Institute of Paper Science and Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2011 Sep;91(6):1525-36. doi: 10.1007/s00253-011-3350-z. Epub 2011 Jul 28.
Diminishing fossil fuel resources as well as growing environmental and energy security concerns, in parallel with growing demands on raw materials and energy, have intensified global efforts to utilize wood biopolymers as a renewable resource to produce biofuels and biomaterials. Wood is one of the most abundant biopolymer composites on earth that can be converted into biofuels as well as used as a platform to produce bio-based materials. The major biopolymers in wood are cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin which account for >90% of dry weight. These polymers are generally associated with each other in wood cell walls resulting in an intricate and dynamic cell wall structure. This mini-review provides an overview of major wood biopolymers, their structure, and recent developments in their utilization to develop biofuels. Advances in genetic modifications to overcome the recalcitrance of woody biomass for biofuels are discussed and point to a promising future.
化石燃料资源的减少以及日益增长的环境和能源安全问题，加上对原材料和能源的需求不断增长，促使全球加紧努力利用木质生物聚合物作为可再生资源来生产生物燃料和生物材料。木材是地球上最丰富的生物聚合物复合材料之一，可转化为生物燃料，也可用作生产生物基材料的平台。木材中的主要生物聚合物是纤维素、半纤维素和木质素，它们占干重的>90%。这些聚合物通常与木质部细胞壁中的其他聚合物相互关联，从而形成复杂而动态的细胞壁结构。这篇小型综述概述了主要的木质生物聚合物、它们的结构以及最近在利用它们开发生物燃料方面的进展。讨论了遗传修饰方面的进展，以克服木质生物质对生物燃料的顽固性，并指出了有希望的未来。
