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Free keywords:
biorefinery;
catalytic hydrogen transfer;
cellulose;
enzymatic hydrolysis;
lignin
Abstract:
Lignin solvolytically released from biomass may be of much lower molecular weights than currently believed. In their Communication on page 8634 ff., R. Rinaldi and P. Ferrini exploit this feature for establishing a method that enables the isolation of lignin as a depolymerized oil and yields pulps amenable to enzymatic hydrolysis. The lignin oil is highly susceptible to hydrogenation under mild conditions, and therefore, a unique pathway for lignin valorization by heterogeneous catalysis has been established.
