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Biomass Chemical Engineering ›› 2021, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (3): 62-70.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5854.2021.03.010

• Review Comment • Previous Articles    

Research Progress on Lignin Degradation by Microorganism

Jing YANG1,2,3(), Jianchun JIANG1,2,*(), Ning ZHANG1,2, Hao XU1,2, Jingcong XIE1,2,3, Jian ZHAO1,2   

  1. 1. Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, CAF; National Engineering Lab. for Biomass Chemical Utilization; Key Lab. of Chemical Engineering of Forest Products, National Forestry and Grassland Administration; Key Lab. of Biomass Energy and Material, Jiangsu Province; Nanjing 210042, China
    2. Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
    3. Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Conversion and Process Integration, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huai'an 223003, China
  • Received:2020-05-19 Online:2021-05-30 Published:2021-05-20
  • Contact: Jianchun JIANG E-mail:yj3219@163.com;bio-energy@163.com

Abstract:

Lignocellulose is the most abundant renewable biomass resource on the earth and cellulose is one of the three components of lignocellulose and is important raw material for the production of bio-based materials, fuels and chemicals. However, the complex chemical structure of lignin limits the application of lignocellulose. Conventional physical, chemical and physical-chemical lignin degradation methods often require high temperature and high pressure conditions, resulting in high energy consumption, inhibitors and environmental pollution. The biocatalysis process mediated by microorganisms is usually carried out under mild conditions, which can reduce energy input and provide a more specific and effective choice for the utilization of lignin. The degradation of lignin by fungi, represented by white-rot fungi, presents the problems of long pretreatment cycle and poor adaptability to the environment. Bacterium becomes the future potential of lignin degradation, owing to its rapid proliferation, profound environmental adaptability and easy genetic manipulation. This review introduced the progress of microbial degradation of lignin on the base of chemical structure, and mainly analyzed the microorganisms (fungi and bacteria), degrading enzymes (peroxidase and laccase) as well as the degradation mechanism. Besides, the applications of microbial degraded lignin in lipids, bioplastics, vanillin and wastewater treatment were summarized and the future development was suggested.

Key words: lignin, degradation, microorganism, lignin-degrading enzymes

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