Microbial depolymerization and valorization of lignin

Abstract:

Lignocellulose is the most abundant renewable resource on the earth. There are about 900 million tons of agricultural straw produced annually in China. Most of them cannot be effectively used, and thus not only causes a waste of resources, but also causes many serious environmental problems. The recalcitrance of lignin is one of the main challenges restricting the industrialization of lignocellulose. Although the degradation and transformation of lignin have been studied for many years, it is still challenged to commercially valorize the lignin because of its inherent heterogeneity. In recent years, the "biological funneling" transformation characteristics of microorganisms have been widely studied and will potentially provide a new direction for the valorization of lignin. This review mainly summarizes the research processes of microbial lignin depolymerization and transformation, and discusses the current opportunities and challenges of lignin biological valorization.