Lignin Gasification: Current and Future Viability

Abstract

The consumption of fossil fuels is one of the main drivers of climate change. Lignin derived from biomass is a carbon-neutral raw feedstock, and its conversion into fuels is gaining much attention. The gasification of biomass aims to transform heterogeneous feedstocks into syngas and heat that could be used for various purposes. Lignin is a biomass feedstock of special interest due to its particular properties and its ability to be obtained in abundant quantities as a side product from the paper pulp industry as well as the growing cellulosic ethanol industry. This review explores the existing works regarding lignin gasification from different perspectives and compares the results obtained with other existing thermochemical processes, in addition to providing a perspective on the long-term fate of gasification as a technology compared to other emerging technologies. The analysis indicates that while lignin gasification may grow in importance in the near future due to increased interest in hydrogen production, its potential in emerging applications indicates that lignin may be too valuable to be used purely for energy generation purposes, and applications that take advantage of its inherent chemical compounds are expected to take priority in the long-term.

Advances on Cellulose Manufacture in Biphasic Reaction Media

“…In turn, using kraft lignin to produce highvalue-added products is a major challenge, due to its complex structure, poor reactivity, and low solubility, which are factors that limit the lignin's large-scale use for chemical purposes [12]. However, lignin fractions recovered from the kraft pulping media present potential as substrates for thermochemical conversion, including pyrolysis, gasification, and hydrothermal liquefaction), or as starting materials for the manufacture of adhesives, resins, carbon fibers, adsorbents, dispersants, emulsifiers, or binding agents [12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

Streptomyces spp. as biocatalyst sources in pulp and paper and textile industries: Biodegradation, bioconversion and valorization of waste

“…Once removed, lignin is often burned to use as steam energy (low‐cost fuel to power paper mills) instead of being reused (Ko et al, 2016 ). A recent review describes the process of lignin gasification, including the generation of steam energy from lignin residues in the paper pulping process (Castro Garcia et al, 2022 ). However, the valorization of lignin for its beneficial properties such as biodegradation, antioxidant activity, thermostability, high carbon content and stiffness has been recently reviewed (Rinaldi et al, 2016 ) as has the bacterial conversion routes for the valorization of lignin (Liu et al, 2022 ).…”