Reductive conversion of lignin to aromatic chemicals with earth abundant catalysts

The viability of lignocellulosic biomass as a feedstock for chemicals hinges on the successful utilization of the lignin. Lignin, which comprises 15-30 wt% of biomass, is an amorphous polymer composed of multiple phenolic monomers. Lignin polymerization occurs through an uncontrolled radical coupling of monomers leading to an array of C-O and C-C bonds in the polymer. As such, lignin is highly recalcitrant and is responsible for the poor utilization of biomass. Many harsh thermochemical processes exist to extract lignin, but typically result in the destruction and condensation of the lignin rendering it as process waste. Alternative fractionation techniques focused on preserving lignin have recently been developed. These methods utilize reduction catalysts to depolymerize and stabilize reactive lignin fragments to produce stable phenols.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctoral

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Anderson, Eric Michael,Ph. D.Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Yuriy Román.

• Chemical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/124580

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/124580