In Australia, hardwood lignin has two key chemical components that require processing to make useful compounds. University of Adelaide researchers had previously discovered an enzyme that could be used to break down one of these compounds, which is also found in softwood, but no biological breakdown process had been identified that could use the second more complex hardwood compound, comprising about 50 per cent of the waste.
“Looking to the microbial kingdom, we identified that a soil bacterium, Amycolatopsis thermoflava, contains enzymes that could process molecules from lignin cheaply, using hydrogen peroxide to drive the reaction – making valorization much less harmful to the environment,” said Associate Professor Stephen Bell, from the University’s School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences.
The research team has used this new enzyme as a model for retrofitting the hydrogen peroxide driven activity into other enzymes to generate green chemistry approaches of the future for the generation of high value chemicals of use in the flavor, fragrance and medicinal chemistry industries.
Tags: Australia, lignin, University of Adelaide
Category: Research
