Abstract
Lignin is the largest store of renewable aromatics. Due to its refractory nature, however, its chemical potential is not fully realized. Here, we propose a biorefinery where the treatment of wastewater by a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) produces “clean” water and a caustic catholyte that can depolymerize lignin under mild conditions into two high-value product streams. We determine the MEC operating conditions to produce a depolymerization solvent and quantify solution and colloidal phase products using an array of analytical techniques. In contrast to previous reports of limited high-value product yields, we obtain discrete aromatics (monomers and flavonoids) at 17% of initial lignin mass with bulk chemical analyses (11% for identified compounds using LC-MSn). In part, our higher product yield is due to selective repolymerization to form flavonoids. We simultaneously produce lignin nanoparticles and close mass balance. Both flavonoids and lignin nanoparticles have potential applications in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, personal care, and agricultural industries.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 491-501 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 16 2023 |
Funding
Funding for this work was provided by the Finite Earth Initiative of the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University. Dr. Ben Owen, IMSERC Director and Research Associate Professor at Northwestern University, provided invaluable advice and assistance in optimizing the high-resolution MS (HRMS) and tandem MS (MS2) methods and helping with the identification of compounds. The authors thank Dr. James Griffin for his work on the microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). Biological and chemical analysis was performed in the Analytical bioNanoTechnology Core Facility of the Simpson Querrey Institute at Northwestern University. The U.S. Army Research Office, the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, and Northwestern University provided funding to develop this facility, and ongoing support is being received from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-1542205). This work made use of the IMSERC MS facility at Northwestern University, which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-2025633), and Northwestern University. This work also made use of the EPIC facility of Northwestern University’s NUANCE Center, which has received support from the SHyNE Resource (NSF ECCS-2025633), the IIN, and Northwestern’s MRSEC program (NSF DMR-1720139). Dr. Ben Owen, IMSERC Director and Research Associate Professor at Northwestern University, provided invaluable advice and assistance in optimizing the high-resolution MS (HRMS) and tandem MS (MS) methods and helping with the identification of compounds. The authors thank Dr. James Griffin for his work on the microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). Biological and chemical analysis was performed in the Analytical bioNanoTechnology Core Facility of the Simpson Querrey Institute at Northwestern University. The U.S. Army Research Office, the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, and Northwestern University provided funding to develop this facility, and ongoing support is being received from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-1542205). This work made use of the IMSERC MS facility at Northwestern University, which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-2025633), and Northwestern University. This work also made use of the EPIC facility of Northwestern University’s NUANCE Center, which has received support from the SHyNE Resource (NSF ECCS-2025633), the IIN, and Northwestern’s MRSEC program (NSF DMR-1720139). 2
Keywords
- flavonoids
- green chemistry
- lignin biorefinery
- lignin nanoparticles
- microbial electrolysis cell
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- Environmental Chemistry
- General Chemical Engineering
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
