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Aromatic chemicals through anaerobic microbial conversion of lignin monomers

  • Conversion of Biomass to Fuel and Chemical Raw Material
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Summary

Large efforts are directed towards production of ethanol from cellulosic biomass in order to reduce our dependence on petroleum based ethylene. No satisfactory process exists to date, however, which would make the aromatic molecules present in wood available to economic exploitation. A combination of physicochemical pretreatment of lignocellulose and selective microbial conversion of the mixture of aromatic monomers into a few phenolic products is outlined. Anaerobic microbial communities are employed since they offer thermodynamic and physiological characteristics necessary for efficient conversion. Under anaerobic conditions most of the carbon and energy initially present in the substrate can be recovered as useful products; oxidative losses as CO2 and H2O are minimized. The 3,4-disubstituted aromatic lignin monomers are converted to catechol while 3,4,5-trisubstituted monomers are mineralized to CH4 and CO2. Further studies are directed towards an understanding of the physiological functions of the populations participating in the conversion process, the reason for catechol recalcitrance and the tolerance of the community towards phenolic endproducts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Institute of Plant Biology, University of Zürich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008, Zürich, Switzerland

    J. -P. Kaiser & K. W. Hanselmann

Authors
  1. J. -P. Kaiser
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  2. K. W. Hanselmann
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Additional information

Acknowledgment. We thank Ms H. Müller and Dr G. Hanselmann-Mason for their help in preparing the manuscript. Part of this work has been presented at the annual meeting of the Swiss Society for Microbiology 1981.

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Kaiser, J.P., Hanselmann, K.W. Aromatic chemicals through anaerobic microbial conversion of lignin monomers. Experientia 38, 167–176 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01945070

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