacing water oxidation, to reduce the applied cell potential requirements of electrolytic H 2 production or CO 2 reduction. An advantage of oxidizing glycerol in its crude form is the opportunity to valorize it without initial refinement. We describe an approach to replace the OER half-reaction with the sacrificial crude glycerol electrooxidation on a layered Au–Pt–Bi electrocatalyst on a Ni substrate. Compared to compositions with fewer components, the AuPtBi–Ni electrocatalyst improved the duration of performance and reduced the overall cell potential for glycerol electrooxidation in the extreme alkaline solutions representative of crude glycerol. These enhancements facilitated extended, unassisted hydrogen evolution from crude glycerol electrolysis, even under the power of a single-junction silicon solar cell at less than 1 sun illumination. We characterized the oxidation products of crude glycerol electrolysis and the subsequent products formed spontaneously in the electrolyte in the highly alkaline solution. This analysis helps to both identify the stoichiometric limits of glycerol oxidation at the low cell potentials of interest here and to understand the chemical control imparted by electrocatalysis on the ultimate compounds formed in the crude solution. Furthermore, the results for the AuPtBi electrocatalyst show that incorporating crude glycerol oxidation into integrated electrochemical systems can simultaneously simplify their design and significantly improve solar-to-hydrogen rates.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2024

Use of Renewable Alcohols in Autocatalytic Production of Aspen Organosolv Lignins

This study aimed to investigate the intrinsic efficiency of renewable alcohols, applied under autocatalytic conditions, for removing lignin from aspen and hot-water-extracted aspen while substantially preserving the lignin structure so as to facilitate various valorization strategies. Ethylene glycol (EG), propylene glycol (PG), 1,4-butanediol (BDO), ethanol (EtOH), and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA) were evaluated based on their lignin solubilization ability, expressed as the relative energy difference (RED) following the principles of the Hansen solubility theory. The findings indicate that alcohols with a higher lignin solubilization potential lead to increased delignification, almost 90%, and produce a lignin with a higher content of β-O-4 bonds, up to 68% of those found in aspen milled wood lignin, thereby indicating their potential for valorization through depolymerization. However, these alcohols also produce lignin with a higher content of β-β and β-5 bonds, resulting in a higher molecular weight and polydispersity, due to readily occurring homolytic reactions. Hot-water extraction (HWE) conducted prior to alcohol treatment reduced the delignification efficiency and resulted in a lignin with a lower β-O-4 bond content. The lignins produced in these experiments exhibited a superior UV-A absorption capacity compared with synthetic benzophenone, as well as a greater radical quenching ability than synthetic butylated hydroxytoluene, indicating their potential for use in the protection of polymers against degradation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Identification and Mitigation of Inhibitory Substances Contained in High-Salinity Crude Glycerol Generated from Biodiesel Production for Polyhydroxyalkanoate Synthesis by Haloferax mediterranei

High-salinity crude glycerol generated from biodiesel production poses significant challenges to microbial valorization due to inhibitory ingredients that severely limit microbial growth. This study identified and mitigated inhibitory substances contained in high-salinity glycerol sludge to enable its conversion to polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) by the extreme halophilic archaeon Haloferax mediterranei. The long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) were consistently identified as the primary inhibitors by liquid chromatography−mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and ultraviolet−visible spectroscopy. Acid precipitation at pH 2 efficiently removed these LCFAs, substantially reducing the required feedstock dilution from 23 to 3 times, improving PHA titer by 40%. Furthermore, this dilution reduction also increased the feedstock salinity utilization, achieving a 46% reduction in external salt supplementation for H. mediterranei growth. In contrast, overliming and arrested anaerobic digestion were confirmed to be ineffective in inhibitor removal. This study provides deep insights into inhibitor chemistry and presents acid precipitation as an effective pretreatment strategy for waste valorization of highsalinity crude glycerol.

LC-MS↗
DOE OSTI2021

An Improved CRISPR Interference Tool to Engineer Rhodococcus opacus

Rhodococcus opacus is a non-model bacterium that is well suited for valorizing lignin. Despite recent advances in our systems-level understanding of its versatile metabolism, studies of its gene functions at a single gene level are still lagging. Elucidating gene functions in non-model organisms is challenging due to limited genetic engineering tools that are convenient to use. To address this issue, we developed a simple gene repression system based on CRISPR interference (CRISPRi). This gene repression system uses a T 7 RNA polymerase system to express a small guide RNA, demonstrating improved repression compared to the previously demonstrated CRISPRi system (i.e., the maximum repression efficiency improved from 58% to 85%). Additionally, our cloning strategy allows for building multiple CRISPRi plasmids in parallel without any PCR step, facilitating the engineering of this GC-rich organism. Using the improved CRISPRi system, we confirmed the annotated roles of four metabolic pathway genes, which had been identified by our previous transcriptomic analysis to be related to the consumption of benzoate, vanillate, catechol, and acetate. Furthermore, we showed our tool’s utility by demonstrating the inducible accumulation of muconate that is a precursor of adipic acid, an important monomer for nylon production. While the maximum muconate yield obtained using our tool was 30% of the yield obtained using gene knockout, our tool showed its inducibility and partial repressibility. In conclusion, our CRISPRi tool will be useful to facilitate functional studies of this non-model organism and engineer this promising microbial chassis for lignin valorization.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Conversion of Polyolefin Waste to Liquid Alkanes with Ru-Based Catalysts under Mild Conditions

Chemical upcycling of waste polyolefins via hydrogenolysis offers unique opportunities for selective depolymerization compared to high temperature thermal deconstruction. Here, we demonstrate the hydrogenolysis of polyethylene into liquid alkanes under mild conditions using ruthenium nanoparticles supported on carbon (Ru/C). Reactivity studies on a model noctadecane substrate showed that Ru/C catalysts are highly active and selective for the hydrogenolysis of C(sp 3 )–C(sp 3 ) bonds at temperatures ranging from 200 to 250 °C. Under optimal conditions of 200 °C in 20 bar H 2 , polyethylene (average M w ~ 4000 Da) was converted into liquid n-alkanes with yields of up to 45% by mass after 16 h using a 5 wt % Ru/C catalyst with the remaining products comprising light alkane gases (C 1 –C 6 ). At 250 °C, nearly stoichiometric yields of CH 4 were obtained from polyethylene over the catalyst. The hydrogenolysis of long chain, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and a postconsumer LDPE plastic bottle to produce C 7 –C 45 alkanes was also achieved over Ru/C, demonstrating the feasibility of this reaction for the valorization of realistic postconsumer plastic waste. By identifying Ru-based catalysts as a class of active materials for the hydrogenolysis of polyethylene, this study elucidates promising avenues for the valorization of plastic waste under mild conditions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

A plant host, Nicotiana benthamiana, enables the production and study of fungal lignin-degrading enzymes

Abstract Lignin has significant potential as an abundant and renewable source for commodity chemicals yet remains vastly underutilized. Efforts towards engineering a biochemical route to the valorization of lignin are currently limited by the lack of a suitable heterologous host for the production of lignin-degrading enzymes. Here, we show that expression of fungal genes in Nicotiana benthamiana enables production of members from seven major classes of enzymes associated with lignin degradation (23 of 35 tested) in soluble form for direct use in lignin activity assays. We combinatorially characterized a subset of these enzymes in the context of model lignin dimer oxidation, revealing that fine-tuned coupling of peroxide-generators to peroxidases results in more extensive C-C bond cleavage compared to direct addition of peroxide. Comparison of peroxidase isoform activity revealed that the extent of C-C bond cleavage depends on peroxidase identity, suggesting that peroxidases are individually specialized in the context of lignin oxidation. We anticipate the use of N. benthamiana as a platform to rapidly produce a diverse array of fungal lignin-degrading enzymes will facilitate a better understanding of their concerted role in nature and unlock their potential for lignin valorization, including within the plant host itself.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Deciphering the transcriptional regulation of the catabolism of lignin-derived aromatics in Rhodococcus opacus PD630

Abstract Rhodococcus opacus PD630 has considerable potential as a platform for valorizing lignin due to its innate “biological funneling” pathways. However, the transcriptional regulation of the aromatic catabolic pathways and the mechanisms controlling aromatic catabolic operons in response to different aromatic mixtures are still underexplored. Here, we identified and studied the transcription factors for aromatic degradation using GFP-based sensors and comprehensive deletion analyses. Our results demonstrate that the funneling pathways for phenol, guaiacol, 4-hydroxybenzoate, and vanillate are controlled by transcriptional activators. The two different branches of the β-ketoadipate pathway, however, are controlled by transcriptional repressors. Additionally, promoter activity assays revealed that the substrate hierarchy in R. opacus may be ascribed to the transcriptional cross-regulation of the individual aromatic funneling pathways. These results provide clues to clarify the molecule-level mechanisms underlying the complex regulation of aromatic catabolism, which facilitates the development of R. opacus as a promising chassis for valorizing lignin.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Quantitative decoding of coupled carbon and energy metabolism in Pseudomonas putida for lignin carbon utilization

Soil Pseudomonas species, which thrive on lignin derivatives, are widely explored for biotechnology applications in lignin valorization. However, how the native metabolism coordinates phenolic carbon processing with required cofactor generation remains poorly understood. Here, we achieve quantitative understanding of this metabolic balance through a detailed multi-omics investigation of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 grown on four common phenolic acid substrates: ferulate, p-coumarate, vanillate, and 4-hydroxybenzoate. Relative to succinate, proteomics reveals > 140-fold increase in transport and catabolic proteins for aromatics, but metabolomics identifies bottlenecks in initial catabolism to maintain favorable cellular energy charge, which is compromised in mutants with resolved bottlenecks. Up to 30-fold increase in pyruvate carboxylase and glyoxylate shunt proteins implies a metabolic remodeling confirmed by kinetic 13 C-metabolomics. Quantitative analysis by 13 C-fluxomics demonstrates coupling of this remodeling with cofactor production. Specifically, anaplerotic carbon recycling through pyruvate carboxylase promotes tricarboxylic acid cycle fluxes to generate 50-60% NADPH yield and 60-80% NADH yield, resulting in up to 6-fold greater ATP surplus than with succinate metabolism; the glyoxylate shunt sustains cataplerotic flux through malic enzyme for the remaining NADPH yield. This quantitative blueprint affords cofactor imbalance predictions in proposed engineering of key metabolic nodes in lignin valorization pathways.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Elucidating the mechanisms of enhanced lignin bioconversion by an alkali sterilization strategy

Biological lignin valorization represents an emerging green approach to upgrade lignin for sustainable and economic biorefineries. However, lignin generally exhibits poor water solubility and inhomogeneous distribution in an aqueous medium, significantly limiting its bioconversion efficiency. Herein, we develop a novel alkali sterilization strategy to effectively enhance the dispersion and fermentation performance of lignin substrates. The colloidal particle size and molecular structure variations of lignin during the sterilization were thoroughly investigated to reveal the mechanisms of enhanced fermentation performance. Results showed that alkali sterilization achieved a completely aseptic effect when mixing lignin medium at an initial pH of 12.7 for 24 h. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis demonstrated that the hydrodynamic volume of colloidal lignin particles decreased by 96.3% by alkali sterilization compared with the conventional thermal sterilization. Moreover, lignin characterizations by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) suggested that alkali sterilization modified the lignin molecular structure by generating 50% more hydrophilic carboxyl groups, reducing the weight-average molecular weight (M w ) by 23.0%, and narrowing the molar-mass dispersity (D M ) by 23.8%. The generation of lignin substrates with more uniform distribution and lower molecular weight improved Rhodococcus opacus PD630 cell growth and metabolism. Microbial cell amount, lignin degradation, and lipid production in alkali sterilized medium increased by 309%, 30.3%, and 48.3%, respectively, compared to those in thermally sterilized medium. These results clearly demonstrated that alkali sterilization dramatically improved the lignin bioconversion performance. Furthermore, this work presents a facile and effective sterilization strategy to overcome inhomogeneous lignin distribution in aqueous fermentation media, showing great potentials as a platform technique for promoting biological lignin valorization.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Plasma technology for lignocellulosic biomass conversion toward an electrified biorefinery

Lignocellulosic biomass conversion to renewable, carbon-neutral materials, fuels, and chemicals is the cornerstone of the transition to a sustainable future bioeconomy. Green energy in the form of electricity needs to be coupled with or substitute conventional thermally driven processes to realize small-scale, economically viable and environmentally friendly biorefineries. Gas discharge plasmas enable the conversion of renewable electric energy, supplied in the form of an electric field, to chemical energy through the formation of a highly reactive environment that can induce several transformations related to agricultural waste valorization processes. Herein, we review the application of plasma technology to lignocellulosic biomass upgrade, aiming to provide the scientific background and technical challenges in this rapidly emerging research field. To bridge the gap between plasma science and biomass valorization technologies, we initially present the technical aspects of plasma reactors related to biomass processing and further discuss the advances in plasma processing for each biomass conversion technology, providing insights into the related plasma chemistry and interaction mechanisms. Here, we first focus on the low and medium-temperature biomass conversion processes, including biomass pretreatment and delignification to promote enzyme or acid-catalyzed hydrolysis to sugars and biomass liquefaction using plasma electrolysis. Then we discuss the high and very high-temperature conversion processes, such as plasma-assisted pyrolysis and gasification to syngas and plasma application to tar removal, combustion, and vitrification. Overall, this review provides knowledge at the interface of plasma science and biomass conversion technology to promote the interaction between the individual communities, which is crucial for the further advancement of the field.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Strikingly high amount of tricin-lignin observed from vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) aerial roots

Lignin has attracted tremendous interest as a renewable resource for biofuels, biomaterials, and chemicals especially in the era of bio-based refineries. The structural studies of lignin play an essential role in both understanding the nature and biosynthesis of these polymers and optimizing their valorization values. In this study, we have investigated the structures of lignin from different tissues—aerial roots, nodes, internodes, and seeds, from vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) by using gel permeation chromatography (GPC), heteronuclear single-quantum coherence (HSQC) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and 31P NMR. An unusual tricin-lignin was observed in the aerial roots of vanilla with an strikingly high level of tricin unit, whereas the lignin from the nodes and internodes displayed traditional S/G type lignin with only 4–10% tricin abundance. The aerial roots lignin is primarily composed of β-O-4' alkyl-aryl ether substructures (96% of linkages) in comparison to 65 and 73% in the nodes and internodes lignin, respectively. Additionally, thioacidolysis quantification results showed that lignin from aerial roots has 29.1 mg g -1 tricin, about 3- to 5-fold higher than the lignins isolated from nodes (10.1 mg g -1 ) and internodes (6.9 mg g -1 ). This communication of a particularly high level of tricin-lignin in vanilla plant has important impacts including: (1) the presence of the high amount of tricin as part of lignin from aerial roots could play a vital role for the valorization of lignin, even tricin itself, as a feedstock for value-added chemicals and commodities; and (2) it could open new ways to scientists to design and engineer the structure of tricin-lignin, or lignin in general, to confer plants with new or improved properties due to the plasticity of lignification.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Material efficiency technologies in the food and beverage industry

The U.S. food and beverage (F&B) sector is a major contributor to manufacturing gross domestic product and supports substantial employment and economic activity, while exerting significant pressures on land and water resources. At the same time, the industry faces growing expectations to balance its resource-intensive operations without compromising cost competitiveness. Material inefficiencies across the F&B value chain, particularly in raw material use and product loss/waste, lead to substantial financial losses and resource depletion. Thus, the F&B sector requires adoption of solutions and measures to avoid food wastage, reduce raw material consumption and valorize waste to high-value added products. This work presents a comprehensive understanding of the various technology solutions available for the F&B sector. The following two research questions are addressed: “What are the mid-to-high Technology Readiness Level technologies or measures to reduce material use and enable waste valorization in the F&B sector? What are the barriers to their commercial deployment? Additionally, what targeted research and development efforts are needed to overcome these barriers and accelerate their scale-up?” The findings are intended to support evidence-based decision-making, guide strategic investment, and help stakeholders strengthen resilience and competitiveness across the F&B sector.

Nain, Preeti [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000258358959)↗
DOE OSTI2026

Biochemical approaches for synthesis of performance-advantaged polymers from lignocellulosic biomass

Lignocellulose is an abundant renewable feedstock for production of sustainable fuels, chemicals, and materials. The structural complexity of lignocellulose provides key material properties and inspires the design of advanced materials. However, this same complexity also presents challenges for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into new materials with consistent properties. Conventional physical and chemical strategies for valorization of biomass to new materials are often limited by the technical challenges of precisely manipulating complex feedstocks, sensitivity to feedstock variability, and associated costs. In contrast, biological approaches are capable of selectively manipulating complex architectures under mild conditions. Recent advances demonstrate the potential of biological and hybrid biochemical methods to tailor biomass-derived polymers and generate new materials. This review provides an overview of biological strategies to valorize lignocellulosic biomass into novel materials, highlighting approaches for in planta engineering, biochemical modification of natural biomass polymers, microbial funneling of deconstructed biomass, and direct biosynthesis of novel polymers. In combination, these approaches open new avenues for the synthesis of performance-advantaged materials from lignocellulosic biomass.

Qian, Liangyu [ORNL] (ORCID:0009000212029938)↗