Jiebing Li

The contribution to kappa number from hexeneuronic acid groups in pulp xylan

The kappa number of chemical pulps is widely used both in mill operation and in laboratory work as a measure of the degree of delignification in pulping, oxygen delignification, and prebleaching. R ...

Carbohydrate reactions during high-temperature steam treatment of aspen wood.

Aspen wood was treated with steam at different time-temperature severity factors. Analysis of the amounts of acids released revealed a relationship between the acidity and the formation of furfural and hydroxymethyl furfural as degradation products from carbohydrates. It is suggested that two concurrent or consecutive mechanisms are responsible for the observed results: a homolytic cleavage and an acid hydrolysis of glucosidic linkages in the polysaccharides. By preimpregnating the wood with alkali, hydrolysis can be eliminated, resulting in a much cleaner depolymerization of the polysaccharides without any further acid-catalyzed degradation. The enzymatic digestibility of the steam-treated wood material for the formation of glucose was compared with that of steam-exploded wood. A more efficient route for glucose production from steam-exploded wood was found as long as the biomass-pretreated material was homogeneous and without shives.

Do the extracellular enzymes cellobiose dehydrogenase and manganese peroxidase form a pathway in lignin biodegradation

The extracellular enzyme manganese peroxidase is believed to degrade lignin by a hydrogen peroxide‐dependent oxidation of Mn(II) to the reactive species Mn(III) that attacks the lignin. However, Mn(III) is not able to directly oxidise the non‐phenolic lignin structures that predominate in native lignin. We show here that pretreatment of a non‐phenolic lignin model compound with another extracellular fungal enzyme, cellobiose dehydrogenase, allows the manganese peroxidase system to oxidise this molecule. The mechanism behind this effect is demethoxylation and/or hydroxylation, i.e. conversion of a non‐phenolic structure to a phenolic one, mediated by hydroxyl radicals generated by cellobiose dehydrogenase. This suggests that cellobiose dehydrogenase and manganese peroxidase may act in an extracellular pathway in fungal lignin biodegradation. Analytical techniques used in this paper are reverse‐phase high‐pressure liquid chromatography, gas chromatography connected to mass spectroscopy and UV‐visible spectroscopy.

Fractionation, analysis, and PCA modeling of properties of four technical lignins for prediction of their application potential in binders.

Abstract Functional properties of technical lignins need to be characterized in more detail to become a higher added value renewable raw material for the chemical industry. The suitability of a lignin from different plants or trees obtained by different technical processes can only be predicted for selected applications, such as binders, if reliable analytical data are available. In the present paper, structure dependent properties of four industrial lignins were analyzed before and after successive organic solvent extractions. The lignins have been fractionated according to their molar mass by these solvents extractions. Kraft and soda lignins were shown to have different molar mass distributions and chemical compositions. Lignin carbohydrate complexes are most recalcitrant for extraction with organic solvents. These poorly soluble complexes can consist of up to 34% of carbohydrates in soda lignins. Modeling by principle component analysis (PCA) was performed aiming at prediction of the application potential of different lignins for binder production. The lignins and their fractions could be classified in different clusters based on their properties, which are structure dependent. Kraft softwood lignins show the highest potential for plywood binder application followed by hardwood soda lignin and the fractions of Sarkanda grass soda lignin with medium molar mass. Expectedly, the softwood lignins contain the highest number of reactive sites in ortho positions to the phenolic OH group. Moreover, these lignins have a low level of impurities and medium molar mass.

Polymerization of lignosulfonates by the laccase-HBT (1-hydroxybenzotriazole) system improves dispersibility

The ability of laccases from Trametes villosa (TvL), Myceliophthora thermophila (MtL), Trametes hirsuta (ThL) and Bacillus subtilis (BsL) to improve the dispersion properties of calcium lignosulfonates 398 in the presence of HBT as a mediator was investigated. Size exclusion chromatography showed an extensive increase in molecular weight of the samples incubated with TvL and ThL by 107% and 572% from 28400 Da after 17h of incubation, respectively. Interestingly, FTIR spectroscopy, (13)C NMR and Py-GC/MS analysis of the treated samples suggested no substantial changes in the aromatic signal of the lignosulfonates, a good indication of the ability of TvL/ThL-HBT systems to limit their effect on functional groups without degrading the lignin backbone. Further, the enzymatic treatments led to a general increase in the dispersion properties, indeed a welcome development for its application in polymer blends.

Investigation of the molecular weight increase of commercial lignosulfonates by laccase catalysis.

Lignosulfonates are by-products from the sulfite pulping process. During this process, lignin is liberated from pulp fibers through sulfonation and washed away. As a consequence, the lignosulfonate molecules contain both hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties. Lignosulfonates are low-value products with limited performance and are used as such as binders, surfactants, and plasticizers in concrete. Lignosulfonates face strong competition from synthetic petroleum-based plasticizers with superior quality. Therefore, increasing the performance of lignosulfonates is desirable not only from a sustainability point of view but also to expand their usage. One important aspect that describes how well lignosulfonates can act as plasticizers is the molecular weight. In this paper, the molecular weight of four commercial lignosulfonates is increased through oxidation by two laccases without utilization of mediators. Different parameters to obtain maximal molecular weight increase were identified and the technical significance of the experiments is discussed.

Universal fractionation of lignin–carbohydrate complexes (LCCs) from lignocellulosic biomass: an example using spruce wood

It is of both theoretical and practical importance to develop a universally applicable approach for the fractionation and sensitive lignin characterization of lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCCs) from all types of lignocellulosic biomass, both natively and after various types of processing. In the present study, a previously reported fractionation approach that is applicable for eucalyptus (hardwood) and flax (non-wood) was further improved by introducing an additional step of barium hydroxide precipitation to isolate the mannan-enriched LCC (glucomannan-lignin, GML), in order to suit softwood species as well. Spruce wood was used as the softwood sample. As indicated by the recovery yield and composition analysis, all of the lignin was recovered in three LCC fractions: a glucan-enriched fraction (glucan-lignin, GL), a mannan-enriched fraction (GML) and a xylan-enriched fraction (xylan-lignin, XL). All of the LCCs had high molecular masses and were insoluble or barely soluble in a dioxane/water solution. Carbohydrate and lignin signals were observed in (1) H NMR, (13) C CP-MAS NMR and normal- or high-sensitivity 2D HSQC NMR analyses. The carbohydrate and lignin constituents in each LCC fraction are therefore believed to be chemically bonded rather than physically mixed with one another. The three LCC fractions were found to be distinctly different from each other in terms of their lignin structures, as revealed by highly sensitive analyses by thioacidolysis-GC, thioacidolysis-SEC and pyrolysis-GC.

Is cellobiose dehydrogenase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium a lignin degrading enzyme

Cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) is an extracellular redox enzyme of ping-pong type, i.e. it has separate oxidative and reductive half reactions. Several wood degrading fungi produce CDH, but the biological function of the enzyme is not known with certainty. It can, however, indirectly generate hydroxyl radicals by reducing Fe(3+) to Fe(2+) and O2 to H2O2. Hydroxyl radicals are then generated by a Fenton type reaction and they can react with various wood compounds, including lignin. In this work we study the effect of CDH on a non-phenolic lignin model compound (3,4-dimethoxyphenyl glycol). The results indicate that CDH can affect lignins in three important ways. (1) It breaks beta-ethers; (2) it demethoxylates aromatic structures in lignins; (3) it introduces hydroxyl groups in non-phenolic lignins. The gamma-irradiated model compound gave a similar pattern of products as the CDH treated model compound, when the samples were analyzed by HPLC, suggesting that hydroxyl radicals are the active component of the CDH system.

On the structural significance of the kappa number measurement

The structural significance of a kappa number has been studied by quantifying the permanganate consumption of various isolated pine, birch and poplar lignins, of lignin model compounds and of carbo ...

Oxidative polymerisation of models for phenolic lignin end-groups by laccase.

Abstract The redox enzyme laccase can lead to cross-linking of lignin molecules by oxidising phenolic end groups to resonance-stabilised radicals that can undergo radical coupling to form covalent bonds. This property has potential for many technical applications. However, laccase treatment can also lead to degradation. Experiments were performed with two laccases of different oxidation potential and pH and temperature optima. The predominant reaction following laccase oxidation is the formation of 5-5′ and 4-O-5′ bonds. If the 5-position is blocked, other reactions occur, including coupling of the 1-position and oxidation of the α-position, which aggravates cross-linking of different lignin molecules. The product profile generated by the two laccases is somewhat different, mainly because of the different pH rather than differences in enzyme activity. Reaction mechanisms and the technical and biological significance of the results are discussed.