Chemistry post-doctoral fellow Alireza Rahimi holds vials of chemicals derived from lignin, the molecule that gives wood its strength. Rahimi and senior author Shannon Stahl, an expert in green chemistry, have created a two-step process for converting lignin into biofuel and useful molecules. Their paper in Nature, published 11/2, details a new, two-step method for decomposing lignin that avoids high pressure and temperature.
David Tenenbaum
Scientists today disclosed a new method to convert lignin, a biomass waste product, into simple chemicals. The innovation is an important step toward replacing petroleum-based fuels and chemicals with biorenewable materials, says Shannon Stahl, an expert in "green chemistry" at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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