Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXVII, Issue 2
Written by Alexandra BURLACU (GRIGORAȘ), Aglaia POPA, Florentina ISRAEL-ROMING
Lignocellulosic biomass has a tremendous potential for obtaining value-added products useful in applications in medicine, food and feed, textile, biofuels, carbon fibres etc. Amongst the three main components, lignin is the most abundant natural aromatic polymer that is the least valorised. The main enzymes involved in lignin degradation are mainly oxidases (laccases and peroxidases), but several esterases (hydroxycinnamic acid esterases) are also important for their activity on releasing lignin from hemicellulose and cellulose. This study is focused on describing the most used compounds that can mimic the structure of lignin components and presents the available methods used for identifying microorganisms capable of degrading lignin. Also, it provides an array of industrial applications for depolymerised lignin.
[Read full article] [Citation]
