Recycling plant material (lignin) into useful chemicals

While most people think of recycling in terms of the packaging for household products, the concept can extend to the chemistry to make them in the first place. Certain plant components are a promising renewable source for commodity chemicals. Researchers at the University of Michigan US have now revealed an easy new way to break down one of the most common plant compounds, called lignin, and recycle it into useful chemicals.
Using electrical potential in concert with blue light, the researchers developed a two-step process that consistently breaks lignin at one specific chemical bond. An article about the research is published in ACS Central Science (News Item ACS, 7 June 2017).
Click here for the news item.
Click here for the published article (3.25 MB).

This news item is also included in our monthly overview, the NVC Members-only Update. If you have any questions, please contact us: info@nvc.nl, +31-(0)182-512411.