Chemicals extracted from lignin could help produce bioplastics

The results stem from a grant from the Technology Strategy Board, awarded to a consortium led by Biome Bioplastics in early 2013, to investigate lignin as a new source of organic chemicals for bioplastics manufacture, which could reduce costs and increase performance of these sustainable materials.

Lignin is a complex hydrocarbon that helps to provide structural support in plants and trees. As a waste product of the pulp and paper industry, lignin is a potentially abundant and low-cost feedstock for the high performance chemicals that could provide the foundation for the next generation of bioplastics.

The research was undertaken in conjunction with Warwick University’s Centre for Biotechnology and Biorefining led by centre director Prof Tim Bugg, whose team has been working to develop methods to control the breakdown of lignin using bacteria and extract these chemicals in significant quantities.

The project is said to have successfully demonstrated that bacteria can be effective in the selective degradation of lignin, and that the breakdown pathway can be controlled and improved using synthetic biology. Crucially, several organic chemicals have been produced at laboratory scale in promising yields that have potential use in bioplastic manufacture.