Researchers at North Carolina State University have
developed a simple, effective and relatively inexpensive technique for removing
lignin from the plant material used to make biofuels, which may drive down the
cost of biofuel production.
Lignin, nature’s way of protecting plant cell walls, is
difficult to break down or remove from plant materials called “biomass,” such
as the non-edible parts of the corn plant. However, that lignin needs to be
extracted in order to reach the energy-rich cellulose that is used to make
biofuels.