| 1. |
- Charisteidis, Ioannis, et al.
(author)
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Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Lignin Isolated by Hybrid Organosolv—Steam Explosion Pretreatment of Hardwood and Softwood Biomass for the Production of Phenolics and Aromatics
- 2019
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In: Catalysts. - : MDPI. - 2073-4344. ; 9:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lignin, one of the three main structural biopolymers of lignocellulosic biomass, is the most abundant natural source of aromatics with a great valorization potential towards the production of fuels, chemicals, and polymers. Although kraft lignin and lignosulphonates, as byproducts of the pulp/paper industry, are available in vast amounts, other types of lignins, such as the organosolv or the hydrolysis lignin, are becoming increasingly important, as they are side-streams of new biorefinery processes aiming at the (bio)catalytic valorization of biomass sugars. Within this context, in this work, we studied the thermal (non-catalytic) and catalytic fast pyrolysis of softwood (spruce) and hardwood (birch) lignins, isolated by a hybrid organosolv–steam explosion biomass pretreatment method in order to investigate the effect of lignin origin/composition on product yields and lignin bio-oil composition. The catalysts studied were conventional microporous ZSM-5 (Zeolite Socony Mobil–5) zeolites and hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolites with intracrystal mesopores (i.e., 9 and 45 nm) or nano-sized ZSM-5 with a high external surface. All ZSM-5 zeolites were active in converting the initially produced via thermal pyrolysis alkoxy-phenols (i.e., of guaiacyl and syringyl/guaiacyl type for spruce and birch lignin, respectively) towards BTX (benzene, toluene, xylene) aromatics, alkyl-phenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, mainly naphthalenes), with the mesoporous ZSM-5 exhibiting higher dealkoxylation reactivity and being significantly more selective towards mono-aromatics compared to the conventional ZSM-5, for both spruce and birch lignin.
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| 2. |
- Meadows, Jennifer, et al.
(author)
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Genome sequencing of 2000 canids by the Dog10K consortium advances the understanding of demography, genome function and architecture
- 2023
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In: Genome Biology. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1465-6906 .- 1474-760X. ; 24
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The international Dog10K project aims to sequence and analyze several thousand canine genomes. Incorporating 20 x data from 1987 individuals, including 1611 dogs (321 breeds), 309 village dogs, 63 wolves, and four coyotes, we identify genomic variation across the canid family, setting the stage for detailed studies of domestication, behavior, morphology, disease susceptibility, and genome architecture and function.Results: We report the analysis of > 48 M single-nucleotide, indel, and structural variants spanning the autosomes, X chromosome, and mitochondria. We discover more than 75% of variation for 239 sampled breeds. Allele sharing analysis indicates that 94.9% of breeds form monophyletic clusters and 25 major clades. German Shepherd Dogs and related breeds show the highest allele sharing with independent breeds from multiple clades. On average, each breed dog differs from the UU_Cfam_GSD_1.0 reference at 26,960 deletions and 14,034 insertions greater than 50 bp, with wolves having 14% more variants. Discovered variants include retrogene insertions from 926 parent genes. To aid functional prioritization, single-nucleotide variants were annotated with SnpEff and Zoonomia phyloP constraint scores. Constrained positions were negatively correlated with allele frequency. Finally, the utility of the Dog10K data as an imputation reference panel is assessed, generating high-confidence calls across varied genotyping platform densities including for breeds not included in the Dog10K collection.Conclusions: We have developed a dense dataset of 1987 sequenced canids that reveals patterns of allele sharing, identifies likely functional variants, informs breed structure, and enables accurate imputation. Dog10K data are publicly available.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Nitsos, Christos, et al.
(author)
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The Role of Catalytic Pretreatment in Biomass Valorization Toward Fuels and Chemicals
- 2013
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In: The Role of Catalysis for the Sustainable Production of Bio-fuels and Bio-chemicals. - : Elsevier. - 9780444563309 ; , s. 217-260
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose toward fermentable glucose is of paramount importance for the production of ethanol or other high-value chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass via the biochemical route. A pretreatment step is usually required that alters the structure and composition of biomass, reduces its recalcitrance, and allows the efficient enzymatic conversion of carbohydrates into sugars. Biomass pretreatment aims mainly at the selective separation of hemicellulose and/or lignin, either as oligomers or as smaller sugar and phenolic molecules, which can be further converted enzymatically or via chemical catalysis to platform chemicals or fuel precursors. In this chapter, a review of the most widely applied pretreatment methods is presented, with the aim of elucidating the role of chemical or biochemical catalysis in this first step of biomass valorization
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| 5. |
- Robinson, Ada Josefina, et al.
(author)
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Techno-economic optimization of a process superstructure for lignin valorization
- 2022
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In: Bioresource Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-8524. ; 364
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lignin, the most abundant aromatic biopolymer on Earth, is often considered a biorefinery by-product, despite its potential to be valorized into high-added-value chemicals and fuels. In this work, an integrated superstructure-based optimization model was set up and optimized using mixed-integer non-linear programming for the conversion of technical lignin to three main biobased products: aromatic monomers, phenol–formaldehyde resins, and aromatic aldehydes/acids. Several alternative conversion pathways were simultaneously compared to assess the profitability of lignins-based processes by predicting the performance of technologies with different TRL. Upon employing key technologies such as hydrothermal liquefaction, dissolution in solvent, or high-temperature electrolysis, the technical lignins could have a market value of 200 €/t when the market price for aromatic monomers, resins, and vanillin is at least 2.0, 0.8, and 15.0 €/kg, respectively. When lower product selling prices were considered, the aromatic monomers and the resins were not profitable as target products.
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| 6. |
- Soldatos, Petros, et al.
(author)
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Conversion of beechwood organosolv lignin via fast pyrolysis and in situ catalytic upgrading towards aromatic and phenolic-rich bio-oil
- 2024
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In: Sustainable Chemistry for the Environment. - : Elsevier. - 2949-8392. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lignin, an abundant renewable biopolymer found in plant cell walls, is enriched in phenolic units within its complex molecular structure. Unlocking its potential as alternative feedstock in (bio)refining has posed a long-standing challenge, even though it holds immense promise for replacing fossil-derived phenolic and aromatic compounds. This study focuses on fast pyrolysis as effective thermochemical depolymerization method of lignin, coupled with the in situ catalytic upgrading aiming to produce valuable bio-oil enriched in dealkoxylated (alkyl)phenolic and aromatic compounds. Lignin was isolated via the organosolv process from beechwood sawdust (hardwood biomass). Various acidic aluminosilicate catalysts (e.g., zeolites, such as ZSM-5, Beta and USY, and amorphous silica alumina) were applied, having different Si/Al ratio, porous and acidic properties. Fast pyrolysis experiments were conducted on a fixed-bed bench-scale reactor at two distinct temperatures (500 and 600 °C), employing different contact times and lignin-to-catalyst ratios. Non-catalytic pyrolysis experiments revealed that higher temperature, significantly influences bio-oil’s composition and yield, resulting in the conversion of initially formed alkoxy-phenols to alkyl-phenolic compounds, reaching a 47% relative concentration at 600 °C, while also yielding high amount of bio-oil up to 43 wt%. Among the catalysts tested, zeolite ZSM-5 (Si/Al=40) proved to be the most efficient, shifting the chemical profile of bio-oil from phenolic to aromatic (mainly BTX) with relative concentration of 57%, owing to its unique microporous structure and acidity. Depending on the catalyst type, a balance between BTX monomer aromatics and naphthalenes was observed. Lignin, as well as the obtained products (bio-oil, non-condensable gases, char/coke-on-catalyst) were thoroughly characterized using various analytical techniques. The catalytic upgrading results were associated with the physicochemical properties of the catalysts, providing valuable insights into the underlying reaction mechanisms.
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