4.7 Review

Review of advances in the development of laccases for the valorization of lignin to enable the production of lignocellulosic biofuels and bioproducts

Journal

BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES
Volume 54, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2021.107809

Keywords

Biofuels; Biorefining; Lignin valorization; Lignin degrading enzymes; Enzymatic depolymerization; Laccase

Funding

  1. DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute
  2. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research [DE-AC02-05CH11231]
  3. U.S. Department of Energy

Ask authors/readers for more resources

The conversion of lignin into valuable compounds is a major challenge in the development of commercial biorefineries. Over the past 20 years, significant work has been done to develop efficient and scalable lignin conversion technologies. Laccases, enzymes that catalyze the breakdown of lignin, have received significant interest in this field.
Development and deployment of commercial biorefineries based on conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels and bioproducts faces many challenges that must be addressed before they are commercially viable. One of the biggest challenges faced is the efficient and scalable valorization of lignin, one of the three major components of the plant cell wall. Lignin is the most abundant aromatic biopolymer on earth, and its presence hinders the extraction of cellulose and hemicellulose that is essential to biochemical conversion of lignocellulose to fuels and chemicals. There has been a significant amount of work over the past 20 years that has sought to develop innovative processes designed to extract and recycle lignin into valuable compounds and help reduce the overall costs of the biorefinery process. Due to the complex matrix of lignin, which is essential for plant survival, the development of a reliable and efficient lignin conversion technology has been difficult to achieve. One approach that has received significant interest relies on the use of enzymes, notably laccases, a class of multi-copper green oxidative enzymes that catalyze bond breaking in lignin to produce smaller oligomers. In this review, we first assess the different innovations of lignin valorization using laccases within the context of a biorefinery process, and then assess the latest economical advances that these innovations offered. Finally, we review laccase characterization and optimization, as well as the prospects and bottlenecks of this class of enzymes within the industrial and biorefining sectors.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.7
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available