Dear Colleagues,

We invite submissions to a Special Issue of the journal Energies on the topic of “Conversion of Lignin into Fuel and Chemicals”

Lignin is an underutilized resource in the world, where this second most common biopolymer is rarely used. The by far most common use today is in heat production, mainly in paper and pulp mills, where the steam generated is used for drying and power production. Some lignin is finding its way into uses such as flow enhancers in concrete and for the production of synthetic flavors. However, this one-of-a-kind bulk source of natural aromatics should be better utilized.

To address these issues, it is necessary to further the understanding of the depolymerization of various technical lignins from macromolecules into monomers, dimers, and oligomers under different conditions, as well as the further reaction of these molecules for producing chemicals, likely with but not limited to aromatic moieties. The lignin fractions may also be upgraded to fuels with different boiling point ranges and properties, e.g., aviation kerosene, gasoline, and diesel. This conversion into chemicals and fuels may be done under oxidizing or reducing conditions and using thermochemical, enzymatic as well as whole-cell for the conversion.

This Special Issue would like to encourage original contributions regarding recent developments and ideas in chemical and biological conversion of lignin species. Potential topics include but are not limited to: Depolymerization of lignin, conversion of lignin using oxidative or reductive means, sub- or supercritical conversion of lignin, and the use of enzymatic or whole-cell conversion of lignin into bulk, fine or specialty chemicals as well as fuel additives and fuels.

Dr. Christian Per Hulteberg
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.