Approaches to the selective catalytic conversion of lignin: a grand challenge for biorefinery development.

Lignin comprises 15-25% of terrestrial biomass and is the second most abundant source of renewable carbon after cellulose. However, its structural heterogeneity frustrates efforts for its selective conversion into biobased chemicals. Catalyst design for lignin transformation offers an opportunity to improve selectivity, and, hence, improve lignin's utility as a raw material in chemical production. Catalytic deconstruction and conversion of lignin has been examined using a variety of thermochemical treatments, analogous to those used in the petrochemical industry. However, the complex nature of these products limits their utility. More recently, greater focus has been given to an understanding of lignin's molecular level structure, and designing catalysts that can be targeted to key individual structural units within the biopolymer. This review gives a sense of the field by providing a representative description of recent developments in some of the primary technologies employed for lignin conversion and approaches that promise to improve selectivity.