Scientists at Umeå University have developed a reusable catalytic system that breaks down lignin into valuable chemical products—offering a promising new approach to sustainable biomass utilization.
Van Minh Dinh in the lab at the Department of Chemistry, Umeå University. Image Credit: Huton Nguyen
In collaboration with researchers from Finland, Vietnam, India, and Italy, the Umeå team has designed a system that efficiently cleaves the complex structures in lignin, one of the most abundant but underused components of plant biomass.
As fossil fuel supplies dwindle and climate concerns intensify, alternatives like biofuels and biomass-derived chemicals are gaining traction. Lignin makes up roughly 30 % of plant dry mass, with 50 to 70 million tons produced annually, mostly as a byproduct of the paper and pulp industry. Its structural complexity, however, has made it difficult to convert into usable products.
The new catalyst, developed as part of Van Minh Dinh’s doctoral research at Umeå University’s Department of Chemistry, offers a way forward.
We first evaluate the performance of the catalytic system using lignin-model compounds. They are small molecules that closely resemble lignin’s structure, making them an ideal model for our research.
Van Minh Dinh, Department of Chemistry, Umeå University
Under optimal conditions, the system selectively breaks down specific chemical bonds, generating useful products such as hydrocarbons for jet fuel additives and oxygenated compounds for industrial chemicals.
An exciting aspect of our research is the catalyst’s excellent reusability. It remains structurally stable across a broad range of test conditions while maintaining high activity over multiple cycles.
Van Minh Dinh, Department of Chemistry, Umeå University
The team is now focused on scaling up their process using lignin samples sourced from across Sweden. The work could support the broader shift toward renewable feedstocks and more efficient use of biomass in chemical manufacturing.