Renewable materials and chemicals from waste lignin
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Lignin is the second most abundant natural polymer, making up 30% of the total carbon in the biosphere. Industries that utilize the "woody" biomass of plants (e.g. papermaking and biofuel production) generate more than 130 million tons of lignin per year. There is intrinsic value in the aromatic components of lignin. Lignin is hence an inexpensive and only renewable feedstock for the production of aromatic chemicals that are currently derived almost exclusively from fossil resources. Despite the abundance of lignin and potential economic benefits of lignin utilization, challenges in lignin utilization has relegated its application to low-value ones. For instance, as a filler in concrete and animal feed, as a dispersant, and as fire-retardant. The challenges stem mainly from its poor physical properties as a material. Moreover, the complexity and high stability of lignin bonds make deconstruction of lignin to aromatic monomers profoundly challenging. Presented herein are efforts towards transforming lignin to functional materials in high-value applications -- as a bulk polymer and aromatic monomers -- by suitably harnessing some unique molecular features of lignin. These include (i) UV-performance arising from lignin's aromaticity; (ii) chemical recalcitrance due to strong stability of bonds; and (iii) the highly prevalent β-O-4 motif in lignin which we chose as a target for depolymerization chemistry. First, we developed a catalytic and solvent-free method to synthesis lignin--lactide copolymers. We used these copolymers as dispersion modifiers in "corn-derived" polylactic acid (PLA)-based materials to allow PLA to block UV radiation. Second, we took advantage of lignin's chemical stability and formulated an eco-friendly, 100% waste-derived wood adhesive. We demonstrated that the adhesive performs on par with formaldehyde-containing ones that are used in household wood-based furniture items. Last, we applied mild chemical methods to target the β-Ο-4 linkage in lignin, and characterized the stream of aromatic monomers produced. The depletion of fossil fuels and the environmental impact of petroleum-based plastics have driven a strong global interest in renewable polymers derived from non-food feedstocks. Our work with synthesis of functional lignin-based materials is an important step towards the complete utilization of lignocellulosic biomass, and serves to complement studies in cellulose and hemicellulose utilization.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2016 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Li, Russell Jingxian |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Chemistry. |
| Primary advisor | Sattely, Elizabeth |
| Thesis advisor | Sattely, Elizabeth |
| Thesis advisor | Kanan, Matthew William, 1978- |
| Thesis advisor | Khosla, Chaitan, 1964- |
| Advisor | Kanan, Matthew William, 1978- |
| Advisor | Khosla, Chaitan, 1964- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Russell Jingxian Li. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Chemistry. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2016. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2016 by Russell Jingxian Li
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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