Can Lignin Wastes Originating From Cellulosic Ethanol Biorefineries Act as Radical Scavenging Agents?

Lignin is a co-product from the biorefinery and paper industry. Its non-energetic valorization remains a field of extensive R&D developments. In this perspective, this study is undertaken to evaluate the radical scavenging ability of some herbaceous lignins. These lignins, extracted from Miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus) or Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum L.), are selected as benchmarks for this study as a function of their chemical structure and average molecular weight. These technical lignins, side-products in the bioethanol production process, are found to display a moderate antioxidant activity as evaluated by the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazil) free radical scavenging test system. A correlation between the radical scavenging properties and the molecular features is proposed and discussed. Infrared spectroscopy is evaluated as a straightforward qualitative prediction tool for the radical scavenging capacity.