Projects and Grants per year
Grants and Contracts Details
Description
Lignin is produced in virtually all growing plants, typically constituting between 10 to 40% of
the plant dry matter. This ubiquitous polymer is thought to have tremendous potential to be used
as a feedstock for chemical and advanced materials, replacing petrochemical feedstocks,
however several barriers are impeding progress towards this goal. Creating advanced materials
is one major use envisioned for the products of lignin deconstruction, and modifying interfacial
surface chemistry is one route to creating advanced materials. Lignin monolignols and
polylignols are known to have reactive sites that can be uses for attachment chemistry.
Functionalizing surfaces (e.g. thin films and nanoparticles) with lignin derivatives holds great
promise for developing technologies which enable sustainable food, energy and water systems.
The major barrier to capitalizing lignin’s potential lies in the complexity of its structure.
Deconstruction techniques to date are not capable of directing the composition of the products,
and therefore the output from decomposition is a heterogeneous mix. This mixture is very
difficult to analyze for composition, and nearly impossible to fractionate to recover the desired
chemical configurations. Another barrier is that each plant species essentially has its own
complex lignin structure, so the products of deconstruction differ when different sources of
lignin are used.
We are proposing to build a collaborative team to study a novel approach to addressing the lignin
challenge; bi-directionally with constructed and deconstructed lignin. Dr. Lynn’s lab has
constructed monolignol-based macromolecules which will serve as synthetic models of lignin
deconstruction products. The models will be used to a)further our understanding of the
deconstruction processes of pyrolysis and ionic-liquid pretreatment by deconstructing wellcharacterized
materials and b)allow for the study of lignin derivatives to functionalize surfaces
for advanced materials. Pyrolysis and ionic liquid pretreatment will also be used for
deconstructing native lignin to move what is being learned on model lignin to a real systems. Our
project objectives are:
Objective 1: Develop a nationally recognized research program focused on technologies enabled
by lignin bead technology through strategic interjurisdictional collaboration, the expansion of
research capacity, and mentoring diverse early career faculty.
Objective 2: Establish links between lignin construction and lignin deconstruction with the goal
of directing deconstruction of natural lignin to desired chemical profiles. Solid-phase lignin
chemistry will be used to build synthetic models of monolignol-based macromolecules.
Pyrolysis and ionic liquids will be studied as two commonly-used methods of lignin
deconstruction.
Objective 3: Manipulate the interfacial surface properties using lignin bead chemistry to advance
the science of lignin-based products for advanced material applications. Interfacial surface
properties will be studied using thin films, nanoparticles, and molecular simulation.
Objective 4: Develop and conduct outreach activities to engage and train the future STEM
workforce and the general public by interconnecting the science of plant building blocks and
sustainability in the context of Food, Water and Energy Systems. We are uniquely positioned to
illuminate connections between our new insights and global challenges through both the existing
STEM outreach infrastructure, and new efforts as a result of this funding.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 8/1/16 → 9/30/21 |
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Projects
- 1 Finished
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RII Track-2 FEC: Assembling Successful Structures: Lignin Beads for Sustainability of Food, Energy, and Water Systems
Nokes, S., Knutson, B., Lynn, B., Rankin, S. & Shi, J.
8/1/16 → 9/30/21
Project: Research project