• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
• /
• v.2 no.3
• /
• pp.447-452
• /
• 2016

It is imperative to develop an effective pathway to depolymerize lignin into liquid fuel that can be used as a bioheavy oil. Lignin can be converted into liquid products either by a solvent-free thermal cracking in the absence air, or thermo-chemical degradation in the presence of suitable solvents and chemicals. Here we show that the solvent-assisted liquefaction has produced promising results in the presence of metal-based catalysts. The supercritical ethanol is an efficient liquefaction solvent, which not only provides better solubility to lignin, but also scavenges the intermediate species. The concentrated sulfuric acid hydrolysis lignin (CSAHL) was completely liquefied in the presence of solid catalysts (Ni, Pd and Ru) with no char formation. The effective deoxy-liquefaction nature associated with scEtOH with aid hydrodeoxygenation catalysts, resulted in significant reduction in oxygen-to-carbon (O/C) molar ratio up to 61%. The decrease in oxygen content and increase in carbon and hydrogen contents increased the calorific value bio-oil, with higher heating value (HHV) of $34.6MJ{\cdot}Kg^{-1}$. The overall process is energetically efficient with 129.8% energy recovery (ER) and 70.8% energy efficiency (EE). The GC-TOF/MS analysis of bio-oil shows that the bio-oil mainly consists of monomeric species such as phenols, esters, furans, alcohols, and traces of aliphatic hydrocarbons. The bio-oil produced has better flow properties, low molecular weight, and high aromaticity.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.1-14
• /
• 1999

As the biodegradation of wood constituents has been understood as a multi-basidiomycetes and enzymatic processes, this review will focus on the roles of low molecular compounds and radicals working in harmony with fungal enzymes. Wood rotting basidiomycete fungi penetrate wood, and lead to more easily metabolize carbohydrates of the wood complex. The white-rot fungi, having versatile enzymes, are able to attack directly the "lignin barrier". They also use a multi-enzyme system including so-called "feedback" type enzymes allowing for simultaneous degradation of lignin and carbohydrates. The multi-enzymes including laccase support the proposed route by explaining how the high molecular weight enzymes can function in the wood complex. These enzymes may function separately or cooperate each other. In addition, veratryl alcohol oxidase, cellobiose dehydrogenase, arylalcohol dehydrogenase, and particularly low molecular mediators and radicals have an important role in wood biodegradation. However, the possibility of other mechanism as well as other enzymes, as operating as feedback systems in the process of wood degradation, could not be excluded.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.56 no.2
• /
• pp.257-263
• /
• 2012

The selection of suitable delignification conditions and optimization of process variables is crucial to the successful operation of chemical pulping processes. Soda pulping of Carpolobia lutea was investigated, as an alternative raw material for pulp and paper production. The process was optimized under the influence of three operational variables, namely, temperature, time and concentration of cooking liquor. Equations derived using a second - order polynomial design predicted the pulp yield and lignin dissolution with errors less than 8% and 11% respectively. The maximum variations in the pulp yield using a second order factorial design was caused by changes in both time and alkali concentration. Optimum pulp yield of 43.87% was obtained at low values of the process variables. The selectivity of lignin dissolution was independent of the working conditions, allowing quantitative estimations to be established between the pulp yield and residual lignin content within the range studied.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.6 no.6
• /
• pp.420-424
• /
• 1996

Effects of exogenous veratryl alcohol addition on the growth of basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium ME-446 and the induction of lignin peroxidase activity were investigated in this study. The organism was grown in ligninolytic (low-nitrogen) culture conditions in which extracellular enzymes are produced. Analyses showed that a statistically significant decrease of cell growth was associated with the veratryl alcohol addition. The effect of veratryl alcohol addition on LiP activity was nearly instantaneous and this effect diminished with culture aging. The extent of this effect was different depending on the time of addition, which led to a speculation that there might be some other effector species which played a role in regulation of lignin peroxidase activity.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 1999

Wood components, cellulose and lignin, are degraded simultaneously and the general outline for the complementary character of carbohydrates and lignin decomposition as well as the existence of enzymatic systems combining these processes is still valid. The degradatiion of free cellulose or hemicellulose into monosaccharides has long been known to be relatively simple, but the mechanism of lignin degradatiion wasn ot solved very clearly yet. Anyway the biodegradation of woold constituents is understood at present as an enzymatic process. Kigninolytic activity has been correlated with lignin and manganese peroxidases. At present the attention is paid to laccase. Laccase oxidizes lignin molecule to phenoxy radicals and quinones . This oxidation can lead to the cleavageo f C-C or C-O bonds in the lignin phenyl-propane subunits, resulting either in degradation of both side chains and aromatic rings, or in demethylation processes. The role of laccase lies in the "activation" of some low molecular weight mediators and radicals produced by fungal cultures. Such activated factors produced also in cooperation with other enzymes are probably exported to the wood environment where they work in degradation processes as the ' enzyme messengers." It is worth mentioning that only fungi possessing laccase show demethylating activity. Thus demethylation, the process important for ligninolysis, is probably caused exclusively by laccase. Under natural conditions laccase seems to work with other fungal enzymes , mediators and mediating radicals. It has shown the possibility of direct Bjrkman lignin depolymerization by cooperative activity of laccase and glucose oxidase.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.8-16
• /
• 2002

This study was performed to produce the high reactive lignin zero substrates from autohydrolyzed wood resources. In chemical compositions of used raw-materials, there were significant differences between two species, Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis) and oak (Quercus mongolica) woods. Japanese larch contained 25 to 3.5 times higher amounts of extractives than oak wood, which is mainly derived from high content of arabinogalactan in Japanese larch wood. Oak wood has 5% lower lignin content and 3% higher holocellulose and pentosans than larch wood. Concerned to changes in wood components during autohydrolysis pretreatment at 22 kg/cm² steaming pressure for 5~60 min, glucose content was constant during pretreatment, while hemicellulose and lignin were abruptly changed. Hemicellulose fraction was decreased significantly and lignin contents increased because of its condensation reaction with hemicellulose degradation products. The pH of hydrolyzates during pretreatment was decreased, reached upto pH 3 and since then leveled off. In the case of oak wood, same tendency was observed as in Japanese larch. Autohydrolysis followed by sodium chlorite and sulfite or bisulfite pretreatment was very effective in delignification of the substrates. In particular, two-stage delignification of autohydrolyzed woods with alkali and O₂-alkali resulted in very low lignin content substrates, such as 0~0.2% lignin substrate.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.34-43
• /
• 1987

This study was performed to find out the types of linkage of carbohydrates in wood cell walls. To study the structure of linkage of carbohydrates in wood cell walls, we have attempted to find out the method holocellulose preparation and optimum condition of enzyme hydrolysis in holocellulose, and fractionate oligosaccharide with products that hydrolized partly by acetolysis and deacetylation in holocellulose. We have achieved four results. These results as follow; 1. At first. we reacted in wood meal $NaClO_2$ 1g per lignin lg for one hour and then the same of quantity $NaClO_2$ for four hours. Through these experiments, we have developed new holocellulose preparation method which had low loss of carbohydrates and high effect of the delignification. 2. The optimum condition of enzyme hydrolysis of holocellulose which had lignin was 0.005M sodium acetate buffer (pH 5.0). We have achieved 7.2% reducing sugar through the procedure that reactioned 0.01g holocellulose putting enzyme 0.03g for 72 hours. It may be supposed that 5.5% of lignin contained in holocellulose prevented enzyme contaction from holocellulose and so this lignin has resulted in the low efficiency of enzyme hydrolysis. 3. We did not fractionated from oligosaccharides which were preparated by the method of acetolysis and deacetylation in holocellulose. The reason is that holocellulose having a lot of lignin prevented prefectly partial hydrolysis from the method of acetolysis and deacetylation. 4. We attempted analysis of six standard substances through HPLC apparatus having sugar pak 1 column which we have changed flow rate and the column temperature variably. These six standard substances were D-glucose, D-mannose, D-xylose, D-galactose and L-rhamnose, L-arabinose, But sugar pak 1 column was not fitted analysis of four substances because D-galactose, D-mannose, D-xylose, L-rhamnose were agreement with elution time. And so, we could not analize four standard substances with sugar pak 1 column.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.51-56
• /
• 1996

The Bark lignin(alkali- and acid lignin), bark extractives(hot water-and $Na_2SO_3$ extractives) of Quercus acutissima and Pinus densiflora, and flavonoids were used to detect heavy metal adsorption. The adsorption ratio of heavy metals by lignin was assigned for 40 to 50%, but was not dependent on lignin kinds. However, in case of the addition of light metals such as $Ca^{++}$ and $Mg^{++}$ to lignin the adsorption ratio was increased by 20 to 40%, and $Pb^{++}$ was almost completely adsorbed. On hot water extractives, the adsorption ratio was very low because the substrate was water-soluble, so the substrate should be water-insoluble to adsorb the heavy metals. However, the adsorption ratios of $Cd^{++}$ and $Pb^{++}$ on $Na_2SO_3$ extractives were significantly increased, while those of $Zn^{++}$ and $Cu^{++}$, were similar to lignin. When four kinds of heavy metals were treated to $Na_2SO_3$ extractives together, more than 97% of $Pb^{++}$ and $Cu^{++}$ was adsorbed_ and $Zn^{++}$ was more adsorbed by 40%, and $Cd^{++}$ was not changed, comparing with the case that on kind of heavy metal was treated. There were differences between adsorption ratio of the kinds of flavonoids and heavy metals, and the adsorption ratio of heavy metals was assigned to 20 to 45% per 0.1g flavonoid.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.190-197
• /
• 2021

Kraft lignin is a by-product of the pulp and paper industry, obtained as a black liquor after the extraction of cellulose from wood through the Kraft pulping process. Right now, kraft lignin is utilized as a low-grade boiler fuel to provide heat and power but can be converted into high-calorific biofuels or high-value chemicals once the efficient catalytic depolymerization process is developed. In this work, the multi-functional catalyst of Ru-Mg-Al-oxide, which contains hydrogenation metals, acid, and base sites for the effective depolymerization of kraft lignin are prepared, and its lignin depolymerization efficiency is evaluated. In order to understand the role of different active sites in the lignin depolymerization, the three different catalysts of MgO, Mg-Al-oxide, and Ru-Mg-Al-oxide were synthesized, and their lignin depolymerization activity was compared in terms of the yield and the average molecular weight of bio-oil, as well as the yield of phenolic monomers contained in the bio-oil. Among the catalysts tested, the Ru-Mg-Al-oxide catalyst exhibited the highest yield of bio-oil and phenolic monomers due to the synergy between active sites. Furthermore, in order to maximize the extent of lignin depolymerization over the Ru-Mg-Al-oxide, the effects of reaction conditions (i.e., temperature, time, and catalyst loading amount) on the lignin depolymerization were investigated. Overall, the highest bio-oil yield of 72% and the 3.5 times higher yield of phenolic monomers than that without a catalyst were successfully achieved at 350 ℃ and 10% catalyst loading after 4 h reaction time.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.63 no.5
• /
• pp.1098-1113
• /
• 2021

Maturation process of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) could be prevented by the reduction of lignin content in terms of conventional breeding or transgenic technology. Alfalfa could exhibit higher leaf/stem ratio, with a concern of yield loss. The objective of this study was to compare forage yield and nutritive value of low lignin alfalfa and two reference varieties subjecting to two harvest intervals and three seeding rates. The experimental design was a randomized complete block in a split-split plot arrangement with four replicates, where harvest intervals (28-day and 35-day) were assigned to whole plots, seeding rates were subplots, and varieties were sub-subplots. The weighted mean nutritive value was applied to two production years of 2016 and 2017. Hi-Gest 360 (low lignin alfalfa) provided similar yield potential and increased nutritive value compared to two reference varieties. Over a two-year production period, alfalfa harvested at every 28-day interval provided more economic returns than those at 35-day interval. For the seeding year and first production year, five cuts made by the 28-day interval produced more yield than four cuts by the 35-day interval. Due to limited rainfall in May 2017, a sharp drop of the first cutting overturned the advantage of the five-cut system. Shorter intervals between harvests generally increased crude protein (CP) concentrations. The differences of relative feed value (RFV) between two harvest intervals tended to be great during the first and second cuttings. Overall, harvest interval had a large effect on nutritive value and a more significant effect on alfalfa dry matter yield than variety selection. Seeding rate did not affect alfalfa yield and nutritive value.