in structural lignin modification, swelling of cellulose, partial cellulose recrystallization [53–55] and partial hemicellulose solvation. NaOH has been widely researched for several years [56, 57], and the destruction of the biomass lignin structure has been shown to improve the user-friendliness of cellulose enzymes [51, 58, 59]. Lime is another alkali and has been used for biomass pre-treatment. Corn stover, turn grass, is a lignocellulosic feedstock, which has shown benefit from this pre-treatment process of straw bagasse, barley, and rice [60, 61–64].
The efficacy of multiple alkaline solutions by analyzing hemicellulose wheat straw delignification and dissolution. They observed that 1.5% NaOH for 144 h at 20 °C was the optimum state, resulting in 60% lignin release and 80% hemicellulose release. Alkaline pre-treatment conditions are generally less severe than most pre-treatments. It may be conducted at atmospheric temperature, but it needs longer pre-treatment periods compared to more temperatures. The alkaline method includes soaking biomass at a target temperature in alkaline solutions and mixing. The benefit of alkaline pre-treatment for specific period is that a given quantity of biomass lime cost needed is the less among alkaline treatment methods [65].
2.3.1.2.2 Wet Oxidation
As an oxidizer for materials immersed in liquids, wet oxidation uses oxygen. During the process, there are two reactions such as hydrolysis occurring at low temperature and other is oxidation at high temperature occurs [66]. By solubilizing hemicellulose and eliminating lignin [67, 68], wet oxidation may be employed to promote the lignocellulosic content. A number of biomass has been shown to be productive in pre-treating like cassava, rye, etc. Lignin is broken down into carbon dioxide, water, and carboxyl acid during wet oxidation [69, 70]. The volume of lignin produced during pre-treatment ranges from 50 to 70% based on the form of lignin biomass, resulting in 57% being removed. Cellulose conversion compares with just 35% of lignin removal and 48% of steam explosion cellulose conversion under the same conditions [71].
2.3.1.2.3 Acid
Acid requires the application of distilled and dissolved acids in order to crack the lignocellulosic material’s rigid shape. Dilute sulfuric acid employed for acid pre-treatment of biomass such as maize, softwood [72]. This will be used to eliminate hemicellulose after alkali pre-treatment (lignin exclusion) results in comparatively pure cellulose, is the most commonly used acid. The benefit of acid pre-treatment is that there is often no need for a corresponding enzymatic hydrolysis step. This may be due to the fact that acid itself hydrolyses the biomass to generate fermentable sugars. Hemicellulose and lignin are solubilized with restricted degradation [74, 75].
2.3.1.3 Physicochemical Pre-Treatment
Steam-Explosion pre-treatment is the mainly used pre-treatment choice. This technique needs both chemical and physical strategies to crack the surface of lignocellulosic substances. This method of volcanic pre-treatment exposes the substance to elevated pressures and temperatures for a brief period of time, after which it gradually depressurizes the system, destroying fibril framework. The degradation of fibrils through hydrolysis enhances the reachability of cellulose to the enzymes. Particle dimension is an important take-parting aspect to the performance of the method. In addition to this, comparatively huge particle sizes found to be capable of producing optimum concentrations of sugar. This is a good finding, since the lowering of the particle sizes needs more mechanical sorting of the raw material. Temperatures between 190 and 270 °C were applied with time intervals of 10 and 1 min, correspondingly. The determining factor for the temperature/time relationship [76, 77] will be the preparatory material and particle sizes.
2.3.1.4 Biological Treatment
The make use of microbes to dissolve lignin and hemicellulose requires biological pre-treatment however keeps the cellulose in unbroken condition [78–80]. Destruction of lignin happens by the action of fungi-secreted enzymes that destroy lignin. While biological pre-treatments entail mild atmosphere and are inexpensive, drawbacks compared to other technologies are slow hydrolysis and inneed of time-consuming pre-treatments [81]. Present efforts in biological pre-treatment include the integration of this method with other pre-treatment techniques and the creation of innovative rapid hydrolysis of microbes [78, 79, 82]. In contrast with chemical & physicochemical pre-treatment methods, all physical and biological processes are not competitive.
Biological method of turning bagasse into required energy is dependent on ethanol-producing fermentation and gas-producing anerobic digestion [83, 84]. To allow cellulose more accessible to hydrolysis and fermentation, this pre-treatment is often employed in conjunction by means of chemical treatment. Biomass can be partly degraded by numerous microorganisms [85]. Furthermore, fungal depolymerization may be done by means of lignin as a biocatalytic [73, 86]. For the breakdown of biomass materials, physical & chemical pre-treatment procedures can be employed. Physical pre-treatment refers to the reduction by mechanical steps of the size of the raw material to make it available to subsequent (biochemical) treatment.
The key process used to crack biomass is dependent on hydrolysis technique. Occasionally, this approach is saccharification. This is utilized to split hydrogen bonds in the fractions of lignocellulosic biomass by extracting. It is resulting hemicellulose with improvements in composition of the cellulose microfiles and retrieving the resultant soluble monomeric and oligomeric sugars [87, 88]. The objective of pre-treatment is to get better usable surface areas, to recrystallize cellulose and to eliminate the substance of hemicellulose and lignin.
2.3.2 Lignin as Bio-Aromatics
By pulping process, the paper manufacturing industries produce about fifty million tons of lignocellulosic biomass. Cracker states that pulping typically extracts lignin from wood pulp to leave only cellulose for paper processing. Just 2% of the remaining lignin, however, is processed into useful materials, with the remainder being burned or going to landfill as low-grade fuels. A breakthrough in the heterogeneous catalytic oxidative depolymerization of lignin using gold nanoparticles aided by lithium aluminum layered double hydrolysis has been documented by Crocke’s team. The group obtained aromatic monomers such as vanillin, vanillic acid and syringaldehyde of low molecular weight by targeting rich β-O-4 linkage within lignin. In the food and fragrance industry, these monomers are usually used [89].
Opportunities for development of lignocellulose to bio-aromatics
New environmental innovations (towards bioeconomy)
Reduction of manufacturing process transportation footprint
Chemicals and materials innovation (safer, performance-based products and through disruptive enabling process technologies)
The transition to bioeconomy is driven by economics and culture.
For lignin-based goods, physicochemical variables promise a future.
Presence of rings of aromas (stability, good mechanical properties)
Strong viscoelastic and rheological properties
Strong capability for film-forming
Compatibility for a broad variety of synthetic chemical goods
The scale of small objects.
2.4 Lignin as Future Building Block
Lignin is a part of wood that has proven to be an especially promising resource. Currently, it is used almost solely for electricity storage, but it may be used for many other applications as well. Lignocellulose provides structure and stability to plants (Latin lignum = wood). The cell wall of plants is reinforced by lignocellulose biopolymers and consists of their key constituents: cellulose and hemicellulose from structure through lignin is inserted as a form of connector. Resistance to wind and pests by cell wall lignification producer plants. In comparison to fossil petroleum, wood-based lignocellulose, straw is a green raw