Lignin breakthrough in new poplar research
April 6, 2011
| admin
In California, a research team led by Mascoma co-founder Charles Wyman, concluded that sugar release from poplar trees increases dramatically when the tree has a high ratio of syringyl and guaiacyl, two lignin subunits. Further, the researchers found that certain poplar samples that produced unusually high sugar yields with no pretreatment. Reducing pretreatment would represent a substantial price decrease for biofuels produced from poplar.
The team said that superior poplar cultivars could be released soon for commercial testing and propagation.
Category: Research