Lignin breakthrough in new poplar research

April 6, 2011 |

In California, a research team led by Mascoma co-founder Charles Wyman, concluded that sugar release from poplar trees increases dramatically when the tree has a high ratio of syringyl and guaiacyl, two lignin subunits. Further, the researchers found that certain poplar samples that produced unusually high sugar yields with no pretreatment. Reducing pretreatment would represent a substantial price decrease for biofuels produced from poplar.

The team said that superior poplar cultivars could be released soon for commercial testing and propagation.

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Category: Research

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