Applications of NMR based methodologies investigating the behavior of lignin and cellulose towards bio-based carbon fibers production.

Cellulose-lignin blends are proposed as alternative precursors for carbon fiber (CF) production, offering a potential sustainable and cost-effective alternative to the expensive fossil-based polymers currently used. The characteristics of the precursor fibers including their crystallinity, the incorporated chemical structures and the distribution of the biopolymers have a significant influence on their carbonization behavior and the properties of the CFs. They are partly determined by the composition of the bio-based resources and the conditions used during the fiber fixation, i.

Lignin extraction from acacia wood: Crafting deep eutectic solvents with a systematic D-optimal mixture-process experimental design.

Lignin is a complex biopolymer whose efficient extraction from biomass is crucial for various applications. Deep eutectic solvents (DES), particularly natural-origin DES (NADES), have emerged as promising systems for lignin fractionation and separation from other biomass components. While ternary DES offer enhanced fractionation performance, the role of each component in these mixtures remains unclear.

Toward combined photobiological-photochemical formation of kerosene-type biofuels: which small 1,3-diene photodimerizes most efficiently?

A transition from fossil- to bio-based hydrocarbon fuels is required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; yet, traditional biomass cultivation for biofuel production competes with food production and impacts negatively on biodiversity. Recently, we reported a proof-of-principle study of a two-step photobiological-photochemical approach to kerosene biofuels in which a volatile hydrocarbon (isoprene) is produced by photosynthetic cyanobacteria, followed by its photochemical dimerization into C hydrocarbons. Both steps can utilize solar irradiation.