Lignin as Feedstock for Nanoparticles Production

Abstract

Lignin is an interesting natural polymer with characteristics that contribute for the development and growth of plants. Lignin presents high variability associated with the diversity of plants, which presents great challenges for its recovery after delignification (technical lignin), because lignin is prone to irreversible degradation, producing recalcitrant condensed structures that are difficult to disassemble afterward. Although researchers have made efforts to obtain lignin in high yields and with good characteristics for specific uses, this is not an easy task. The mind-set has changed and new biorefinery concepts are emerging, where lignin is the primary goal to achieve, and the so-called lignin-first approach has arisen. Lignin can be obtained firstly to prevent structural degradations, enabling an efficient and highly selectivity of the lignin monomers. Therefore, this concept places lignin and its valorization at the head of the biorefinery. However, lignin valorization is still a challenge, and to overcome this, lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) production presents a good way to achieve this goal. This chapter presents a resume of the several techniques to attain lignin, how to produce LNPs, and their possible applications (from pharmaceutical to the automobile and polymer industries).