Biodegradation of lignin in a compost environment: a review

Abstract Composting is nowadays a general treatment method for municipal solid waste. Compostable household waste contains, together with vegetable material, varying amounts of papers and boards. In the European Union composting is regarded as one recycling method for packages and this will probably favour compostable packages, like papers and boards, in the future. Paper is made up of lignocellulose and it may contain up to 20% of lignin. Efficient degradation of papers in composting plants means that biodegradation of lignin is also needed. However, very little is known about lignin degradation by mixed microbial compost populations, although lignin degradation by white-rot fungi has been extensively studied in recent years. Organic material is converted to carbon dioxide, humus, and heat by compost microorganisms. It is assumed that humus is formed mainly from lignin. Thus, lignin is not totally mineralized during composting. The elevated temperatures found during the thermophilic phase are essential for rapid degradation of lignocellulose. Complex organic compounds like lignin are mainly degraded by thermophilic microfungi and actinomycetes. The optimum temperature for thermophilic fungi is 40–50°C which is also the optimum temperature for lignin degradation in compost.

[1]  J. Zeikus,et al.  Microbial Decomposition of Synthetic 14C-Labeled Lignins in Nature: Lignin Biodegradation in a Variety of Natural Materials , 1977, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[2]  Ashutosh Kumar Singh,et al.  Microorganisms and enzymes involved in the degradation of plant fiber cell walls. , 1997, Advances in biochemical engineering/biotechnology.

[3]  D. Faure,et al.  Physico-chemical and microbiological aspects in composting of grape pulps , 1990 .

[4]  Lynne Boddy,et al.  Fungal decomposition of wood , 1988 .

[5]  A. Rodríguez,et al.  Degradation of natural lignins and lignocellulosic substrates by soil-inhabiting fungi imperfecti , 1996 .

[6]  Mohd Ali Hashim,et al.  Microbiological and biochemical changes during the composting of oil palm empty-fruit-bunches. Effect of nitrogen supplementation on the substrate , 1995 .

[7]  C. A. Reddy,et al.  Demonstration of Laccase in the White Rot Basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium BKM-F1767 , 1995, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[8]  J. J. Thambirajah,et al.  Composting of palm press fibre , 1989 .

[9]  George R. Aiken,et al.  Humic Substances In Soil, Sediment, And Water : Geochemistry, Isolation, And Characterization , 1985 .

[10]  R. Blanchette.  Degradation of the lignocellulose complex in wood , 1995 .

[11]  J. T. Mullins,et al.  Thermophilic fungi in a municipal waste compost system. , 1973, Mycologia.

[12]  Y. Hadar,et al.  Formation and properties of humic substance originating from composts. , 1996 .

[13]  S. L. Rosenberg.  Temperature and pH optima for 21 species of thermophilic and thermotolerant fungi. , 1975, Canadian journal of microbiology.

[14]  R. Farrell,et al.  Enzymatic "combustion": the microbial degradation of lignin. , 1987, Annual review of microbiology.

[15]  M. Marchiani,et al.  Isolation of Thermus strains from hot composts (60 to 80 degrees C) , 1996, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[16]  A. Ball,et al.  Towards elucidation of the lignin degradation pathway in actinomycetes , 1992 .

[17]  James P. Martin,et al.  Decomposition in Soil of 14C-labeled Coumaryl Alcohols; Free and Linked into Dehydropolymer and Plant Lignins and Model Humic Acids , 1977 .

[18]  T. Kirk.  Lignin biodegradation: Microbiology, chemistry and applications: Madison, Wisconsin, USA, 9–11 May 1978 , 1979 .

[19]  S. L. Rosenberg.  Cellulose and Lignocellulose Degradation by Thermophilic and Thermotolerant Fungi , 1978 .

[20]  C. L. Fergus.  Thermophilic and Thermotolerant Molds and Actinomycetes of Mushroom Compost During Peak Heating , 1964 .

[21]  Stephen Y. Lin,et al.  Methods in Lignin Chemistry , 1992, Springer Series in Wood Science.

[22]  R. Hodson,et al.  Thermophilic Anaerobic Biodegradation of [14C]Lignin, [14C]Cellulose, and [14C]Lignocellulose Preparations , 1985, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[23]  C. W. Dence,et al.  The Determination of Lignin , 1992 .

[24]  S. Waksman,et al.  THERMOPHILIC ACTINOMYCETES AND FUNGI IN SOILS AND IN COMPOSTS , 1939 .

[25]  C. L. Fergus.  The cellulolytic activity of thermophilic fungi and Actinomycetes. , 1969, Mycologia.

[26]  M. Itävaara,et al.  Windrow Composting Of Biodegradable Packaging Materials , 1997 .

[27]  J. Chalmers,et al.  A Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopic analysis of organic matter degradation in a bench‐scale solid substrate fermentation (composting) system , 2000 .

[28]  J. Roberts,et al.  Fungal communities on decaying wheat straw of different resource qualities , 1994 .

[29]  Christopher J. Biermann,et al.  Essentials of Pulping and Papermaking , 1993 .

[30]  R. Haug.  The Practical Handbook of Compost Engineering , 1993 .

[31]  Roger S. U. Smith,et al.  Some Factors Affecting Wood Degradation by Thermophilic and Thermotolerant Fungi , 1973 .

[32]  P F Strom,et al.  Identification of thermophilic bacteria in solid-waste composting , 1985, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[33]  Y. Hadar,et al.  Solid-state Carbon-13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Infrared Spectroscopy of Composted Organic Matter , 1989 .

[34]  E. Galli,et al.  Bioremediation of Olive-Mill Wastewaters By Composting , 1995 .

[35]  F. Stutzenberger,et al.  Cellulolytic activity in municipal solid waste composting. , 1970, Canadian journal of microbiology.

[36]  J. Seppälä,et al.  Plasticization of Barley Starch with Glycerol and Water , 1996 .

[37]  G. Gas,et al.  Lignin Degradation and Humus Formation in Alluvial Soils and Sediments , 1989, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[38]  U. Pagga.  Compostable packaging materials – test methods and limit values for biodegradation , 1999, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[39]  Robert A. Blanchette,et al.  Microbial and Enzymatic Degradation of Wood and Wood Components , 2012, Springer Series in Wood Science.

[40]  A. Albertsson,et al.  Degradable polymers for the future , 1995 .

[41]  M. Kumakura,et al.  Radiation and chemical pretreatment of chaff and its effect on enzymatic hydrolysis , 1983 .

[42]  M. A. El-naghy,et al.  Degradation of cellulosic materials by Sporotrichum thermophile culture filtrate for sugar production , 1991 .

[43]  Jessie A. Micales,et al.  The decomposition of forest products in landfills , 1997 .

[44]  S. M. Barnett,et al.  Studies on thermophilic cellulolytic fungi. , 1975, Applied microbiology.

[45]  A. Pera,et al.  Evaluation of Compost Maturity By Means of Chemical and Microbial Analyses , 1986 .

[46]  Yung Chang,et al.  The fungi of wheat straw compost: II. Biochemical and physiological studies , 1967 .

[47]  S. Waksman,et al.  INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE UPON THE MICROBIOLOGICAL POPULATION AND DECOMPOSITION PROCESSES IN COMPOSTS OF STABLE MANURE , 1939 .

[48]  Robert A. Samson,et al.  Ecology of Thermophilic Fungi in Mushroom Compost, with Emphasis on Scytalidium thermophilum and Growth Stimulation of Agaricus bisporus Mycelium , 1994, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[49]  J. M. Lopez-Real,et al.  Composting of Agricultural Wastes , 1996 .

[50]  F. González-Vila,et al.  Solid state NMR studies of fire-induced changes in the structure of humic substances , 1992 .

[51]  P F Strom,et al.  Effect of temperature on bacterial species diversity in thermophilic solid-waste composting , 1985, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[52]  Rafael Vicuña,et al.  Bacterial degradation of lignin , 1988 .

[53]  T. Cross.  Thermophilic actinomycetes. , 1968, The Journal of applied bacteriology.

[54]  J. Mouchacca.  Thermophilic fungi : Biodiversity and taxonomic status , 1997 .

[55]  A. Brown.  Review of lignin in biomass , 1985 .

[56]  Hou‐min Chang,et al.  Microbial degradation and stabilization of 14C-labeled lignins, phenols, and phenolic polymers in relation to soil humus formation. , 1980 .

[57]  J. B. Robertson,et al.  Predicting methane fermentation biodegradability , 1980 .

[58]  K. Nakasaki,et al.  Characteristics of Mesophilic Bacteria Isolated during Thermophilic Composting of Sewage Sludge , 1985, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[59]  E. Crisan.  Current concepts of thermophilism and the thermophilic fungi. , 1973, Mycologia.

[60]  A. Zehnder.  Biology of anaerobic microorganisms , 1988 .

[61]  Flavio Fornasier,et al.  Mineralization and humification pathways in two composting processes applied to cotton wastes , 1992 .

[62]  R. Blanchette,et al.  Comparative Studies of Delignification Caused by Ganoderma Species , 1990, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[63]  R. Gilbertson,et al.  Effects of Incubation Time and Temperature on In Vitro Selective Delignification of Silver Leaf Oak by Ganoderma colossum , 1995, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[64]  Daniel D. Jones,et al.  Biodegradabilities and Microbial Activities During Composting of Oxidation Ditch Sludge , 1996 .

[65]  R. Maheshwari,et al.  Isolation and culture of a thermophilic fungus, Melanocarpus albomyces, and factors influencing the production and activity of xylanase , 1985 .

[66]  E. Jones,et al.  Bacterial degradation of lignified wood cell walls in anaerobic aquatic habitats , 1983, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[67]  J. Webster,et al.  Fungal Ecology , 1995, Springer Netherlands.

[68]  J. Vestal,et al.  Physical and Chemical Correlates of Microbial Activity and Biomass in Composting Municipal Sewage Sludge , 1985, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[69]  T. Kirk,et al.  Limited bacterial mineralization of fungal degradation intermediates from synthetic lignin , 1991, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[70]  T. D. Brock.  Thermophilic Microorganisms and Life at High Temperatures , 1978, Springer Series in Microbiology.

[71]  R. Crawford,et al.  Microbial degradation of lignin , 1979 .

[72]  J. Ripmeester,et al.  Alterations in canola residue composition during decomposition , 1996 .

[73]  Harry A. J. Hoitink,et al.  NEW APPROACHES TO COMPOST MATURITY , 1990 .

[74]  A. Hatakka.  Lignin-modifying enzymes from selected white-rot fungi: production and role from in lignin degradation , 1994 .

[75]  D. McKnight,et al.  An introduction to humic substances in soil, sediment, and water , 1985 .

[76]  A. Ball,et al.  Degradation of Lignin-Related Compounds by Actinomycetes , 1989, Applied and environmental microbiology.