Abstract:

Terrestrial plants harbor renewable carbon resources in their cell walls that can directly contribute to decarbonization of the transportation and materials sectors, but the heterogeneous, aromatic lignin polymer found in plants has long obstructed both natural- and humankind-driven endeavors to deconstruct plant biomass to valuable products. However, viable methods to valorize lignin are essential to ultimately enable second-generation biorefining, given that lignin can comprise up to 40% of the carbon in lignocellulose, but today it is merely burned for low-value heat and power. To this end, this talk will cover our efforts (with many collaborators) to separate the lignin polymer from the plant cell wall and use both chemical and biological catalysis to convert it into molecules and polymers that are either drop-in replacements for products sourced from fossil carbon today or that exhibit performance-advantaged properties relative to petrochemical incumbents. Specifically, we are focused on catalytic oxidation to depolymerize lignin into bio-available intermediates coupled to metabolic engineering approaches that convert mixtures of aromatic compounds to single products, which can find use in performance-advantaged biopolymers. In parallel, we are also developing and scaling methods to remove lignin from the cell wall through reductive catalysis and to selectively conduct hydrodeoxygenation to produce sustainable aviation fuel blendstocks.