Energies 2015, 8, 7654-7676; doi:10.3390/en8087654 OPEN ACCESS energies ISSN 1996-1073 www.mdpi.com/journal/energies Review Engineering Plant Biomass Lignin Content and Composition for Biofuels and Bioproducts Cassie Marie Welker 1, Vimal Kumar Balasubramanian 1, Carloalberto Petti 3, Krishan Mohan Rai 1, Seth DeBolt 2 and Venugopal Mendu 1,* 1 Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute, Department of Plant & Soil Science, Texas Tech University, 2802 15th Street, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA; E-Mails:
[email protected] (C.M.W.);
[email protected] (V.K.B.);
[email protected] (K.M.R.) 2 Department of Horticulture, University of Kentucky, 1100 Nicholasville Road, Lexington, KY 40546, USA; E-Mail:
[email protected] 3 Department of Science and Health, Carlow Institute of Technology, Kilkenny Rd, Carlow R93V960, Ireland; E-Mail:
[email protected] * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail:
[email protected]; Tel.: +1-806-632-7929. Academic Editor: Thomas E. Amidon Received: 2 June 2015 / Accepted: 20 July 2015 / Published: 27 July 2015 Abstract: Lignin is an aromatic biopolymer involved in providing structural support to plant cell walls. Compared to the other cell wall polymers, i.e., cellulose and hemicelluloses, lignin has been considered a hindrance in cellulosic bioethanol production due to the complexity involved in its separation from other polymers of various biomass feedstocks. Nevertheless, lignin is a potential source of valuable aromatic chemical compounds and upgradable building blocks. Though the biosynthetic pathway of lignin has been elucidated in great detail, the random nature of the polymerization (free radical coupling) process poses challenges for its depolymerization into valuable bioproducts.