Eco-friendly new products from enzymatically modified industrial lignins

摘要

Industrial lignins are by-products from the pulp and paper industry, as well as from other biomass-based industries. They are non-toxic, potentially of high value, inexpensive and available in large amounts. They possess highly reactive locations that can be enzymatically modified to develop new and environmentally friendly products. The oxidative enzymes produced by ligninolytic fungi are the catalysts that have mostly been used for the up-grading of these new technologies. This paper aims to provide a general picture of the variety of new and eco-friendly products that have recently been produced through enzyme-based technologies and using industrial lignins as raw materials, namely for the production of lignin-based copolymers by grafting, binders for wood composites, chelating agents, compositions for treating porous materials, coatings and paintings. In addition, it introduces fundamental aspects related to the enzymes used to modify the lignin structure to the interested readers that are not familiar with this field of research.