Through the wonders of fermentation, simple sugars derived from enzymatic degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose in the plant cell wall are converted to the biofuel cellulosic ethanol, an attractive alternative to fossil fuels and grain-derived ethanol (Solomon et al., 2007). Before this fermentation takes place, however, the rigid lignin network in the cell wall must be loosened with hot a...

We compared the amount of lignin as determined by the three most traditional methods for lignin measurement in three tissues (sugarcane bagasse, soybean roots and soybean seed coat) contrasting for lignin amount and composition. Although all methods presented high reproducibility, major inconsistencies among them were found. The amount of lignin determined by thioglycolic acid method was severe...

Plant litter decomposition is a critical step in the formation of soil organic matter, the mineralization of organic nutrients, and the carbon balance in terrestrial ecosystems. Biotic decomposition in mesic ecosystems is generally negatively correlated with the concentration of lignin, a group of complex aromatic polymers present in plant cell walls that is recalcitrant to enzymatic degradatio...

Sub-100 nm resolution local thermal analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and water contact angle (WCA) measurements were used to relate surface polymer distribution with the composition of electrospun fiber mats and spin coated films obtained from aqueous dispersions of lignin, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and cellulose nanocrystal (CNC). Defect-free lignin/PVA fibers were produced wit...

The lab persistence of Phthorimaea opercullela granulovirus (PhopGV) with and without lignin for egg bioassay with different five virus concentrations (lab experiment60, 10, 1.67, 0.28 and 0.046 LE/l 200.015432 LE/l ) to determine the inactivation curve under artificial UVlight, assess the effect and verify the protective capacity of lignin with PhopGV for virus preparations suspensions of raw ...

Separation and structural characterization of lignin are essential for valueadded utilization of hemicelluloses and lignin in the prehydrolysis liquor (PHL) of a kraft-based Whangee (a genus of bamboo) dissolving pulp production. In this work, lignin in the PHL was separated by acidification treatment (AT) and rotary vacuum evaporation treatment (RVET), and the separated crude lignin was then c...

Lignin, a byproduct of paper and pulp industries, is a sustainable, inexpensive biomaterial with potential as composite filler. Past research on polyolefin/lignin composites made by melt processing has led to modest increases in Young’s modulus and drastic reductions in tensile strength and elongation at break relative to neat polymer. Here, green hybrids of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and ...

Lignin is a phenolic heteropolymer that is deposited in secondary-thickened cell walls, where it provides mechanical strength. A recent structural characterization of cell walls from monocot species showed that the flavone tricin is part of the native lignin polymer, where it is hypothesized to initiate lignin chains. In this study, we investigated the consequences of altered tricin levels on l...

The primary goal of this study was to isolate hydrocarbon-degrading organisms and assess their ability to bioremediate petroleum-contaminated soil and water. Nigeria is one of the major oil producing countries and petroleum contamination is widespread in agricultural soil. Alcaligenes sp. strain 3k was isolated from a kerosene-polluted soil in Ilorin, Nigeria. We also assessed its ability to de...

Fast pyrolysis is an efficient technique for thermal degradation of lignin to bio-oils containing bio-phenols for the synthesis of adhesives, resins, and polymers. Lignin has a complex structure, and hence a large number of pyrolytic components are generated during the pyrolysis process. The composition of the pyrolytic products depends on the type of lignin, temperature, types of catalyst, and...