Demethylation of lignin with mild conditions and preparation of green adhesives to reduce formaldehyde emissions and health risks

Research and development activities directed toward commercial production of cellulosic ethanol have created the opportunity to dramatically increase the transformation of lignin to value-added products. Here, we highlight recent advances in this lignin valorization effort. Discovery of genetic variants in native populations of bioenergy crops and direct manipulation of biosynthesis pathways have produced lignin feedstocks with favorable properties for recovery and downstream conversion. Advances in analytical chemistry and computational modeling detail the structure of the modified lignin and direct bioengineering strategies for future targeted properties. Refinement of biomass pretreatment technologies has further facilitated lignin recovery, and this coupled with genetic engineering will enable new uses for this biopolymer, including low-cost carbon fibers, engineered plastics and thermoplastic elastomers, polymeric foams, fungible fuels, and commodity chemicals.

During the last decades lignin has been investigated as a promising natural alternative to petrochemicals in phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin production, due to their structural similarity. Physico-chemical characterization of three types of lignin, namely kraft pine lignin (L1), soda-anthraquinone flax lignin (L2), and ethanol-water wild tamarind lignin (L3) has been evaluated to determine which one is the most suitable chemical structure for above purpose. Characterization has been performed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry ((1)H NMR) to analyse the chemical structure, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) for determining molecular weight (MW) and molecular weight distribution (MWD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to measure the glass transition temperature and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to follow the thermal degradation. Both structural and thermal characteristics suggest that kraft pine lignin (L1) would be a better phenol (P) substitute in the synthesis of lignin-phenol-formaldehyde (LPF) resins, as it presents higher amounts of activated free ring positions, higher MW and higher thermal decomposition temperature.

There is a long-standing dispute about indoor air humidity and perceived indoor air quality (IAQ) and associated health effects. Complaints about sensory irritation in eyes and upper airways are generally among top-two symptoms together with the perception "dry air" in office environments. This calls for an integrated analysis of indoor air humidity and eye and airway health effects. This overview has reviewed the literature about the effects of extended exposure to low humidity on perceived IAQ, sensory irritation symptoms in eyes and airways, work performance, sleep quality, virus survival, and voice disruption. Elevation of the indoor air humidity may positively impact perceived IAQ, eye symptomatology, and possibly work performance in the office environment; however, mice inhalation studies do not show exacerbation of sensory irritation in the airways by low humidity. Elevated humidified indoor air appears to reduce nasal symptoms in patients suffering from obstructive apnea syndrome, while no clear improvement on voice production has been identified, except for those with vocal fatigue. Both low and high RH, and perhaps even better absolute humidity (water vapor), favors transmission and survival of influenza virus in many studies, but the relationship between temperature, humidity, and the virus and aerosol dynamics is complex, which in the end depends on the individual virus type and its physical/chemical properties. Dry and humid air perception continues to be reported in offices and in residential areas, despite the IAQ parameter "dry air" (or "wet/humid air") is semantically misleading, because a sensory organ for humidity is non-existing in humans. This IAQ parameter appears to reflect different perceptions among other odor, dustiness, and possibly exacerbated by desiccation effect of low air humidity. It is salient to distinguish between indoor air humidity (relative or absolute) near the breathing and ocular zone and phenomena caused by moisture-damage of the building construction and emissions therefrom. Further, residential versus public environments should be considered as separate entities with different characteristics and demands of humidity. Research is needed about particle, bacteria and virus dynamics indoors for improvement of quality of life and with more focus on the impact of absolute humidity. "Dry (or wet) air" should be redefined to become a meaningful IAQ descriptor.