Lignin research for a more sustainable society

Plants use sunlight and water to capture CO2 from the atmosphere in order to grow. These plants can then be converted into products that are currently made from fossil raw materials such as petroleum. Whereas the use of fossil resources leads to a net increase in CO2 in the atmosphere (for example, when burned as fuel), this is not the case when using plants. That is why plants are a renewable, carbon-neutral raw material.
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Plants play an important role in the fight against climate change.

Lignin research is highly relevant to a number of applications. A first example is the production of paper. In order to make paper from wood, lignin must be extracted by boiling wood chips in chemical solutions at high temperatures. Wood from trees that produce less lignin can be converted into paper using less chemicals and energy, which is beneficial for the environment.

Another example is the conversion of plant biomass into a series of products that are nowadays mainly made from petroleum, such as fuels, plastics, detergents, etc. To do this, the cellulose in the plant biomass must first be broken down by enzymes into simple sugars, which are then converted by micro-organisms into these products. Because also for this application, lignin must be removed from the plant biomass, the conversion will be more efficient when the plant material contains less lignin.

A third area of attention is the improvement of the digestibility of forage by ruminants. Fodder crops that contain less lignin are more easily digested, so that more meat and milk can be produced. Because meat production has a major impact on the environment, it is even much better to reduce our meat consumption so that more land can be reserved for other purposes, such as afforestation and reforestation.

A fourth example is the production of aromatic molecules from lignin itself. Lignin can be converted into simple molecules that can be used as building blocks for the chemical industry. Also in this case, the use of plant material is a renewable alternative to the use of fossil feedstocks.

It is important that the plants used as feedstock for the biorefinery are cultivated in a sustainable way, with forests and fields supporting biodiversity and the well-being of residents and visitors. Although plant material is essentially renewable, the production of plant-based products has an ecological footprint and is limited by the growth rate of the plants. That is why products derived from plants should also not be wasted.

In summary, the goal of the group “Bio-Energy and Bio-Aromatics” is to facilitate the transition from a fossil-based to a bio-based economy.

Interested in the details? These are the areas to which the research of our group contributes.

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Footnotes to the figure:

  1. Study of lignin in maize as for example in Eloy et al. (2017, Plant Physiology) and Lan et al. (2016, Plant Physiology) and in barley as in Daly et al. (2018, Plant Biotechnology Journal).
  2. Study of lignin in flax as for example in Chantreau et al. (2014, Plant Cell) and Huis et al. (2012, Plant Physiology).
  3. Study of lignin in poplar as for example in Vanholme et al. (2013, New Phytologist), Niculaes et al. (2014, Plant Cell), Lu et al. (2010, Plant Physiology), Dillen et al. (2009, Tree Genetics & Genomes), Marron et al. (2010, Tree Genetics & Genomes), de Lyra Soriano Saleme et al. (2017, Plant Physiology) and van Acker et al. (2017, Plant Physiology); in fir as in Laitinen et al. (2017, Plant Physiology); and in pine as in Wagner et al. (2013, Plant Molecular Biology) and Barakate et al. (2011, Plant Cell).
  4. Study of lignin in sugar cane as for example in Bottcher et al. (2013, Plant Physiology) and Cesarino et al. (2013, Journal of Experimental Botany).
  5. Fundamental study of lignin in thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) as a model system, as for example in Sundin et al. (2014, Plant Physiology), Oyarce et al. (2019, Nature Plants), de Vries et al. (2018, Biotechnology for Biofuels) , De Meester et al. (2018, Plant Physiology), Vanholme et al. (2010, Plant Journal), Van Acker et al. (2013, Biotechnology for Biofuels), Corneillie et al. (2019, Plant Physiology), Vanholme et al. al, (2013, Science), De Meester et al. (2018, Plant Physiology), Steenackers et al. (2017, Plant Physiology), Tsuji et al. (2015, Plant Biotechnology Journal) and Vanholme et al. (2012, Plant Cell). You can read more about sustainable biotech trees in Custers et al. (2016, Trends in Plant Science), Harfouche et al. (2012, Trends in Plant Science), Walter et al. (2010, Nature Biotechnology) and Strauss et al. (2009, Nature Biotechnology).
  6. Study of the influence of lignin engineering on pyrolysis as in Toraman et al. (2018, Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis and 2016, Bioresource Technology) and Vercruysse et al. (2016, Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis).
  7. Study of plant extracts as for example in Dima et al. (2015, Plant Cell).
  8. Study of different chemical treatments as in Gómez et al. (2014, BioEnergy Research).
  9. Study of the influence of lignin engineering on the lignin-first process as in Van den Bosch et al. (2015, Energy & Environmental Science).
  10. Study of the influence of lignin engineering on saccharification in Sundin et al. (2014, Plant Physiology), Oyarce et al. (2019, Nature Plants), de Vries et al. (2018, Biotechnology for Biofuels), De Meester et al. (2018, Plant Physiology), de Lyra Soriano Saleme et al. (2017, Plant Physiology), Vargas et al. (2016, Biotechnology for Biofuels) and Tsuji et al. (2015, Plant Biotechnology Journal).
  11. Study of the influence of lignin engineering on bioethanol production as in Littlewood (2014, Biotechnology for Biofuels) and Van Acker et al. (2014, PNAS).
  12. Study of the influence of lignin engineering on the material properties of the wood as in Özparpucu et al. (2017, Plant Journal).
  13. You can read more about the carbon-negative, sustainable bio-based economy in Vanholme et al. (2013, Frontiers in Plant Biotechnology).