Lignin Biorefinery: An effective Biomass conversion to Value added Product-Report

An abundance in lignocellulosic biomass globally can emerge as an important solution for ever increasing fuel and chemical demands. A sustainable conversion of the biomass in the value-added products, sugars and fuels, i.e. a sustainable biorefinery seems to be the future of effective biomass utilization.

Lignin, which is one of the most abundant polysaccharides in term of its global availability, appears to be a suitable raw material. Nearly 150 billion tonnes of lignin is annually produced out of which 415 million tonnes is produced from five major crops around the globe. Therefore, it is evident that a vast amount of carbon energy is stored in the lignocellulosic biomass in the form of lignin and other polysaccharides, the full potential of which remains untapped. The lignocellulosic biomass is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, out of which, the aromatic nature of lignin carries a greater vitality as to its ability to be converted into various value-added chemicals and polymers. Therefore, the development of technology for the effective recovery and the conversion of lignin in biorefinery has taken a more significant leap in recent times. Hence, a sequential conversion of lignin into varied products is what we can call as a lignin biorefinery/lignin valorization. In this article, we shall have a closer look towards the major products being developed from the lignin base, intellectual property trends and market forecast in this direction.